Trixie Kinajil is trained in education, linguistics and anthropology and has worked as a school teacher and as an advocate for indigenous minorities in Malaysia. Her PhD thesis - "Ethnic labels and identity of the Penampang Kadazans in Sabah, Malaysian-Borneo" - details the identity (re)construction of the predominantly non-Muslim Kadazans against the more fixed ethnic categories (Muslim/non-Muslim; native/migrant) of the Malaysian government. She is currently working on turning her thesis into a book.