News & Events Archive
Professor Rebecca Kugel Named Interim Director
Dean Stephen Cullenberg has named Professor Rebecca Kugel as the Interim Director of the California Center for Native Nations at the University of California, Riverside. Since 1991, Professor Kugel has been a professor in the Department of History at UCR. She specializes in the History of Native Americans, and she is an expert on the history of Indian people of the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. She is internationally known for her research on Ojibway people, and in September 2007, the University of Nebraska Press released her newest book, Native Women's History in Eastern North America before 1900 with Professor Lucy Muphy. Kugel is an accomplished teacher and scholar, assisting many students in their graduate studies. Kugel replaces Clifford Trafzer as the Center's director. He has accepted the position as the Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian Affairs at UCR. Trafzer plans to work closely with Kugel and the Advisory Boards of the Center to continue the on-going planning, development, and research of the Center. Kugel also plans to continue the work of the Center and develop its relationship with the Indian tribes of the region and the many urban Indian people of Southern California.
Second Lela Arenas Madrigal Lecture
Second Lela Arenas-Madrigal Memorial Lecture to be held on Friday, January 4, 2008 at the Costo Library, from 12-1pm. Paul Apodaca will be the honorary guest speaker. In his lecture, “First Voices, Musical Traditions of Southern Californian Indians” Paul will be discussing Bird Singers among the many tribes in Southern California.
Paul Apodaca received his Master's Degree in American Indian Studies from UCLA in 1995, and his Ph.D. Degree in Folklore and Mythology also from UCLA in 1999. Presently, he is a Professor of American Studies at Chapman University and a consultant for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.
For more information on Paul Apodaca please go to: http://www.lapahie.com/Paul_ Apodaca.cfm
National Museum of the American Indian
Kevin Gover has been appointed as the new director of the National Museum of the American Indian, effective December 2, 2007. Kevin replaces Rick West, the Museum’s founding director, who is stepping down after 17 years of service. Currently, Kevin is a professor of law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in Tempe and co-executive director of the University’s American Indian Policy and Leadership Development Center. Kevin grew up in Oklahoma and is a member of the Pawnee tribe. He received his bachelor’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University and his law degree from the University of New Mexico. He was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Princeton University in 2001. In 1986, Kevin became a founding partner of the law firm Gover, Stetson & Williams in Albuquerque, N.M. While there, his primary fields of practice included federal Indian law; commercial transactions; natural resources, water, environmental, housing and administrative law; and legislative affairs. Kevin and his two partners represented more than 40 tribes on a variety of issues.
He served as the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC from 1997 to 2000. From 2001 to 2003, Kevin worked at the Washington law firm of Steptoe & Johnson where his practice areas included federal Indian law, commercial transactions, environmental and administrative law, and legislative affairs. In 2003 he left Washington for Arizona. Kevin’s extensive experience in Washington and with Indian communities, his deep knowledge of Indian history and culture, and his commitment to bringing the resources of NMAI to the broadest possible audience will enable him to provide strong and effective leadership to the Museum.
Mark G. Hirsch, Historian
National Museum of the American Indian
Cultural Resources Center
4220 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, MD 20746-2863
hirschm@si.edu
(301) 238-1373
"Maria Tallchief"
"Publishing In American Indian Studies"
First Rupert Costo Lecture Series of the year will be held on January 31, 2008 in HMSS 1500 at 6pm. Guest lecturer will be Fred Bohm, Director of Michigan State University Press. He will be discussing what it takes to publish in American Indian studies. Refreshments will be served. For questions please call Shannon Smith at (951)827-1973.
Indigenous Media and Aesthetics
The California Center for Native Nations, the Center for Ideas and Society, the Costo Chair in American Indian Studies, the English Department, and the Media and Cultural Studies Department are presenting two Native Films, by Native women filmmakers, Tracey Deer and Dorothy Christian, on February 1, 2008, in the Costo Library. The films will be shown consecutively beginning at 10am to 12pm, to be followed by a complementary lunch. Afterwards, there will be a round table discussion from 1pm to 3pm. All events are free and open to the public. If there are any questions please call Shannon Smith at (951)827-1973 or email at shannonm.smith@hotmail.com.
Tracey Deer, a Mohawk filmmaker from the Kahnawake community in Quebec, Canada, will be presenting her film, "Mohawk Girls," winner of the Alanis Obomsawin Best Documentary at the ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Festival in 2005.
Dorothy Christian, an Okanagan and Secwepemc filmmaker from the Splats’in community in British Columbia, Canada, will be presenting her film "a spiritual land claim," winner of the Best Experimental Award at the Dreamspeakers Film Festival in 2007.
Native American Studies Winter 2008 Courses
The Lela Arenas-Madrigal Memorial Lecture will present annual lectures that focus on Indian affairs. Paul Apodaca will be the second guest speaker for this series. This lecture will take place on January 4, 2008.
Desert Cahuilla elder and bird song teacher Robert Levi passed away August 29, 2007 at his home on theTorres-Martinez Reservation in Thermal, California. He was 89. Mr. Levi was a regular visitor to UCR and he often participated in the Medicine Ways Conference, teaching UCR students like Luke Madrigal and John Macarro several Bird Songs.
