NSU names Corntassel 2017 Sequoyah Fellow

Dr. Jeff Corntassel, associate professor and director of Indigenous Governance at the University of Victoria, will be the Northeastern State University College of Liberal Arts 2017 Sequoyah Fellow.

The Sequoyah Fellow program provides an opportunity for NSU and the College of Liberal Arts to recognize an outstanding scholar in the field of Native American Studies.

During their fellowship year, recipients are given the opportunity to share their expertise with the NSU community. Past Sequoyah Fellows include former Chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee Nation Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Neil Morton and University of Arkansas Dean of Law Stacy Leeds.

Corntassel holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Arizona. His research and teaching interests include sustainable self-determination and indigenous political mobilization. His research has been published in Alternatives," "Decolonization," "Human Rights Quarterly" and" Social Science Journal.

Corntassels first book, Forced Federalism: Contemporary Challenges to Indigenous Nationhood, examines how indigenous nations in the U.S. have mobilized politically as they encounter new threats to their governance from state policymakers. His second book, Everyday Acts of Resurgence: People, Places, Practices, is an edited volume in collaboration with Kanaka Maoli, professor in indigenous politics at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Corntassel was the first to represent the Cherokee Nation as a delegate to the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Peoples.

Corntassel is an internationally recognized scholar. His time in residence at NSU will provide a unique opportunity for our students to learn about issues that are important to the future of all indigenous people, said NSU Dean of Liberal Arts Dr. Phillip Bridgmon. The struggle, for example, of the Water Protectors at Standing Rock to preserve their sacred land and the recent lawsuit filed by the Cherokee Nation to get answers to the misappropriation of their tribal lands and natural resources are recurring issues of sovereignty that Dr. Corntassel can help us understand.

Plans are underway for a reception honoring Dr. Corntassel, in addition to a public lecture and special seminars with NSU students. Details will be announced in the upcoming weeks. For more information, please contact Dr. Anita Thompson, assistant dean for the College of Liberal Arts, at hylton@nsuok.edu or 918.444.4504.