Symposium on the American Indian

50th Annual Symposium on the American Indian
Envisioning Indigenous Futurity
April 10-15, 2023

This year’s theme, “Envisioning Indigenous Futurity”, offers time to reflect on our past, evaluate the present, and look forward to the future with hope. This way of thinking regarding how our past influences the present, and subsequently, the present affects the future is not a new concept for Indigeno

us peoples. For time immemorial, we have looked to lessons from our past and guidance from our elders while considering the impact our decisions have on our future generations, often referred to as “the seven generations” principle. Through this theme, we seek to explore the concepts of futurity within a variety of disciplines, including history, cultural anthropology, leadership, Tribal sovereignty, research, sustainability, and community development, among others. We will celebrate fifty years of scholarship, broadening perspectives, community building, diversity, and culture since the annual symposium and gatherings of Native American knowledge-carriers began at NSU. Dr. Doug Kiel (Oneida Nation), Dr. Miranda Belarde-Lewis (Zuni Pueblo/Tlingit) and Dr. Laura Harjo (Mvskoke) will all serve as keynote speakers and the center of the 50th Annual Symposium on the American Indian. Dr. Doug Kiel, a Native American historian, focuses on research related to Indigenous populations in the [current] Great Lakes region, specifically these Nations’ efforts to rebuild in the last century. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History and the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities at Northwestern University, where he is also affiliated with the new Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR). Dr. Kiel will highlight the changes in Tribal governance since the 2020 landmark McGirt decision, including efforts to establish co-governance and recover Indigenous lands. Dr. Miranda Belarde-Lewis’ scholarship is centered on the discussion of how American Indian history and art is depicted in museums across the country. She serves as an assistant professor at the University of Washington and was named as the inaugural Jill and Jo McKinstry Endowed Faculty Fellow of Native North American Indigenous Knowledge. Dr. Belarde-Lewis will discuss the how and why behind the use of Tribal art forms, symbols and materials, placing American Indian peoples’ at the center of their own stories. Dr. Laura Harjo has done considerable research and authored publications in Indigenous views of space and place. She currently serves as Associate Professor and Interim Chair in the department of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. She has served and currently serves on a number of editorial and advisory boards for national journals and presses. Dr. Harjo will discuss her most recent book, published in 2019, “Spiral to the Stars: Mvskoke Tools of Futurity”, which discusses Indigenous futurity within the context of kinship, space, and time. SOWK 4751, Indian Symposium CRN 31253