2023-2024 Events
Social Justice, Student Learning, and How Native American Story Takes Us beyond the Canon Webinar
Friday, February 23, 2024, 12:00-1:30 pm
This second program inspired by author and playwright Beth Piatote’s play Antikoni will consider how Native American story can inform social justice learning that equips students and institutions to move beyond land acknowledgments. Panelists will share their experiences with the study of multiple canons and how those narratives vitalize classrooms and the humanities as a whole.
Panelists:
Dr. Beth Piatote (Nez Perce enrolled Colville) is Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature and Director of the Arts Research Center at the University of California Berkeley.
Dr. Julie Burelle is Associate Professor of Performance Studies in the Department of Theatre + Dance at University of California San Diego.
Dr. Christian Crouch is Dean of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor of History and American and Indigenous Studies at Bard College.
Dr. Amy Pistone is Assistant Professor of Classical Civilizations at Gonzaga University.
Antíkoni: A Staged Reading
Saturday, January 20, 2024, 2:00 pm
"If I get caught, you must mobilize my army. For I have followers across this land, And they will amplify my cry for justice. For the dead to be mourned, that the People may live." ANTÍKONI (Act 3, Scene 4)
Antíkoni by Beth Piatote (Nez Perce enrolled Colville Confederated Tribes) asks audiences to consider what the living owe the ancestors and whether eternal tribal laws serve humanity more meaningfully than laws of the State.
Directed by Jeanette Harrison (Onondaga descent), this adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone illuminates ways the unbroken thread between past and present connects Native people across time and place.
Run Time: approx. 90 minutes followed by a short intermission and Q&A session
Seating is General Admission.
Previous Events
2022-2023 Events
Artwork by Emma Noyes (Sinixt), created in commemoration of 10 years of Native American Studies at Gonzaga
The Sinixt Confederacy: Rights, People, Stories
October 29 at 6:00 p.m.
Gonzaga University Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center
This event is free and open to the public.
People of the Sinixt Confederacy have lived on and stewarded Sinixt homelands since their first day. Currently, those homelands are located within the state of Washington and the province of British Columbia.
Join author Eileen Delehanty Pearkes and film maker Derrick LaMere (Rocky Boy/Sinixt/Little Shell/Entiat/Wenatchi) for our inaugural NTAS10 event!
We will screen LaMere's recently completed film Older than the Crown and celebrate the 20th anniversary edition of Pearkes's book Geography of Memory.
- At 6pm - Join author Eileen Delehanty Pearkes and Sinixt co-authors for readings from Geography of Memory followed by discussions of Sinixt rights and stories.
- After intermission (around 7:45pm) - We will screen film maker Derrick LaMere's (Rocky Boy/Sinixt/Little Shell/Entiat/Wenatchi) recently completed film Older than the Crown followed by a Q&A with the film maker.
This program is presented by Native American Studies and sponsored in part by the Robert K. and Ann J. Powers Chair of the Humanities.
Artwork by Emma Noyes (Sinixt), created in commemoration of 10 years of Native American Studies at Gonzaga
Coyote Made the Rivers: Indigenous Ecology and the Sacred Geography of Song
Presented by Chad S. Hamill/čnaq’ymi (Spokane Descendent)
November 2nd at 6:00 p.m.
Gonzaga University Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center
This event is free and open to the public.
For millennia, the waterways of the Columbia Plateau have shaped the lifeways of its people, providing sustenance and an ecological framework for social engagement and cohesion. Not long after the Lewis and Clark expedition made its way through the Plateau, that framework was methodically disassembled. The treaties of the mid 19th century severely limited the movement of Plateau tribes, leading to fixed and stagnant communities. The dams curtailed the natural movement of the rivers, obstructing salmon and poisoning the lifeblood of the People.
With a blend of music, visual imagery, storytelling, and research, this piece of holistic scholarship will utilize Coyote stories about the Columbia River and its tributaries as a springboard for examining the current state of river health. In addition, it will explore the ways in which Native nations in the region have exercised resilience and resistance in maintaining their relationship with our ancestral homelands. Emphasizing traditions not dissimilar from those in other Indigenous communities, the objective will be to illuminate perspectives that take on added urgency in the era of climate change.
