Sponsored by the CIC American Indian Studies Consortium, hosted by the Newberry Library’s D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History, and receiving additional support from the Illinois Humanities Council, this inaugural CIC National Conference is designed to examine the past and future of teaching and scholarship in American Indian studies. The conference will feature keynote addresses by noted teachers and scholars Jack Forbes (Powhatan-Renape, Delaware Lenape), Kathryn Shanley (Nakota, Assiniboine), and Janine Pease-Pretty On Top (Crow). The conference will open with a message from Joe Podlasek, director of the American Indian Center, and an honoring song by Chicago-based drum group Crickett Hill Singers. The keynote presentations will prompt conference attendees to look at the challenges, accomplishments, and future directions of American Indian studies. We expect a diverse audience and lively conversation in a collegial environment to consider topics from the “scholarly and academic” to more pragmatic programs that attempt to connect scholars with American Indian communities. Small group discussions following keynote presentations will provide opportunities to explore practical issues such as student recruitment and retention strategies for colleges and universities, tribal college and reservation-based community education programs, and how colleges and research universities can connect better with tribal communities.

Committee on Institutional Cooperation American Indian Studies Consortium. The CIC National Conference also highlights the McNickle Center’s new affiliation with the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). Drawing upon the combined resources of the eleven Big Ten Institutions, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Chicago, as well as the Newberry Library's’ D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History, faculty, students and administrators have created an innovative program for advancing scholarship in American Indian Studies. The Committee on Institutional Cooperation’s American Indian Studies Consortium provides fellowships for faculty and graduate students, organizes and hosts workshops and seminars, and has a public programming component.

This conference contributes to the mission of the American Indian Studies Consortium by helping advance scholarship while building bridges between Indian communities and the academy. It also furthers the mission of the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History, which, for nearly thirty years, has served as a “meeting ground” for those interested in scholarship and Indian affairs. It makes eminent sense, then, that the Newberry Library’s McNickle Center serve both as host of this conference, and headquarters for the CIC American Indian Studies Consortium.

For more information and registration materials on the conference see the CIC American Indian Studies Consortium web site.

You may also contact the D’Arcy McNickle Center directly by email or phone.

Conference Program:

Friday, 24 January 2003
10:00 a.m. - noon Registration

12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Newberry/McNickle Center Welcome Lunch Reception

2:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Opening: Joe Podlasek, Director, American Indian Center & Crickett Hill Drum Group
Introduction: Brian Hosmer
Keynote Address: Jack Forbes

4:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Shuttle Service to University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) from Newberry Library, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Reception Hosted by College of Liberal Arts and Sciences [UIC, Faculty Dining Room]

Saturday, 25 January
8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Graduate Student Breakfast

9:00 -9:50 a.m.
Keynote Address: Kathryn Shanley

10:00 -11:00 a.m.
Break-Out Sessions with CIC Faculty

11:30 - 12:30 p.m.
Lunch Reception at Newberry

1:00 - 1:50 p.m.
Keynote Address: Janine Pease-Pretty on Top

2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Break-Out Session

3:15 - 5:00
Closing Reception