Symposium on American Indian slated for April 8-13

Office of Communications & Marketing |Northeastern State University
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. -- Northeastern State University and its Center for Tribal Studies invite people through northeast Oklahoma and beyond to attend the 41st Annual Symposium on the American Indian.

The Pre-Symposium Film Series is April 8-9 and the full schedule runs April 10-13. The theme of the 41st symposium is "Technology Future, Technology Past: A Woven Link." The event is organized by NSU's Center for Tribal Studies and the American Indian Heritage Committee. In collaboration with the Cherokee Heritage Center, this year's event will highlight the 50th anniversary of the Cherokee National Historical Society.

All events are free and open to the public. Confirmed keynote speakers for the symposium include Charles "Chief" Boyd, Dr. Daniel Littlefield Jr., Dr. Daniel Wildcat, Bunky Echo-Hawk, Dr. Colleen Fitzgerald and Dr. Pamela Munro.

Boyd has been an architect with Thalden Boyd Emery Architects since 1978 and is a graduate of the University of Colorado-Boulder. He has extensive experience with American Indian projects beginning in 1963 with the Cherokee Heritage Center, and his keynote symposium address will observe its 50th anniversary. Chief has worked with 45 tribes across the U.S. and is a renowned Native American architect. Since 1964 he has been the official architect to the Cherokee National Historical Society and serves on its board. He is the architect of the ancient village addition to the Cherokee Heritage Center.

Littlefield is a history scholar and director of the Sequoyah National Research Center at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, which is home to the American Native Press Archives which Littlefield co-founded in 1983. The ANPA contains newspaper and periodical publications under more than 2,100 titles by American Indian nations, individuals and organizations. It also contains American Indian manuscripts, scholarly works and records and biographical information on about 4,500 Native American writers.

Wildcat is a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., who has published works on indigenous knowledge, technology, environment and education. He is also co-director of the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center, which he founded with colleagues from the Center for Hazardous Substance Research at Kansas State University. A Yuchi member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, Wildcat is the coauthor, with Vine Deloria, Jr., of Power and Place: Indian Education in America, and co-editor, with Steve Pavlik, of Destroying Dogma: Vine Deloria, Jr., and His Influence on American Society. Renowned for his commitment to environmental defense and cultural diversity, Wildcat is a recipient of the Heart Peace Award from The Future is Now, a Kansas City organization.

Echo-Hawk is a multifaceted creator of art whose work spans media, lifestyle and pop culture. A graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts, he is an artist, graphic designer, photographer, writer and a non-profit professional. He is also a traditional Pawnee/Yakama singer and dancer.

Munro is a distinguished professor of linguistics at the University of California-Los Angeles. She specializes in American Indian languages and has published prolifically on the subject. She helped create the dictionaries for the San Lucas Quiavin Zapotec, Chickasaw and Wolof.

Leading the annual Indigenous Language Documentation and Revitalization Seminar, co-sponsored by the Oklahoma Native Language Association, is Fitzgerald from the University of Texas-Arlington and Dr. Brad Montgomery-Anderson of the NSU College of Liberal Arts. Fitzgerald and Montgomery-Anderson will conduct the seminar from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday and 8 a.m. 5 p.m. on Friday in the UC Morgan Room. Participation is free and open to Native language practitioners, speakers, students, and others interested in language revitalization. The seminar is supported by a grant from the Oklahoma Humanities Council and is open to the public.

Montgomery-Anderson conducts the Oklahoma Workshop on Native American Languages (OWNAL) on Saturday from 8 a.m. 5 p.m. in the UC Morgan Room. The OWNAL workshop discusses descriptive studies of indigenous languages of North America. It is intended for professional linguists and linguistics scholars, but open to all. A registration fee is required. Contact Montgomery-Anderson at 918-444-3610 for information.

Other keynote presenters will be Becky Chandler and Karissa Pickett of Chickasaw Nation Communications and Creative Services, and the Cherokee Heritage Center represented by Tom Mooney, Mickel Yantz, and Tonya Hogner.Luncheon speakers will be Chris Samples of Redstone Construction and storyteller Robert Lewis of the Cherokee Nation.

April 12-13 is the highly popular NSU Powwow in the University Center Sen. Herb Rozell Ballroom. Hours are 6-10 p.m. Friday and 2-midnight Saturday. The Friday schedule includes Gourd Dancing at 6 p.m. and the Grand Entry at 8 p.m. Saturday opens with Gourd Dancing, the Powwow Dinner at 5 p.m. and the Grand Entry at 7 p.m. The powwow is part of the NSU Arts of Indigenous Cultures Series and funded in part by the Oklahoma Arts Council.

Powwow Master of Ceremonies will be Kelly Anquoe; Arena Director Jon Stanley; Head Singer Joel Deerinwater; Head Man Dancer Thorpe Sine; Head Lady Dancer Erica Pretty Eagle Moore; Head Gourd Dancer Adam Proctor; and Color Guard will be the Cherokee Nation Color Guard.

Other symposium sponsors include Muscogee Creek Nation Casino, the Chickasaw Nation, Cherokee Cultural Tourism, Oklahoma EPSCoR and the NSU Indigenous Scholar Development Center.?

For more information about the 41st Annual Symposium on the American Indian contact the Center for Tribal Studies at 918-444-4350.