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Indigenous Peoples: National Policy and International Human Rights (2005-07)

Guided by former Dean Rennard Strickland, the inquiry on indigenous peoples paid
respect to the original occupants of the territory of the United States and other lands in this hemisphere. As the world moved into a new millennium, the importance of Native cultures became increasingly clear. There are lessons to be learned from traditional peoples, and those lessons can only be taught by the peoples themselves. Our guests discussed and shared practices on several key topics including tribal leadership and development, the role of women, education, cultural preservation, medicine and community health. The Wayne Morse Center thanked the many UO and community
people who contributed at a Potlatch at the UO Many Nations Longhouse on May 2, 2007.

Wayne Morse Chair Professor

Wilma Mankiller, former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. Mankiller taught a class
and spoke on “Context is Everything: History and Culture in Contemporary Tribal Life.” (76K PDF)

W. Richard West, Jr., founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian, “Native America in the 21st Century: Out of the Mists and Beyond Myth.” (37K PDF)  

« (2005-06) Wayne Morse Chair Professor
Wilma Mankiller, former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. Mankiller taught a class and spoke on “Context is Everything: History and Culture in Contemporary Tribal Life.”


(2006-07) Wayne Morse Chair Professor »
W. Richard West, Jr., founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian

Resident Scholars 

Rennard Strickland, former Dean of the UO School of Law and author of over forty books. The Wayne Morse Center honored Strickland with a symposium in his honor: “From the Warrior Viewpoint: the Next Generation of Indian Law and Policy,” April 14, 2006. View agenda and speakers. (192K PDF)

Brian Klopotek, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies. “I guess your warrior look doesn’t work every time: Challenging Indian Masculinity in the Cinema.” (100K PDF)

Mary Wood, Professor of Law at the University of Oregon

Mary Wood, Professor of Law “Tribes as Trustees Again: The Emerging Tribal Role in the Global Conservation Movement.” Available as two papers in PDF format, co-authored by Wayne Morse Fellows Zach Welcker and Matt O’Brien:

 

 

Distinguished Speakers

Peterson Zah, Assistant to the President, Arizona State University, former President, Navajo Nation. “The Navajo Sovereignty in Education Act of 2005,” October 20, 2005.

Rebecca Tsosie, Professor of Law, Willard H. Pedrick Distinguished Research Scholar, Arizona State University. “Women in Tribal and Community Leadership.” November 10, 2005.

Noenoe Silva, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Hawaii.

Noenoe Silva, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Hawaii. “Ho'ohemokolonaio: Why Political Decolonization is Not Enough for Kanaha Maoli in Hawai'i,” on Monday, February 12, 2007. Download FLYER (PDF).

Suzan Shown Harjo, President and Executive Director of The Morning Star Institute. “Mascots, Museums and Indian Identity.” September 14, 2006.


Wayne Morse Center Events

Sovereignty and Native Education October 20, 2005
This symposium featured the Honorable Peterson Zah, assistant to the president of Arizona State University and former president of the Navajo Nation, who spoke on
“The Navajo Sovereignty in Education Act of 2005,” and
Brenda Child, an associate professor of history at the University of Minnesota, discussing “Boarding Schools as Metaphor.”

Context Is Everything: History and Culture in Contemporary Tribal Life
November 9, 2005. Read Wilma Mankiller's public address. (76K PDF)

Women in Tribal and Community Leadership. November 10, 2005

A symposium honoring Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee Nation; Sue Shaffer, Cow Creek Band
of Umpqua Indians; and Kathryn Harrison, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Rebecca Tsosie, professor of law, Willard H. Pedrick Distinguished Scholar and executive director of Arizona State University's Indian Legal Program, gave the keynote speech. Featured speaker was Beverley Jacobs, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada.

