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Dr. Shannon Speed Receives President’s Award from American Anthropological Association

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Dr. Shannon Speed, citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center and professor of Gender Studies and Anthropology, recently received the President’s Award from the American Anthropological Association (AAA) for her work bringing together scholarship and activism in advocating for Indigenous and Native American women. This award is given annually to encourage and reward an AAA member’s excellent contributions to the anthropological field.

To read more about Dr. Speed’s work and this award, check out the UCLA Newsroom article by clicking HERE.

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LA Social Science 2021 Summer Course Previews: Introduction to American Indian Studies with Professor Bordeaux

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As summer 2021 approaches, LA Social Science will be highlighting some of the summer courses being offered within the Division of Social Sciences at UCLA.

UCLA Summer Courses are open to BOTH UCLA Students and NON-UCLA Students. All Summer 2021 courses will be offered online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can enroll as long as you are 15 years of age or older by the first day of summer and you do NOT have to be enrolled in an academic institution in order to participate in UCLA Summer Sessions. For more information, click HERE.

The American Indian Studies Program at UCLA is offering “Introduction to American Indian Studies” course during Summer Session A and Summer Session C. This course is a survey of selected Native North American cultures from pre-Western contact to contemporary period, with particular emphasis on early cultural diversity and diverse patterns of political, linguistic, social, legal, and cultural change in postcontact period. For more information about the course, email sao@amindian.ucla.edu, and register/enroll HERE Today!

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UCLA Professor Rodriguez-Lonebear Interviewed by Vice News Tonight

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Dr. Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear, assistant professor of sociology and American Indian Studies at UCLA, was interviewed on missing and murdered Indigenous women by “Vice News Tonight.” This episode investigates how Indigenous women and girls go missing and are murdered at an alarming rate in the United States. Vice News visits tribal communities in Montana facing the crisis head-on.

To watch the interview, click HERE.

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UCLA Professor Discusses the Cultural Power of Native American Hip Hop

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Photo Credit: The Source

In his essay in The Source, Dr. Kyle T. Mays, UCLA Assistant Professor in the Department of African American Studies, American Indian Studies, and History, cites last month’s Native American Heritage Month as a time “to reflect on a history of genocide, and to consider what we collectively owe to the people upon whose land we all currently live.” Dr. Mays discusses the realities of Native Americans in the United States through the lens of Native American Hip Hop (NAHH) that he describes as “one of the best representations of Native sovereignty.”

To read the full essay, click HERE.

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The COVID-19 Crisis and the Importance of Data Sovereignty in Indigenous Communities

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grandriver/Getty Images

“Indigenous Peoples across the country continue to be disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus. As of May 18, 2020, the Navajo Nation has the highest Covid-19 case rates surpassing New York, the pandemic’s epicenter in the United States. As the virus spreads, Indigenous Peoples and nations in the United States face stark disparities in accessing resources to protect their communities—not the least of which relate to data.”

In this recent Items article, Dr. Randall Akee, UCLA Associate Professor of Public Policy and American Indian Studies, and Dr. Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear, UCLA Assistant Professor in Sociology and American Indian Studies, along with Dr. Stephanie Russo Carroll, Annita Lucchesi, and Dr. Jennifer Rai Richards come to the conclusion that Indigenous communities need more data that advance Indigenous rights and interests, and they need action to hold the federal government accountable to its treaty obligations and advance systemic change that dismantles racism.

To read the complete article titled, “Indigenous Data in the Covid-19 Pandemic: Straddling Erasure, Terrorism, and Sovereignty,” click HERE.

 

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Reflecting on the Study of Indigenous Languages at UCLA

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American Indian Studies at UCLA is an interdisciplinary IDP with a long history of working with and for tribal communities. When it was announced by UNESCO that it would celebrate this year of Indigenous Languages as important repositories of traditions, memory, and cultural heritage, we reflected on the work that has been done at UCLA. Our work with community members in relationship to languages emphasizes the importance of Indigenous knowledges and knowledge keepers. The faculty at UCLA thrive to implement ethical and meaningful flows of information from our campus to Indigenous communities. Language is just one way American Indian Studies excels at UCLA by working with communities.

The following photos provide a glimpse into the study of indigenous languages at UCLA. All photos are courtesy of Ken Scott Photo. To learn more, visit the UCLA American Indian Studies website HERE.

Renee White Eyes and Talia Gomez Quintana explore the use of technology, gaming, and language learning.
Photo Courtesy of Ken Scott Photo

Professor David Delgado Shorter discusses the connection between indigenous languages and perception.
Photo Courtesy of Ken Scott Photo

Professor Mishuana Goeman uses the Wiki for Indigenous Languages in a UCLA classroom.
Photo Courtesy of Ken Scott Photo

Clementine Bordeaux and Theodore Shulsky use the Wiki for Indigenous Languages, created by UCLA Professor David Delgado Shorter.
Photo Courtesy of Ken Scott Photo

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