Arieahn Matamonasa, of Lakota and Menominee heritage, earned her PhD in clinical psychology from The FIelding Institute, with a focus on the prevention of violence. She is a member of the interdisciplinary faculty at DePaul University in Chicago, where she teaches psychology, Native American studies, and cross-cultural communications. She also works in Equine Assisted Therapy, using horses as co-therapists and researching the impact of such cross-species connections.