New Directions in American Indian Research Conference
March 7-8, 2008
Conference Speaker Details
This conference showcases the scholarship of American Indian graduate students in all fields of study as well as scholarship by all graduate students on topics and issues of relevance to Native communities.
Keynote Speakers
Ada Deer (Menominee) is Director of the American Indian Studies program at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She earned degrees in social work at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia, was a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and has honorary doctorates from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the Ohio State University. She is a prominent advocate of American Indians and the first American Indian woman to chair the Menominee Tribe, to head the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, and to run for Congress. In 1993 she became the first woman appointed an assistant secretary for Indian affairs in the US department of Interior. As the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs until 1997, she helped set federal policy for more than 555 American Indian tribes nationwide. She has also chaired the Native American Rights Fund. In her words, “I want to stop human suffering and the loss of human potential. Our purpose is to strengthen our people, our families and our children, and to act in the face of glaring human needs.” Much of her life has been dedicated to improving the lives of American Indians, women, and others.
More information about Ada Deer
Craig Womack (Creek-Cherokee)is a leading figure in Native American literary studies and is currently an Associate Professor of English at Emory University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 1995 and has taught both there and at institutions such as the University of Lethbridge and the University of Nebraska. He is best known for Red on Red: Native American Literary Separatism, a book of literary criticism which argues that the dominant approach to academic study of Native American literature is incorrect.
Along with Robert Allen Warrior, Jace Weaver and Greg Sarris, Womack is seen as a second-generation Native American literary scholar, a group that have significantly altered the critical metholodogies used to approach Native American literature.
More information about Craig Womack
Robyn Hannigan (Narragansett) is a professor of Geochemistry and Judd Hill Chair of Environmental Science at the Arkansas State University. She earned a BS in Biology from the College of New Jersey, followed by master’s and doctoral degrees in Earth and Environmental Science from the University of Rochester, focusing on high temperature trace element chemistry. During post-doctoral fellowships at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and at Old Dominion University, she leveraged her expertise in high temperature chemistry into collaborative research projects with biologists and oceanographers. Her expertise in metals and small biomolecules during phase transition from aqueous to vapor is reflected in prolific research, grants, and several patents. Her work with students includes starting a company based on scientific discovery. She is recognized for her teaching and won the 2007 American Chemical Society Medal for encouraging disadvantaged students into careers in the chemical sciences. She has said, “If you find what you like, connect with people who will give you the opportunity to explore to the fullest. Never lose your enthusiasm for science.” Professor Hannigan is actively involved in student mentoring through SACNAS, AAAS, and the NSF.
More information about Robyn Hannigan
» New Directions Conference Home
» Graduate Student Recruitment Event, March 6-7, 2008
» Hotels and Chapel Hill local information
For more information about the New Directions Conference email native@unc.edu.