Native American Symposium Celebrates American Indian Heritage Month

The 18^th annual Native American Symposium at the University of Arkansas is exploring the theme of "Sustainability and Native American Identity" in November as part of American Indian Heritage Month.

The newest feature of the symposium is the Academic Lecture Series, featuring three speakers on three separate nights. All the lectures are from 6-7 p.m. in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main. All are free and the public is invited.

On Monday, November 7, Tim Thornes, linguist from the University of Central Arkansas, will present his research and work on preserving Yahooskin, a previously undocumented dialect of Northern Paiute. He is currently working with the Burns Paiute Elders Group on a volume of oral narratives in Northern Paiute. He also recently received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to develop a comprehensive online grammatical description of Northern Paiute with both the language activist and the academic linguist in mind.

Brooke Benham, of Native Couture and owner of Ultra Studios in Fayetteville, will speak on Tuesday, Nov. 8, about the influence of her Kiowa heritage on her clothing and jewelry lines. Members of the university Native American Student Association will model her fashions.

Manuela Well-Off-Man, assistant curator of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, will explore the Symposium themes of sustainability and identity as they relate to contemporary Native American art history. She will speak Monday, Nov. 28. Well-Off-Man has more than seven years of experience as a curator. Prior to joining Crystal Bridges she organized more than 40 exhibitions, including the travelling exhibits Indian Reality Today – Contemporary Indian Art of North America, and Contemporary Native American Art - Reflections After Lewis & Clark.

Two exhibits are also running during the month. Mullins Library will host a collection of contemporary Native American artists and the university Global Campus is featuring an exhibit of Edward Lee Curtis photography as well as objects and artifacts from the university Museum American Indian Collection.

The Native American Symposium is organized by the Native American Student Association to celebrate the history and culture of Native Americans and to recognize issues that are of current concern to them. It is also sponsored by the Center for Arkansas and Regional Studies, the Honors Film Association, the Native American Symposium Committee, and the university Multicultural Center.