CNAIS Faculty

Arapaho Tribe works with CNAIS Faculty & Linguist Dr. Andy Cowell

Anonymous — Tue, 16 May 2017 22:39:10 +0000

Arapaho Tribe works with CNAIS Faculty & Linguist Dr. Andy Cowell Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/16/2017 - 16:39

9-year-old Quiana Piper (center) and her 3rd grade class study using their iPads and the Arapaho language app that has been created to help teach the language and culture at the Arapaho School in Arapahoe, Wyo. on the Wind River reservation March 1, 2017.Photo by Joe Amon

A recent article in the Denver Post by Kevin Simpson, highlghted current efforts to revitalize the Arapaho language on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Only a couple dozen people speak Arapaho of the 10,000 plus tribal members. Since the majority of these speakers are in their 70's, the article highlights the ways the younger and older generations are working together to revitalize their language, including phone apps, websites, classroom immersion, etc. William C'Hair, Chairman of the Arapaho Language and Cultural Commission stresses how important the language is to the Arapaho culture as well.

"If you don’t understand the language it’s very difficult to practice our cultural ways, our values, our world views, our political conscience. All derives from the language.”
William C'Hair, Chairman of the Arapaho Language and Cultural Commision

Some of these efforts involve Dr. Andrew Cowell, CNAIS Faculty and Chair of CU Linguistics department, as well as thos of CU graduate student, Irina Wagner. Cowell has been working with the Arapaho tribe for seventeen years, and the inter-active website The Arapaho Language Project is one of the fruits of those efforts. Cowell and Wagner are currently working on an on-line dictionary that includes an English-Arapaho translator.

The tribe is also working with other new technologies to help integrate the language into tribal classrooms. For example, once a week C'Hair teaches Arapaho via teleconference to tribal members on a reservation in Oklahoma. Additionally the Arapaho school on the Wind River reservation used a tech company in Las Vegas to create an app called "Arapaho" that students can use on IPads and smartphones.

See the photo above. Read the full story with photos and video here: http://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/23/arapaho-language-cu-wind-river/

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Virtual Consultations Expand Indigenous Access to UN Special Rapporteur

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 21:02:38 +0000

Virtual Consultations Expand Indigenous Access to UN Special Rapporteur Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/14/2017 - 15:02

During a recent visit to the University of Colorado Law School, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples held the office’s first virtual consultation with indigenous peoples.

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, whose role as special rapporteur involves gathering information on the situation of indigenous peoples worldwide, spoke via webinar with members of Native American tribes and representatives from indigenous rights organizations to learn about the state of indigenous peoples in the United States as it relates to energy development and natural resource extraction.

Typically, the special rapporteur holds regional meetings with tribal representatives throughout the year to study the situation of indigenous peoples. However, the remoteness of many indigenous communities restricts some tribal members from being able to attend these meetings. By hosting a virtual consultation, Tauli-Corpuz was able to generate greater participation by tribal members and increase the scope of information gathered.

Some participants detailed the negative effects of extractive projects on tribal lands, including health impacts, environmental concerns, and the destruction of cultural property. Others provided best practices acquired from their own successful tribally-driven energy projects. Tauli-Corpiz will present her findings and identify observations and recommendations in a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in September.

During her time in Boulder, Tauli-Corpuz also met in person with leaders from the Southern Ute Tribe, the Ute Tribe, and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to discuss energy development on their reservation lands. All three tribes have taken measures to advance tribal ownership of local energy projects—extractive and renewable—with the result of producing benefits for their members.

Technology will continue to create space for new avenues of increasing indigenous participation at the U.N., and plays a key role in increasing engagement of international indigenous communities, said Carla Fredericks, associate clinical professor and director of the American Indian Law Clinic.

“The American Indian Law Clinic’s goal in harnessing technology to engage in a fresh way with the international indigenous community grows out of Colorado Law’s commitment to both indigenous peoples and cutting-edge technological innovation,” she said. “Colorado Law is uniquely situated to maximize the possibilities of technology to help with the persistent challenge of increasing indigenous peoples’ participation at the United Nations. This work is not only useful with respect to our current work with the special rapporteur, but also a meaningful complement to the current work of Dean Anaya with the U.N. General Assembly to promote indigenous participation through U.N. mechanisms.”

