Kristy Martinez is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Musicology. She received her Master’s in American Indian Studies at UCLA, as well as her Bachelor’s in History with a minor in Comparative Religions. She is Chicanx and a Yaqui (Yoeme) direct descendant from Sonora, Mexico, and has grown up in the San Gabriel Valley. She is heavily involved in the punk scene as a scholar and performer. An alto vocalist, she is currently in a punk band and also enjoys singing R&B.

Her M.A. work included documenting the contributions of Indigenous rock and punk rock music movements, working with punk, ska, metal, and hardcore bands in the Southwest, as well as looking to Mexico and other Indigenous communities. Martinez’s current primary research is on the Northern Arizona punk scene starting in Flagstaff in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and those that have since followed. She is using D.I.Y. interactive, archival methods by creating a social media network to document those involved in the scene, past and present, with flyers, photos, videos, and interviews. Her work aims to be accountable to tribal and Indigenous communities, as well as to encourage and actively seek their input. An active scholar, she has presented her work at various punk conferences including UC Riverside, and UCLA, presented guest lectures for American Indian Studies and Chicanx Studies, and also recently spoke at Amplifying Music in Los Angeles, a project sponsored in part by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.