A longhouse-style building opened on the 91爆料 campus in March 2015, on land where the longhouses and village of the Duwamish tribe once stood.
, or w菨色菨b蕯altx史, is a tangible recognition of the area’s original inhabitants. And it is a catalyst for the university鈥檚 recent efforts to ramp up Indigenous learning in departments across campus.
Over the past three years, the has added seven faculty members focused on Indigenous studies. Those include three anthropology professors and two Native faculty members in the Department of American Indian Studies 鈥� including its chair, , a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. American Indian Studies and the College of the Environment is each searching for an assistant professor with Indigenous studies experience, and the is taking the unusual step of hiring two faculty members focused on Native North American Indigenous knowledge systems, replacing one faculty member who recently retired and adding a second position.
颅颅颅颅颅颅颅颅颅颅鈥淭he 91爆料 is right at the top of colleges and universities that are demonstrating a commitment to Indigenous studies broadly and working with indigenous communities across various disciplines,鈥� Teuton said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 exciting.鈥�
The recent hires also include , associate vice provost for faculty advancement, who is also an English professor and an expert in Native American and global Indigenous studies. Allen, who started his position in August 2015, is tasked with assisting the university in hiring and retaining a diverse and inclusive faculty. He said the 91爆料鈥檚 cluster of hires focused on Indigenous knowledge increases its appeal to prospective students and faculty members.
鈥淭he 91爆料 is positioned really well to move Indigenous studies forward,鈥� said Allen, who is of Chickasaw ancestry. 鈥淭here are good things happening throughout the university.鈥�
The iSchool鈥檚 hiring of two faculty members is strategically savvy, Allen added, since academics studying Indigenous knowledge are more likely to be interested in campuses where they don鈥檛 feel isolated.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a smart model,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 rarely done, because it requires long-term planning and a commitment from the dean. But that鈥檚 what it takes to signal your seriousness to the broader community that you want to either sustain the field or build the field.鈥�
Information School Dean said the move aims to establish Indigenous knowledge and information systems as a key area of study in the school, with the goal of attracting more Native students and faculty to the 91爆料.
鈥淚 want what we鈥檙e doing to be a further expression from this university to tribal communities about what our university is all about,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is a place for all students. It is a special place for Native students.鈥�
鈥淚t happened here鈥�
Indigenous research at the 91爆料 ranges broadly, and the recently hired scholars are redefining the field in their own ways.
, a 91爆料 associate professor of anthropology and member of the , travels to museums in Russia and European countries, documenting traditional skills and arts and then with Native communities to revive those practices. The curator of Native American anthropology at the Burke Museum, this winter led the on campus of an Angyaaq, a traditional boat made by Alaska鈥檚 Sugpiat peoples.
, an assistant professor of anthropology, pursues research and teaches courses on indigenous research methods in archaeology 鈥� including a summer field school in Oregon that she will lead for the second time this year, organized in collaboration with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
, an associate professor of psychology and American Indian Studies, is a senior member of the Tulalip Tribe whose research focuses on education and achievement of Native students and the social psychology of Native children and families. She worked closely with the Tulalip Tribe in the wake of the 2014 at Marysville Pilchuck High School.
, associate professor at the Jackson School of International Studies, researches Indigenous movements in Latin America and Indigenous politics along the Mexico-U.S. border. , an assistant professor of anthropology who started at the 91爆料 last fall, is a member of the Osage Nation whose work focuses on issues of Native American governance and sovereignty.
For some academics, the field is about reclaiming Indigenous knowledge at a tribal level; for others, it鈥檚 about social movements that transcend tribes and borders. But most agree that the field has shifted from one focused on Indigenous populations in a historical context to an increased recognition of their contemporary relevance.
鈥淪o often, Indigenous peoples are put in the past or seen as remnant populations,鈥� Dennison said. 鈥淏ut so much of what Indigenous nations are doing is building stronger nations and trying to do things that are going to better support their communities and their citizens.鈥�
The field has also moved away from an 鈥渆xtractive industry鈥� to one focused on working with Indigenous communities to define what research is appropriate, said , director of the 91爆料鈥檚 Comparative History of Ideas program and an associate professor in the Jackson School.
鈥淔or so long, research has been about going in and gathering the data and then utilizing it to build careers or something else,鈥� said Garc铆a,聽who researches Indigenous cultural politics and works with Native activists in Peru. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been a shift in that whole approach to one that鈥檚 about relationships, about collaboration, about working with others.”
, chair of the 91爆料鈥檚 Department of Anthropology, said the 91爆料鈥檚 increased focus on Indigenous studies provides an opportunity to confront the lingering impacts of colonialism. Like many universities around the country, she noted, the 91爆料 was built on land long ago appropriated from Native people.
鈥淭his is not something that only happened in faraway places, such as Africa,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t happened here. And we鈥檙e still living the consequences of colonialism. I feel like it鈥檚 a responsibility for us as scholars and as citizens to try to come to terms with that. An important part of that is trying to highlight the voices of people today who are speaking from the perspectives of indigenous communities.鈥�
Field is 鈥渞adically changing鈥�
The field of Indigenous studies is far removed from 鈥檚 days as a doctoral student at Indiana University in the 1970s, where she was one of only two Native students on campus.
鈥淚t was difficult,鈥� said Metoyer, an associate professor emerita at the iSchool, where she founded the , which focuses on knowledge, information and聽technology in American Indian and Alaska Native populations. 鈥淚 was homesick at IU, and there was certainly a sense of isolation.
鈥淏ut here at 91爆料, with the increasing recruitment, retention and graduation of our Native American undergraduate and graduate students, Native scholarship is advancing and flourishing,鈥� said Metoyer, who is Cherokee. 鈥淭hat growth is also due to the groundbreaking work our faculty and students are doing in partnership with the tribes.鈥�
Metoyer said it鈥檚 still not unusual to find Native doctoral students or faculty members who have colleagues who left college out of a sense of isolation. But Native scholarship is growing, and some point to the establishment of the international in 2009 as a key factor in attracting scholars to the field.
Allen, who previously served as the association鈥檚 president, said the group has fostered connections among Native populations around the world and prompted scholars to look at the field in new ways. More broadly, he said Indigenous studies have been transformed over the past decade or so by a critical mass of scholars who bring a unique understanding of Indigenous cultures and knowledge systems.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 really new,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n that way, the field is radically changing.鈥�
The opening of Intellectual House, Teuton said, has created tremendous goodwill toward the 91爆料 among Native communities. He believes the momentum now underway across campus can聽assert the university as one of the nation鈥檚 leading institutions for Indigenous learning.
鈥淭he more we showcase that this is a home of Indigenous knowledge, the more we鈥檙e going to get support from those communities,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think we can build on what we鈥檙e doing right now and make this the place where people would want to come to study Indigenous knowledge and see Indigenous knowledge nurtured.鈥