Noted Indian educator Elizabeth Lucille Ingersoll of Bloomington, California died on August 18, 2007 at the age of 68. She worked as an Indian Education Specialist in the Colton Unified School District. Her duties focused on bringing awareness of Indian culture to school staff members. For several years, Liz worked with the students of UCR and once served as Director of Native American Student Programs.
California Indian Conference, 2008
On October 2008 2-4, the California Center for Native Nations, Rupert Costo Chair of American Indian Affairs, Center for Ideas and Society, Sherman Indian School Museum, and College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of California, Riverside, will host the 23rd Annual California Indian Conference. The main components of the Conference will convene at the University of California's Palm Desert Graduate Center, off I-10 at the Cook Exit. "Good Medicine and Healthy Nations" will be the theme of the gathering where tribal people, students, and scholars will meet to exchange research, cultural ways, and current information. The Center will involve the students at Sherman Indian High School and other young people in the area.
Learning Landscapes Desert Excursion
On October 4-5, 2007, the California Center for Native Nations and the Native American Land Conservancy will host a gathering of Native American children primarily from the Soboba Indian Reservation of Riverside County at the Old Woman Mountains in the Mojave Desert. Funded by a generous grant from the Desert Legacy Fund of the Riverside Community Foundation, the California Center for Native Nations, and Native American Land Conservancy will provide students with authentic information about the flora, fauna, and cultural features of the Old Woman Mountain Preserve, a conservation area owned by the Native American Land Conservancy. Led by Cahuilla instructor Chelsea Tortes, the students will spend the evening learning about the night skies and traditional knowledge about the earth and heavens. Matthew Leivas, a Chemehuevi Indian Salt Song Singer and teacher will also share his vast knowledge with the children who will "come home" to the Old Woman, a former Native American village.
Hopi Long Distance Runner’s Lecture
Dr. Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert of the University of Illinois will present the Knox and Carlotta Mellon Lecture on November 19 at Zacatecas Café (2472 University Ave. Riverside, California). The event will last from 6 to 8 PM. His lecture is entitled "The Nearest White Man Was Three Miles Behind": Hopi Long Distance Runners at Sherman Institute. Gilbert’s talk will focus on his research at Sherman Indian Museum and Hopi long distance runners. Admission is Free.
Richard Hanks will talk on the Mission Indian Federation
First Lela Arenas Madrigal Lecture
On Nov. 8, 2007, Dr. Richard Hanks of the Smiley Library will present the First Lela Arenas Madrigal Lecture, "Southern California Indian Leadership, 1850-1950." Admission is Free. Event will take place at Zacatecas Cafe, 2472 University Avenue, Riverside, California, 6-8 PM. His talk will focus on Indian leaders during the 1850s and 1860s, as well as other Native leaders in the Mission Indian Federation. Hanks argues that Native American leaders of the 20th Century emerged out of the past, and contemporary Indian men and women owe a great deal to the legacy of past Indian leaders.
“ANCIENT AND MODERN, THE DANCE OF THE EARTH”
Rulan Tangen is the director of “Dancing Earth” and will be giving a Master Class on Monday, October 15, 2007 from 5 PM to 6:30 Pm in the Arts 100 building. This is a class for all dance levels. It will be a journey to explore essential elements of indigenous contemporary movement. Including any of the following: purposeful technique to serve functional ritual, imagery from nature and biological science of the outside world and personal reflection of inner world, consciousness of individual movement affecting the space around - each person is made for unique purpose, developing rhythm from instinctive response and building community through rhythm, breath as root dynamic, emanation of movement from center meaning torso as in spine and imbedded DNA (blood memory), circular force of movement relating to spherical understanding of universe of interrelated fields ("all my relations" including non human world), and other metaphors for motion to express historical, social, philosophical, psychological, metaphysic, scientific and spiritual realities. There will also be a Public Lecture in which Rulan will be speaking about the creation of dance from indigenous philosophical bases, including de-colonization of the body by re-defining who dances and when. This speaking event will be held on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at PE 102.
Rulan Tangen was named by Dance Magazine as “One of the Top 25 To Watch” in 2007. Her Unique vision for Indigenous dance training, choreography and performance has brought her international recognition in venues as varied as festivals, films, Native health gatherings, political performance conferences, art galleries, public schools, outdoor settings, and books. For more information about Rulan Tangen go to http://www.rulantangen.com.
These events are co-sponsored by the UCR Department of Dance, the California Center for Native Nations, the Costor Chair in American Indian Affairs and the Center for Ideals and Society.
California Indian Conference 2007 Oct. 26-27 UC Davis
Papers and presentations: reclaiming cultural sovereignty, indigenous California literature, NAGPRA, land claims, other topics in California history and political issues, language learning and teaching, J. P. Harrington's Linguistic and Ethnographic Fieldnotes, UC Davis Honoring Project, Youth Pathways (college applications process, finding financial aid; studying Native American Studies at UC Davis—and meeting the faculty).