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The
48th Annual Symposium on the American Indian
Visionaries
of Indian Country
April
13-18, 2020
Northeastern
State University
University
Center, Tahlequah, OK
ABOUT
THE THEME
The
48th Annual Symposium on the American Indian will be held on April 13-18, 2020,
centered on the theme, “Visionaries of Indian Country”. American Indians
carry with them the knowledge, traditions, and language of their ancestors as
they serve as leaders within their family, Tribe, and community. These
visionaries are not just focused on the here and now, but are cognizant of how
decisions made today will impact future generations. This concept of the
7th generation is a way of life for many Indigenous people, a method of
integrating the past, present and future. The visionaries of Indian
Country are vital to the preservation and sustainability of our languages,
community, environment and sovereignty.
Keynote speakers
include Mark Trahant (Shoshone-Bannock), editor of Indian Country Today
and Board Chair for Vision Maker Media; Adrienne Keene (Cherokee), Assistant
Professor of American and Ethnic Studies at Brown University; and
B. Kainoa Embernate, Founder of Hawaiian Language Worldwide and Kumu of Hālau ʻŌlelo.
Hosted
By:
NSU Center for Tribal
Studies
All
events are FREE and open to the public
CONFIRMED
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Mark
Trahant (Shoshone-Bannock)
– Sponsored by Oklahoma Humanities
Trahant
serves as editor of Indian Country Today, he is a member of Idaho’s
Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, and a former president of the Native American
Journalists Association. Trahant has also served as a professor at the
University of North Dakota, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Idaho
and the University of Colorado. He does a weekly audio commentary for
Native Voice One. He is also chair of the board of directors for Vision
Maker Media, an organization that works with Native producers to develop,
produce and distribute educational telecommunications programs for all media
including public television and public radio. In 2018, Trahant was
honored with the 2018 Native American Journalists Association Richard LaCourse
Award.
As
an experienced editor and journalist, Mr. Trahant will deliver a keynote
presentation focused on how the Native voice in literature and media will
affect our future generations. Reflecting on the experiences in his career, he
will address the strong need to enhance
tribal
sovereignty for the sustainability of our community and address the role of
journalism in that process. Through this presentation, Mr. Trahant will enhance
the voice of all audience members for the betterment of their communities.
Adrienne Keene (Cherokee)
–
Sponsored
by Oklahoma Humanities Council
Dr.
Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation) is a Native scholar, writer, and blogger and
is passionate about reframing how the world sees contemporary Native cultures.
She is an Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies at Brown
University. Her research areas include college access, transition, and
persistence for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Students,
including the role of pre-college access programs in student success. She is
the creator and author of Native Appropriations, a blog discussing cultural
appropriation and stereotypes of Native peoples in fashion, film, music, and
other forms of pop culture. Through her writing, Keene discusses the ways
Indigenous peoples are represented. She is very interested in the way Native
peoples are using social and new media to challenge misrepresentations and
present counter-narratives that showcase true Native cultures and
identities. Her blog work has been nominated for the Women’s Media Center
Social Media Award (2011), as well as featured in many mainstream media
outlets.
Dr.
Adrienne Keene will discuss her efforts to address cultural appropriation in
mainstream society and media. Through her works in literature and blogging, she
is able to reference her experiences in dismantling stereotypes and help her
readers understand the importance of accurate, respectful and appropriate
representation of Indigenous peoples in mainstream media. As a positive
representation herself, Dr. Adrienne Keene will empower audience members to
stimulate change and appropriate image.
B. Kainoa Embernate
(ʻŌiwi Hawaiʻi) – Sponsored by Oklahoma
Humanities Council
Kainoa Embernate is an ʻŌiwi Hawaiʻi born in Hilo and raised along the Hāmākua coast
of Hawaiʻi Island. He acknowledges his
kūpuna whose genealogical ties are in Kohala, Portugal, Mexico,
Japan and the Philippines. Raised in a multi-ethnic pastoralist/agriculturalist
community, Kainoa did not ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi as a first language. He
received a Bachelor of Arts in Hawaiian Studies, a Kahuawaiola Indigenous
Teacher Education certification, and a Master of Arts in Indigenous Language
and Culture Education from Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani College
of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. He taught for the
ʻAha Pūnana Leo non-profit organization, Ke Kula ʻo
Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu Hawaiian medium laboratory school,
and lectured at his alma mater. Kainoa is currently a Ph.D. student in
Instructional Design for Online Learning at Capella University. As an
independent scholar-practitioner, he aims to disrupt negative ideologies that
endanger ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. As a current guest resident on
Lenapehoking territory of the Indigenous Lenape people, Kainoa dedicates his
time and energy developing Indigenous Hawaiian scholarly work and practical
applications. On September 12, 2016, Kainoa founded Hālau
ʻŌlelo, an online learning school for the Hawaiian Language. This
school serves as a platform for modern and mobile use and revitalization of the
language, while connecting users to the past, present, and future wherever they
go.
Mr. Embernate will focus on the
revitalization of Native languages, specifically the Hawaiian Language.
Hawaiian Language efforts are often referred to in discussing other
successes of language revitalization. He will discuss the essence of moving
forward through modern learning styles, such as online learning platforms,
while remembering to honor the roots of the language through everyday use. Mr.
Embernate will allow audience members to model modern revitalization of their
Native languages to seek resources that can allow them to sustain existing
efforts in amongst their tribes.