YGSNA Faculty Coordinator Helps to Convene Academy of Arts and Sciences “Native Americans and Academia” Gathering

YGNSA Faculty Coordinator Ned Blackhawk (History and American Studies) recently joined three members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) as well as colleagues from across North America to convene the “Native Americans and Academia” gathering. Drawing upon the Academy’s dedicated resources for Academy members to bring leading scholars and cultural leaders together around areas of importance, this gathering of nearly twenty explored common themes and concerns related to Native Americans in academia. Bryan Brayboy (Arizona State), Doug Medin (Northwestern), Philip Deloria (University of Michigan), K. Tsianina Lomawaima (Arizona State), and Loren Ghiglione (Northwestern) joined Professor Blackhawk in coordinating and planning this gathering.
Participants from a broad range of disciplinary areas met to discuss pressing concerns within the field. From discussing ways of linking the various fields of Native American Studies, to increasing the visibility of scholarship by Native Americans, to showcasing the field’s overall importance and growing vibrancy to university leaders—many of whom are Academy members—discussions moved across interconnected areas of interests. All agreed about the need to also foster effective ways of mentoring and supporting Native American professional and graduate students.
Many not only shared aspects of their ongoing research, teaching, and service but also personal stories of navigating academia’s swift currents. Particular emphasis was placed on identifying best practices and common challenges that are found within both private and public institutions. Participants learned, in particular, about models of success emanating from many western campus communities, several of which have delegated tribal outreach offices as well as officers charged with mediating Indian student, tribal, and community concerns within their respective institutions as well as with neighboring tribal nations. (see, for example, https://americanindianaffairs.asu.edu) On the last day of the gathering, participants discussed the possibilities and potential structure of an edited journal, one that is anticipated to drawn upon not only the work of those gathered but also other areas of importance to the field.
As one of the leading as well as oldest independent policy research centers, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is composed of over 5,000 fellows and honorary members from academic, business, arts, and government sectors. This gathering was the first dedicated to Native America in this institution’s over two-hundred-year history.
Participants included:
Kari A. B. Chew
University of Arizona
Amy E. Den Ouden
Associate Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies Department
University of Massachusetts Boston
N. Bruce Duthu
Sam Occom Professor of Native American Studies
Dartmouth College
Stephanie Fryberg
Associate Professor of American Indian Studies and Psychology
University of Washington
Nanibaa’ Garrison
Assistant Professor, Seattle Children’s Research Institute
University of Washington
Wesley Leonard
University of California, Riverside
Shelly Lowe
Executive Director, Native American Program
Harvard University
Teresa L. McCarty
GF Kneller Chair in Education and Anthropology
University of California Los Angeles
Maggie McKinley
Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law
Harvard University Law School
Mark Trahant
Independent journalist; Charles R. Johnson Endowed Professor of Journalism
University of North Dakota
Kyle Whyte
Associate Professor; Timnick Chair in the Humanities, Department of Philosophy and Department of Community Sustainability
Michigan State University
Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel
Medicine Woman
Mohegan Tribe, Connecticut