Marquee Massacres: Native Americans in 100 Years of Global Movie Graphics
January 27 - March 4, 2006 Exhibit of rare movie posters and other ephemera depicting indigenous peoples, curated by Resident Scholar Rennard Strickland and cosponsored by the Jacobs Gallery and City of Eugene.

Indigenous Nation-Building
March 13, 2006. Speakers at this seminar, organized by Resident Scholar Brian Klopotek, included Jennifer Nez Denetdale from New Mexico and Kehulani Kauanui from Hawaii.

From the Warrior Viewpoint: The Next Generation of Indian Law and Policy
April 14, 2006. Wayne Morse Center Resident Scholar Rennard Strickland and invited
speakers discussed the future of Indian law during this symposium.

Preserving Our Pasts, Telling Our Stories: Indians, Museums and the Management of History. September 14-15, 2006
A symposium presented by the Wayne Morse Center and the Museum of Natural and Cultural History exploring the development and future of Indian involvement in museum and cultural center management.


Native America in the 21st Century: Out of the Mists and Beyond Myth
October 3, 2006. Public address by W. Richard West, Jr., 2006-07 Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics. Download PDF of address (37K PDF)

Civil Liberties, Security, and the Balance of Power
October 30, 2006. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden spoke about issues currently facing the American government.

Fair Trade: Equity Within Reach
November 1 & 2, 2006. A symposium organized by the Wayne Morse Fellows examining fair trade and its impact on native peoples. View the symposium agenda

Indigenous Language and Cultural Preservation
Monday, February 12, 2007
Workshop exploring the issues of indigenous language and cultural preservation.
Presented by Wayne Morse Distinguished Speaker Noenoe Silva.

Ho'ohemokolonaio: Why Political Decolonization Is Not Enough for Kanaka Maoli in Hawai'i
Monday, February 12, 2007
Lecture by Wayne Morse Distinguished Speaker Noenoe Silva.

Tribes as Trustees Again: The Emerging Tribal Role in the Land Trust Movement
Friday, April 6, 2007
Symposium organized by Wayne Morse Resident Scholar Mary Wood to discuss her research on the role of tribes in the conservation movement.


Project Grants

Second Annual Tribal Water Advocacy Conference
October 21-22, 2005
Organized by the Center for Tribal Water Advocacy with support from the Wayne Morse Center.

Margaret Mead Traveling Film and Video Festival
October 27, and November 10 and 17, 2005
The UO Ethnic Studies Program and Department of Anthropology, with support from the Wayne Morse Center, showed six innovative films: Afghanistan Unveiled (Afghanistan, 2003), Madam Ti Zo (Mrs. Littlebones) (Haiti, 2004), How To Fix the World (U.S./Uzbekistan, 2004), Oscar (Argentina, 2004), A Panther in Africa (Tanzania, 2004), and A/K/A Mrs. George Gilbert (U.S., 2004).

Law, Progress, and the American Indian
October 27, 2005
The Humanities Center, with support from the Wayne Morse Center, hosted a free public lecture by Raymond Cross, a professor of law at the University of Montana.

Demystifying Native Americans
November 29, 2005
A panel featuring Wilma Mankiller, organized by Oregon's Future, a nonpartisan public affairs magazine, and Portland State University.

Imagining Indians: Indigenous North Americans in Film
February 10-12, 2006
A selection of films by and about Native Americans organized by the Eugene Weekly.

Intersections of Native American Culture, Politics, and Law
February 17, 2006
A conference organized by Shari Huhndorf, UO Ethnic Studies Program, and Stanford University doctoral candidate Beth Piatote.

Restoring the Abundant Trust: Tribal Litigation in Pacific Northwest Salmon Recovery
February 23, 2006

A lecture by Mary Wood, a UO professor of law and Morse Resident Scholar, who has done extensive research on the Columbia treaty tribes' role in current litigation over operations of the Columbia/Snake River hydro system.