Chad S. Hamill/čnaq’ymi’s scholarship is focused on song traditions of the Interior Northwest, including those carried by his Spokane ancestors. In addition to his book, Songs of Power and Prayer in the Columbia Plateau, he has produced numerous articles centered on Columbia Plateau songs and ceremony, exploring topics ranging from sovereignty to Indigenous ecological knowledge. Prior to his role as Vice President for Native American Initiatives at Northern Arizona University, Hamill served as Chair of the Department of Applied Indigenous Studies at NAU and as Chair of the Indigenous Music Section of the Society for Ethnomusicology. Currently, he is Executive Director of Indigenous Arts and Expression at California Institute of the Arts and is Vice President and Treasurer of the Spokane Language House, a 501c3 that contributes to the sustainability of the Spokane language.
This program is presented by Native American Studies and sponsored in part by the Robert K. and Ann J. Powers Chair of the Humanities.
Land Acknowledgement: A Contemporary Art Exhibition Featuring Seventeen Contemporary Native American Artists Curated by Charlene Teters
Opening Reception: November 4, 4:00-7:00 p.m.
Gallery Talk at 4:30 p.m.
Gonzaga University Urban Art Center (GUUAC) located downtown at 125 S. Stevens Street, 3rd Floor
Panel discussion with "Land Acknowledgement" artists Charlene Teters (Spokane), Tiffanie Irizarry (Ihanktonwan Dakota Tribe), and Joeseph Arnoux (Piikani/Sp’q’n’iʔ)
November 8th at 3:00 p.m.
Hemmingson Ballroom
Exhibit on display November 4 - December 3. Gallery hours at the GUUAC are Fridays 4:00-7:00 p.m. and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
This event is sponsored in part by Gonzaga's Native American Studies Program and the William L. Davis, S.J. Lecture Fund.
For more information, please contact the Gonzaga University Department of Art at susens@gonzaga.edu .
2019-2020
Paulette Jordan, Documentary From the Campaign Trail Running For Governor of Idaho
Oct 29, 2019
Wolff Auditorium, Gonzaga University
Paulette Jordan will showed her documentary film from the campaign trail when she was running for governor of Idaho. She followed that up with a short talk and a Q&A.
About Paulette Jordan
Paulette Jordan, Idaho’s 2018 democratic gubernatorial candidate and first woman nominated to the position by a major party, is a proud member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. She is recognized in Idaho and across the nation as an inspirational and audacious leader. A descendant of Indigenous Chiefs, Paulette was raised to fight for the needs of her community and to protect the earth’s priceless natural resources. Growing up on a north Idaho farm and learning from her elders about land cultivation and preservation, she developed a strong connection to Idaho’s land and the people who share it. In 2008, after graduating from the University of Washington, Paulette returned home to Idaho and became the youngest person elected to the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council.
History of the Spokane Tribe of Indians
October 14, 2019
Cataldo Hall, Gonzaga University
We walked through 250 years of Plateau history in the footsteps of Spokane tribal people as they encounter traders, missionaries, soldiers and others arriving from far off lands.
Hosted by:
Warren Seyler
Former Chairman of Spokane Tribe of Indians
Margo Hill
Spokane Tribe of Indians
Professor at Eastern Washington University
Contributing Speakers:
Jack Nisbet: Teacher, Naturalist, Author
Donald Cutler: Historian and Author
Mahlon Kriebel: Historian and Author
For more information, please contact:
Warren Seyler
wseyler@spokanetribe.com
(509) 626-4422
Find me on Facebook: Warren Seylerhistrory
2017-2018
#InsteadofRedFace
Instead of Red Face: An Evening with DeLanna Studi
Join award-winning actor and activist DeLanna Studi (Cherokee) for short performance pieces and a discussion of the importance of Native voices directly represented in all levels of storytelling. #Insteadofredface illustrates the Native and Indigenous artists who are writing/performing Native/Indigenous stories.