Prior to Tauli-Corpuz, Colorado Law Dean James Anaya served as U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from 2008-2014.

Boulder was one of several locations on the special rapporteur’s official visit to the United States. Tauli-Corpuz also met with tribal leaders, members, and representatives in Washington, D.C.; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Window Rock, Arizona; and Fort Yates, Fort Berthold, and Bismarck, North Dakota.

To read the Special Rapporteur’s End of Mission Statement summarizing Tauli-Corpuz’s findings, visit http://unsr.vtaulicorpuz.org/site/index.php/en/statements/177-usa-end-mission.

Pictured: Law students, faculty, and staff with U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (center)

CU's American Indian Law Clinic is a CNAIS Affiliated program and Carla Fredericks is a CNAIS Faculty Executive Board Member.

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CNAIS & CU Law Faculty Kristen Carpenter Appointed to UN Position

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 20:15:11 +0000

CNAIS & CU Law Faculty Kristen Carpenter Appointed to UN Position Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/28/2017 - 14:15

On March 24, 2017, at the conclusion of its 34th Session in Geneva, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed Kristen A. Carpenter as the North American member of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Carpenter serves as Council Tree Professor of Law and associate dean for research at the University of Colorado Law School.

The Expert Mechanism is charged with providing expertise to the Human Right Council and advising states in achieving the aims of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples. Adopted by the General Assembly in 2007, the Declaration recognizes indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination, equality, and non-discrimination, and calls on states to address indigenous peoples’ rights in realms ranging from natural resource development and land tenure to freedom of expression and personal safety from violence.

Carpenter will be one of seven regional members, joining human rights experts from Africa, Asia, the Arctic, Europe, South America, and the Pacific on the Expert Mechanism.

“I would like to acknowledge the generations of advocates who have advanced indigenous peoples’ concerns at the United Nations," said Carpenter. "It is because of their work that I now have the opportunity work with the other members of the Expert Mechanism and the Office of the High Commissioner toward realizing indigenous peoples’ rights. I hope especially to highlight the experiences and needs of traditional cultural practitioners, and to help to ensure a place for indigenous lifeways in the rapidly changing world around us.”

At Colorado Law, Carpenter teaches and writes in the areas of property, cultural property, federal Indian law, and indigenous peoples in international law. She has published several books and many articles on the rights of indigenous peoples, and has represented Indian tribes, individuals, and organizations in cases involving religious freedoms and child welfare.

"The expanded mandate of the Expert Mechanism provides an unprecedented opportunity to implement the aims of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” said Dean S. James Anaya, who previously served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. “We support Professor Carpenter’s work toward fostering the rights and well-being of indigenous peoples around the world, and foresee high levels of educational opportunities for Colorado Law students to study human rights in domestic and international settings.”

Carpenter is also a CNAIS Core Faculty member and recently presented as part of the Indigenous Storytelling and Law Symposium.

For more information:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Pages/EMRIPIndex.aspx

http://www.colorado.edu/law/academics/programs/indianlaw

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CNAIS Law Professors present at Indigenous Storytelling & Law Symposium

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 19:04:29 +0000

CNAIS Law Professors present at Indigenous Storytelling & Law Symposium Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/15/2017 - 13:04

American Indian Law Professors to Present at Indigenous Storytelling and Law Symposium

On March 17-18, Dean S. James Anaya and University of Colorado Law School professors will participate in an interdisciplinary symposium hosted by the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies exploring ways in which indigenous narratives are spoken, heard, and acted upon in legal settings.

Throughout the two-day event, experts in American Indian law across academia, Indian tribes, law firms, and activist groups will focus on these guiding questions:

What does it mean for law to solicit Native testimony?
Who tells such stories, with what authority, and with what protections and possible consequences?
How do traditions and stories get reshaped in legal contexts? How might storytelling challenge law?

The symposium will close with a special session, “Indian Country and the Trump Administration: Law, Policy, and Activism,” featuring Dean S. James Anaya and professors Kristen Carpenter, Rick Collins, Carla Fredericks, Sarah Krakoff, and Charles Wilkinson on Saturday, March 18, 3:45-5:30 p.m., in Wittemyer Courtroom.