Forced Journeys
February 25, 2006

This conference marked the 1942 signing of Executive Order 9066 and focused on Oregon Native American history including Rogue River Wars, Treaties, and the Oregon Trail of Tears, as well as Oregon Japanese American history including WWII Internment. Speakers included: George Katagiri, Tule Lake internee, Military Intelligence Service member, Oregon Dept. of Education educator and administrator, a founding member of the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center; Robert Kentta, authority on Western Oregon tribal histories, Siletz Tribal Cultural Programs leader, member of Siletz Tribal Council, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians; and David Gene Lewis, doctoral candidate in UO Department of Anthropology, director of the Southwest Oregon Research Project (SWORP), Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.

The Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival
March 7-11, 2006

Five days of juried films and videos on archaeological and indigenous topics.

Race and U.S. Political Development
May 11-12, 2006

The College of Arts and Sciences and the UO Political Science Department co-sponsored a national conference to critically interrogate the role of racial politics in U.S. political development. Top established and emerging scholars gathered in Eugene to present their work and discuss their thinking around these topics. Keynote speakers included Rogers Smith (professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania), Desmond King (professor of political science at Oxford University), Nikhil Singh (associate professor of history at the University of Washington), and Victoria Hattam (chair and associate professor of political science at the New School for Social Research).

Women's Voices of Struggle: Stories from the Heart of Indigenous Communities
Speaker series of women indigenous leaders organized by UO Center for Indigenous Cultural Survival.

Working for Native Justice
Speaker series at UO School of Law organized by the Public Interest/Public Service (PIPS) student organization.

Northwest Tribal Water Rights Conference
October 26-27, 2006
Official Conference Web Site

The third annual conference was sponsored by the Center for Tribal Water Advocacy. The UO School of Law Environment and Natural Resources Center and the Appropriate Dispute Resolution Center organized a special program focusing on “Beyond Conflict: Tribal Water Rights, Settlement Strategies and Environmental Justice.”

Human Rights in Latin America: Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua
November 2, 2006

Lottie Cunningham Wren discussed her work defending the rights of indigenous peoples in Nicaragua. This program included an exclusive showing of “Children of the Sun,” a film documenting the struggle of Awas Tingni and their victory at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This event is sponsored by the UO Department of Anthropology and E-LAW as part of the groups' Wayne Morse Center Project Grants.

Native Peoples of the Americas: Histories, Rights, and Self-Determination The UO

Photograph by David Bacon, whose new book, “Communities Without Borders”, is available here.

Department of Anthropology conducted a year-long speaker series and offered three courses at the UO.
The courses were: “Indigenous Peoples' Rights in South America” taught by Marcela Mendoza; “Oregon Indian History and the Termination of Federal Recognition” taught by David Lewis; and "Indigenous Mexican and Central American Immigrants in Oregon" taught by Lynn Stephen in conjunction with the Oregon Law Center.

The speaker series included lectures on indigenous rights in South America, Indianness in Latin America and the U.S., the termination experience of the Grand Ronde and Warm Springs tribes, migrations of indigenous peoples from Mexico and Guatemala to the U.S., indigenous gender roles and border crossings,
and indigenous immigrant farmworkers in Oregon.

The UO Center for Indigenous Cultural Survival

The UO Center for Indigenous Cultural Survival hosted speakers from North American
and the Pacific Rim to address issues of human rights, the impact of colonialism, roles
of indigenous women contested sovereignty and the emerging relationships between
indigenous and non-indigenous communities.

Discovery Research Project on Oregon Native American Tribal Languages

The UO Many Nations Longhouse and the Northwest Indian Language Institute
are organizing and transcribing recordings of speakers of several native languages,
including Klamath/Modoc, Northern Paiute, Umatilla Sahaptin, Coquille, Cayuse,
Chinuk and Nez Perce. The project includes indexing, transcribing, translating and
linguistically describing the oral history information. The project seeks to reunite
the various tribes with information gathered on the recordings.


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Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics
1221 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1221
Phone: (541) 346-3700, Fax: (541) 346-1564