Indigenous Knowledges and Literatures: Zapotec Literary Magazines

Speakers: Dr. Angelica Waner (Post Doctoral Fellow, American Indian Studies)

Program Description: This presentation discusses what we can learn from Zapotec literary magazines published in Mexico and Oaxaca in the 20th century. Angelica will share about the personal connections to her research, her journey as a researcher, and her current book project, highlighting the relationship between Zapotec knowledge, language, and literature.

Experimental Art and Self-Determination in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)

Speakers: Dr. David Norman (Post Doctoral Fellow, American Indian Studies)

Program Description: This presentation will introduce the work of several Kalaallit Inuit artists whose careers began in the late 1970s, a period of heightened anticolonial activism in their homeland. Examining the connections between art and activism, my talk will discuss how Kalaallit artists have challenged colonial representations and asserted their right to self-definition.

Advancing Collaboration: The Native North American Artist-In-Residence Program at Illinois

Speakers: Dr. Charlotte Davidson & Dr. Jon Seydl (Native American House & Krannert Art Museum)

Program Description: This presentation will focus on the emergence of the MMIR (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives): Red Regalia Project by way of the Native North American Artist-in-Residence Program. The presenters will discuss the advantages of cross-campus collaborations, highlighting how this initiative addresses student needs holistically, what worked well, and potential areas for improvement.

Howasteya Oyuspapi: Capturing Their Good Voices

Speakers: Dr. Urla Marcus (Northern Cheyenne, Black Hills State University)

Program Description: Howasteya Oyuspapi: Capturing Their Good Voices is a film created with the goal of documenting and preserving elders’ wisdom, cultural knowledge, and experiences. Six elders were identified and interviewed. This film is dedicated to capturing this knowledge for current and future generations to preserve language, traditions, beliefs, and values.

Native American Relationships with Fungi

Speakers: Will Bartee (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Major: Integrative Biology, College of LAS)

Program Description: This presentation will cover the multifarious uses of fungi in Native American culture, Indigenous perspective on mycology, and the prospects fungi have for society and the Earth. Preserved samples of the fungi covered will be available to examine in-person.

A Place to Regrow Our Strength: The Native American House at Illinois

Speakers: NAH Staff (Student Success, Inclusion & Belonging, Division of Student Affairs)

Program Description: Many Native American Student Services Units (NASSUs) recognize cultural well-being as an important factor in nurturing academic identity development and will often design programs that foster connectedness, balance, and agency. NASSUs, thus, frequently operate as sites for Indigenous students to regrow their strength. This session highlights the key concepts, strategies, and lessons learned for aligning the Native American House Ambassador Program at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with Indigenous well-being frameworks.