DeLanna Studi wrote and directed And So We Walked: An Artist’s Journey along the Trail of Tears, which opens March 31, 2018 at Portland Center Stage at the Armory. Studi has performed in numerous television, film, and theatre roles, is a member of the Artists Ensemble for Native Voices at the Autry, and mentors artists of all ages.
February 26, 2017
Wolff Auditorium, Gonzaga University
This event is free and open to the public.
Instead of Red Face: An Evening with Mary Kathryn Nagle
Join playwright/activist/attorney Mary Kathryn Nagle (Cherokee) for short performance pieces and a discussion of the importance of Native voices directly represented in all levels of storytelling. #Insteadofredface illustrates the Native and Indigenous artists who are writing/performing Native/Indigenous stories.
Mary Kathryn Nagle has written numerous plays and has two plays in production in 2018, Sovereignty at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. (on now), and Manahatta at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (opening April 1). She also recently received a United States Artist Award, a prize given in recognition of an artist's contribution to their discipline.
March 19, 2018
Wolff Auditorium, Gonzaga University
This event is free and open to the public.
#InsteadofRedFace is sponsored by: Gonzaga's Native American Studies Program, the Departments of History and Women's and Gender Studies, DICE (Diversity, Inclusion, Cultural Engagement), the Center for American Indian Studies, the Faculty Senate Speakers Series, and the College of Arts and Sciences Deans Office.
“They Are Always at the Front: Native American Soldiers in the Great War,” Ryan Booth (Upper Skagit)
2016-2017
“Native American Studies and Intercultural Communication,” Professor Pavel Shlossberg, Communication Leadership
“Native American Studies and History,” Professor Ann Ostenfdorf, Department of History
“Matika Wilbur: 25 Lessons from Indian Roads”
"Weaving Native American Plateau Art into the Fabric of Spokane: A Town Hall Event,” in collaboration with Artist Trust
“Native American Studies and Biology,” Professor Brook Swanson, Department of Biology
“Native American Studies and Political Science,” Professor Michael Treleaven, Department of Political Science
“Native American Studies and Religious Studies,” Professor Emily Clark, Department of Religious Studies
“Native American Studies and Contemporary Literature,” Professor Jessica Maucione, Department of English
2015-2016
Film Screening, Cherokee Word for Water, featuring a discussion with actor Kimberly Norris Guerrero (Colville/Salish-Kootenai/Cherokee)
“Enacting Social Justice for the Columbia River,” Upper Columbia United Tribes
“From Assimilation to Cultural Reclamation: Native American Education, 1880-2015,” presented to the Gonzaga Guild, Professor Laurie Arnold (Colville), Native American Studies
“Material Culture and Crafting Identity: Indigenous Arts in the U.S. and Mexico,” Professor Laurie Arnold (Colville) and Professor Pavel Shlossberg, Communication Leadership
“Nike N7 and Native Athletes in the 21st Century,” Sam McCracken (Assiniboine/Sioux)
“Finding Mourning Dove’s Authentic Voice in Letters and Manuscripts,” Professor Laurie Arnold (Colville), Native American Studies
“Living in History: For Indian Country the 2016 Election Will Be One for the Books,” Mark Trahant (Shoshone-Bannock)
2014-2015
Todd Harder (Creek), “Native American Youth Health Through Sports”
Cornel Pewewardy (Comanche), “Why Society Can’t Ignore Indian Mascots”
“According to Coyote” Salish School of Spokane event
Ric Gendron: Rattlebone (Jundt Museum)
Mythbusting! with Native American Studies Professor Laurie Arnold (Colville), Native American Studies
Michael Holloman (Colville), “Clyfford Still and the Nespelem Art Colony”
2013-2014
Sandy Osawa (Makah), film screening of her documentary “Maria Tallchief”
Rosalyn LaPier (Blackfeet), “Conceptualizing ‘Wilderness:’ Native American Land Customs vs. Federal Ideals of ‘Wild”
Ethics and the Columbia River Treaty Conference