April 9-14, 2012 Northeastern State University University Center, Tahlequah, OK
The theme for the 40th Annual Symposium on the American Indian, "The Journey of Sovereign Nations: Self-determination and Human Rights", will reflect back on the past four decades of development and change for American Indian tribes. From the 1970s emphasis on self-determination, revitalization of tribal governments, and Indian activism, to the more recent Cobell trust funds settlement and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, American Indians have been on the move as advocates for justice, human rights, and reparation. The journey continues with an eye on the well-being of future generations.
Hosted By: NSU Center for Tribal Studies
All events are FREE and open to the public
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Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee)Walter Echo-Hawk is an author and attorney. He has worked to protect the legal, political, property, cultural and human rights of Indian tribes and Native peoples. He will deliver the opening keynote address on “Implementing the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” He is the author of "In the Courts of the Conqueror: The 10 Worst Indian Law Cases Ever Decided, " which will be the topic of his Wednesday afternoon session. Echo-Hawk is a citizen of the Pawnee Nation.www.walterechohawk.comWednesday Morning Opening CeremonyKeynote address: Walter Echo-Hawk, Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous PeoplesTime: 9:30-11:30 am Location: Rozell Ballroom BHost: Native American Student Association
Book Discussion with Walter Echo-HawkBook Title: In the Courts of the Conqueror: The 10 Worst Indian Law Cases Ever Decided (Sovereignty & legal rights)Time: 2:30-3:30 pm Location: UC Redbud Room
Quinton Roman Nose (Cheyenne/Arapaho) Quinton Roman Nose served as the education director of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. He helped develop the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College on the campus of Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. He currently serves as president of the National Indian Education Association. Roman Nose will speak on the Indian Education Act and the involvement of the NIEA in the professional development of teachers and other educators, and as a voice for improvement of education delivery for Indian children and adults. He is a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nation. www.niea.org
Wednesday Afternoon General AssemblyKeynote address: Quinton Roman NoseContemporary Issues in Indian Education (Self-determination)Time: 1-2 pm Location: Rozell Ballroom B
Marcella Giles [Muscogee (Creek)] Marcella Giles has served as attorney general for the Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole nations. Now in private practice, she is a consultant on trust reform for the Intertribal Monitoring Association on Indian trust funds. She will deliver an address on Indian land rights and trust issues. Giles, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Oklahoma native, has held positions with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of the Interior, and has served as Attorney General for both the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the Seminole Nation. Her legal experience included cases involving individual Indian allottees in Federal and State courts and Individual Indian Money (IIM) Accountholders in Eastern Oklahoma for oil and gas issues. She is involved with cultural resources protection, economic development and environmental compliance, and Indian trust fund issues. www.itmatrustfunds.orgThursday Morning General AssemblyKeynote address: Marcella GilesCobell Payments, Probates and Family Consolidation of AllotmentsTime: 10:00-11:30 am Location: UC Rozell BRHost: Indian University Scholars SocietySponsored by Oklahoma Humanities Council
LeAnne Howe (Choctaw) LeAnne Howe is an author, playwright and scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she teaches American Indian Studies, literature, film studies, performance, and Indigenous theater. An award winning author and poet, she was selected as the John and Renee Grisham writer-in-residence at the University of Mississippi at Oxford for 2006-2007. She also wrote and narrated a PBS documentary, Indian Country Diaries: Spiral of Fire in 2006, and a co-wrote, with James Fortier the documentary Playing Pastime: American Indian Fast-Pitch Softball, and Survival. Her book Miko Kings: An American Indian Baseball Story (2007) examines the roots of American baseball. In 2010-2011 How received the Distinguished William J. Fulbright Scholarship and lived in Amman during the “Arab Spring” where she taught at the University of Jordan and researched a new novel. She recently won the Tulsa Library Trust’s American Indian Words Award. Howe is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw NationBlog: On the Prairie DiamondWebsite: University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignFriday General Assembly Closing SessionPresenter: LeAnne HoweComes Now Ballgame’s Tribalography: Indigenous Knowledge at the Roots of American BaseballTime: 2:30-3:20 pm Location: Rozell BR B
Sterlin Harjo [Muscogee (Creek)/Seminole]Harjo is an award-winning filmmaker. On April 10 he will host a seminar, "The Digital Native Voice," from 3-5 p.m. and the American Indian Film Series from 7-9 p.m. in the auditorium of the W. Roger Webb Educational Technology Center. The afternoon seminar will focus on contemporary approaches in American Indian filmmaking. Harjo belongs to the Creek and Seminole tribes and is a writer, producer, director, and documentarian for film. With roots in rural Hughes and Seminole counties, he remains immersed in the traditions and language of Creek and Seminole life. At age 23 he began writing and making films from a perspective inside the Native community. Eight years later, his roster includes two feature films, each of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival: Four Sheets to the Wind (2007) and Barking Water (2008). His work includes a growing number of documentary films and a short narrative. He was named one of Sundance Film Institute's first five Annenberg Film Fellows in 2004, and received the Creative Promise Award from Tribeca All Access in 2006. In 2010 he was invited to be a juror at Sundance for his unique perspective and range of experience. He is currently creating documentaries for This Land Press in Tulsa and working on other creative projects.www.thislandpress.comFilmmaker WorkshopPresenter: Sterlin HarjoTime: 3-5 pmLocation: Webb Auditorium
Tuesday, April 10Title: Sterlin Harjo SpeaksPresenter: Sterlin HarjoTime: 7-9 pm Location: Webb AuditoriumSponsored by Oklahoma Humanities Council
Jim Ruel (Bay Mills Band of Ojibwe)Comedian and Production Coordinator, Another Indian Rising/Intertribal Entertainmentwww.nativecomedian.com
Luncheon with Guest SpeakerPresenter: Jim Ruel, Indiginerd – A Presention on Indigenous NerdsHost: AISESTime: 11:30a – 1:00 pmTickets are $15 and required for luncheon. Please contact the Center for Tribal Studies for more information at 918.444.4350 or tribalstudies@nsuok.eduSponsored by Oklahoma EPSCoR
Vendor Booths AvailableInstitutional/Information Display Booth These booths are provided at no cost for institutions and organizations. You will be provided one 6' table (no cover), two chairs, and electrical outlets are available upon request in advance. Booth location is assigned in the order application form is recieved. Vendors must abide by all policies set forth at NSU. Please download and complete the form and return to the Center for Tribal Studies by mail or fax. (Download Institutional/Information booth form)Traditional Arts and Crafts Booth You will be provided one 6' table (no cover), two chairs, and electrical outlets are available upon request in advance. Booth location is assigned in the order application form is recieved. Vendors must abide by all policies set forth at NSU. Please download and complete the form and return to the Center for Tribal Studies by mail or fax.Cost: One table at $50 Two tables at $100 Electrical outlets $10 Cost is the same for one or all three days. (Download Arts and Crafts Booth form) Mailing Address: Center for Tribal Studies 600 North Grand Avenue Tahlequah, OK 74464Fax: 918.458.2073
Holiday Inn Express 701 Holiday Drive Tahlequah, OK 74464 (918) 456-7800
Comfort Inn 101 Reasor St. Tahlequah, OK 74464 (918) 431-0600
Best Western 3296 S Muskogee Ave Tahlequah, OK 74464-5406 (918) 458-1818
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