CENTER FOR NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS RESEARCH

Thursday May 16th

8:30 am -  Breakfast and Registration

9:00 am - Welcome: Megan Bang 

Land Acknowledgment by the Native American and Indigenous Student Association 

Song

9:30-10:30 am - Opening Keynote

Raphael Wahwassuck, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, Tribal Council member & Zach Pahmahmie, Vice Chair, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation

10:30-12 pm -  Panel I: Taking Care of Our Lands 100 Years Forward 

Native American communities are at the forefront of environmental issues whether food sovereignty, forestry management, climate change adaptation or land, water and wildlife management practices.  Learn about programs, policies and practices that are affirming and restoring critical relationships now and looking towards the future.

Panelists:

• Michael Waasegiizhig Price, Traditional Ecological Knowledge Specialist, Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Commission
• Cameron Macias, Wildlife Technician, Elwha Dam 
• Laura Manthe, Co-Founder, Ohe-Láku Among the Cornstalks 

Moderator: Kim Suiseeya, Associate Professor, Political Science, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Chair, Environmental Policy and Culture, Northwestern University

12:00 pm - LUNCH - Foxway Catering, Native American owned 

1-1:30 pm - Project Highlight: Tribal Constitutions

Beth Redbird, Associate Professor, Sociology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, CNAIR Fellow, Northwestern University

1:30-2:30 pm - Elevating Tribal Knowledge Exchange: Honoring CNAIR Fellows/Affiliates and Tribal 

College Scholars 

Posters Session/Round Tables: research fellows, faculty, graduates and undergraduates

THURSDAY ELEVATING TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE SCHEDULE HERE

2:30 pm - Networking Break  - Coffee service and Trail Mix bar

3-4:30 pm -  Panel II: Preserving Heritage and Memory - 100 Years into the Future 

Cultural heritage professionals and memory workers bear a sacred responsibility to preserve, reclaim, and share Indigenous material culture and memory. This panel convenes museum and library/archive professionals to discuss the challenges they encounter, and the innovative strategies employed to safeguard material heritage. We will explore the evolving role of museums, libraries, and archives in Indigenous cultural heritage management, emphasizing the importance of indigenizing these institutions as platforms for generational equity and social justice. Panelists will share their experiences in community engagement and navigating new NAGPRA regulations, among other topics.

Panelists:

• Elspeth Geiger, Anthropology, Northwestern University, Curator Path Research Scientist, Field Museum
• Josh Honn, Northwestern University Libraries 
• Bill Quackenbush , THPO and Cultural Resources Division Manager, Ho-Chunk Nation 
• Kim Vigue, Executive Director, Mitchell Museum of the American Indian 

Moderator: Doug Kiel, Associate Professor, History, College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University  

6:00 pm - Attendees: Dinner on your own

Panelists and Keynote Presenters only: Dinner at La Fonda

Friday, May 17th

8:30 am - Breakfast and registration

9:00 am - Welcome, Jasmine Gurneau, Director, Native American & Indigenous Affairs, Office of 

Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Northwestern University 

Northwestern University’s Native American Strategic Plan 

9:30-11:00 am -  Panel III: Practicing Health & Wellbeing 

Eliminating chronic health inequities is a critical goal for Native nations, their communities, researchers, health professionals, and traditional medicine folks across the country as they navigate the entanglements of a settler society. Native communities are revitalizing traditional cultural practices, challenging western norms of health, and imagining community centered practices to cultivate to Indigenous health and well-being. 

Panelists:

• Lorenda Belone, Professor, College of Population Health, UNM 
• Dr. Lyle Ignace, CEO and Physician, Gerald and Lyle Ignace Indian Health Center, Milwaukee, WI 

• Sarina Tȟaté Otȟúŋwahé DiMaso, Recovery & Relapse Prevention Counselor, American Indian Health Services of Chicago

Moderator: Beatriz Reyes, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Global Health Studies, Northwestern University

11:00-12 pm - Elevating Tribal Knowledge Exchange: Honoring CNAIR Fellows/Affiliates and Tribal 

College Scholars 

Posters Session/Round Tables: research fellows, faculty, graduates and undergraduates

FRIDAY ELEVATING TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE SCHEDULE HERE

12 pm LUNCH - Foxway Catering - Native American owned

1-1:30pm -  Project Highlight: Indigenous STEAM

Megan Bang, Professor, Learning Sciences, School of Education and Social Policy, and Learning Sciences graduate students:  Miguel Angel Ovies-Bocanegra and Forrest Bruce 

1:30 pm -  Panel IV: Educational Self-Determination

Ensuring successful educational experiences and preparation of educators and educational leaders, requires intellectual and ethical leadership and support.  Many Tribal communities are increasingly taking up education self-determination and activating their sovereign potentials of their own educational systems. This panel will share examples of successes and imagine what the new developments are and should be for education. 

Panelists:

• Carrie Whitlow, Director, Education Department, Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes

• Eva Flying, President, Chief Dull Knife College, Northern Cheyenne 
• Aaron Golding, Associate Director, Multicultural Student Affairs, Northwestern University

Moderator: Megan Bang, Professor, Learning Sciences, School of Education and Social  Policy, Northwestern University

3:00 pm - Networking Break

3:30 pm -  Closing Keynote - Duncan McCue, Associate Professor, Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication 

4:30 pm -  Closing remarks