The first doctoral degree was awarded in Paris circa 1150. By 1652, the doctorate of philosophy in Germany began to serve as teaching credentials. The first doctorate was conferred in the United States in 1861 by Yale University followed by Harvard University. Today, PhD scholars are situated in the 1+ percentile of global intellectual society
and work in all areas of expertise.
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The purpose of earning a doctorate is to contribute original knowledge in ways that advance society and the minds of future generations. Advancing society also requires advancing academe and those in authority at universities. This is not a quick or simple task.
Patience and persistence is required from scholars in the forefront of intellectual shifts.
Scholars of intellectual and cultural histories do not internalize resistance to their work.
Instead, they network with advanced thinkers in other fields globally
to deepen their research.
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Research Interests
Experiences of the Indigenous Body:
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Janna's focus of the mistreatment of the Indigenous body, violence against living bodies, and posthumous treatment of Indigenous dead is her original contribution to the field of history, and specifically the subfield of Oklahoma history. She is the first of her cohorts to focus on this topic including its relationship to the U.S. Army Museum in D.C. Janna asserts that her contribution to the field of local history demonstrates this topic can be applied to deepen any state, regional, or tribal history.
She began raising awareness on this topic after founding the Oklahoma Native American Network (ONAN) in the 1990s; prior to her work on the topic as an academic scholar from 2016 to present. Her work fills the historiographical gap of the mistreatment of Indigenous living and deceased, as a local history, which has inspired her cohorts and others to lean into this area of research.
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In the early 2000s, as founder of ONAN and as a media professional, Janna drilled down on the mistreatment of the Indigenous body by speaking before the Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission, under the Mayor Susan Savage administration. At the invitation of Monetta Trepp† Janna spoke before the commission specifically addressing her research on police brutality and racism against Native American people in the Tulsa area. The impact of her work resulted in an investigation by Amnesty International. Janna's ongoing research that focus on experiences of the body led to her doctoral dissertation.
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Janna’s central research interest as a PhD candidate continues to focus on violence against Indigenous peoples. Her passion for amplifying this history traces to decades of research, professional involvements, personal commitments, and generational epistemology. Her work magnifies Indigenous experiences and perspectives.
In keeping with Indigenous methodologies, Janna’s dissertation shares her personal connection to the research topic and a lifelong commitment to including the deceased in daily discourse and in scholarly narratives. Her Grandmother Tink emphasized the importance of protecting the deceased and including them in our lives. Janna carries this tradition forward as a scholar in her research and writings.
Abridged Bio
Janna "Doc" Rogers is an academically trained historian and a public historian who works within and outside of the university setting. As a professional historian Janna is founder of ONAN Cross-Cultural Forums. She is founder and benefactor of "Bennett Beautification," a rural cemetery rehabilitation project. She also she sits on the editorial board of the International Journal of Comparative Psychology (IJCP).
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In 2019, Janna’s Master's thesis, Decolonizing Cherokee History 1790-1830s: American Indian Holocaust, Genocidal Resistance, and Survival, interprets Cherokee assimilation and forced removal as ethnic cleansing within the lens of Genocide and Holocaust Studies. Her research is supported by the 10 Stages of Genocide and the definition of genocide according to the Geneva Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In addition, it aligns with the ratification or accession by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 260 A (III) on December 9, 1948 (entered into force on January 12, 1951 in accordance with article XIII).
Although the manuscript for her Master's thesis did received some resistance from junior academics she embraced their critique as inspiration. Her master’s research has found a place in the forefront of this original argument and is being utilized by academics and research organizations worldwide.
Janna's contribution to the historiography with her Master's thesis offers a specific Native nation as a paradigm for comparative Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Janna owns the copyright to her Master's thesis. She has embargoed the manuscript and is editing it for publication submission.
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