Sigrid Bechmann earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Vienna in 1958.

She came to Canada in 1959 where she met and married chemist Dr. Paul Khera. They had three children.

From 1961 to 1968, Dr. Khera worked as a researcher for the National Museum of Canada. She then came to the United States in 1962-1963 for post-doctoral training at Yale University, New Haven, CT, and later was a Research Associate there.

Dr. Khera taught at:

• Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT

• Albertus Magnus College, New Haven, CT

• Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

• University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND

• University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK

During her academic career, Dr. Khera did field research from 1958 to 1980 and authored several publications. Dr. Khera, in co-authorship, contributed the chapter on the Yavapai tribe’s history and culture to the Handbook of North American Indians, vol 10, Southwest, published by the Smithsonian Institution, 1983. Earlier, Dr. Khera as editor had published in 1978 The Yavapai of Fort McDowell: An Outline of their History and Culture. Dr. Khera left a complete, unpublished manuscript on the Yavapai, Souls on the Land, December 1982.

Sigrid Khera, born in Vienna, Austria, died in Fairbanks, AK on July 28, 1984. Her remains are buried at the Fort McDowell cemetery in Arizona, at the request of the Yavapai.

Read more about Dr. Sigrid Khera on her memorial website.