They will be joined by Troy Eid and Jennifer Weddle, shareholders at Greenberg Traurig, LLP and co-chairs of the firm’s American Indian law practice group; Maymangwa Flying Earth, attorney advisor for the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Small Business Administration; and Theresa Halsey, producer and host of KGNU Community Radio’s Indian Voices.

Read the full article here

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CNAIS faculty Clint Carroll wins NSF Grant!

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 23:13:35 +0000

CNAIS faculty Clint Carroll wins NSF Grant! Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/01/2017 - 16:13

Cherokee elder Crosslin Smith discusses tribal land conservation with Clint Carroll. Photo by Myra Robertson. At the top of the page is an image of wild senna/gvhnage (Senna marilandica), one of the culturally significant plants Carroll is focused on. Photo by Clint Carroll.

CNAIS & Ethnic Studies Faculty, Clint Carroll has been awarded a prestigious early career award. The grant from the National Science Foundation will allow Carroll to continue his work with the Cherokee people, aimed toward advocating tribal environmental education and cultural and ecological resiliency. His research will help to preserve tribal tradition and knowledge for future generations through the Faculty Early Career Development Award, a five-year grant from the National Science Foundation.

“Essentially the proposal and the project is geared toward producing a new generation of tribal environmental leaders,” Carroll says. “That’s really the grand vision of it, and asking these questions that get at the issue of accessing plants and being able to operate as resource users in a checkerboarded landscape.”
“The health of our people is directly related to the health of our lands,” Carroll continues. “By redirecting resources to tribal land conversation and knowledge revitalization, that will have an effect on the health of our people.”

Carroll, assistant professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has been working with tribal elders to promote traditional knowledge and the conservation of tribal land since 2004. Read the full article in the CU Arts & Sciences Magazine.

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CNAIS Faculty Offers Rafting and Law Course

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 19:08:33 +0000

CNAIS Faculty Offers Rafting and Law Course Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/01/2017 - 12:08

CNAIS faculty and Raphael J. Moses Professor of Law Sarah Krakoff will be teaching a seminar focusing on the law and policy affecting the Colorado River. Krakoff's legal specialty concentrates on American Indian law, natural resources and public land law, and environmental justice. The course she offers will be meeting with several organizations aimed at advocating concerns about the river such as tribal interests, conservation protection, and endangered species.

An interactive and enticing course, The Law of the Colorado River, also takes law students on a two-week rafting experience for a significant portion of the seminar. The interdisciplinary seminar will showcase different instructors of several fields of study, such as: conservation biology, climate science, anthropology, geology, and hydrology.

“The reason I wanted to do this class and include rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon is because you can trace almost every natural resource, environmental and social justice issue that affects our region—from the Rocky Mountains to California—to issues that affect the river.” -Sarah Krakoff

Funding for this seminar requires that the students reach their goal of $40,000. Take a look at their crowdfunding project.

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CNAIS February Faculty Brown Bag with Andy Cowell

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 20:28:47 +0000

CNAIS February Faculty Brown Bag with Andy Cowell Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/08/2017 - 13:28

Come chat with Linguistics Chair and CNAIS faculty Dr. Andy Cowell for our February Faculty Brown Bag!

Date: Wed. Feb. 8

Time: 12pm - 1pm

Where: CNAIS - 1330 Grandview Ave.

Hear about his research and on-going work in Indigenous Languages:

I'm a specialist in Linguistic Anthropology. I obtained my PhD from UC-Berkeley in French in 1993. I then spent two years in Hawaii, where I got involved with Hawaiian and Tahitian languages. I started at CU in the Department of French and Italian in 1995 working on historical anthropology . More recently, my focus is on contemporary Native America and linguistic anthropology, with a continuing secondary interest in Polynesia. I work primarily with the Arapaho and Gros Ventre/White Clay people at the moment.”

In 2014 Andy published Arapaho Stories, Songs, and Prayers with co-authors William C'Hair and Alonzo Moss. Andy also manages CU's Arapaho Language Project.

No RSVP needed! Bring your lunch and we'll have some snacks to go with it. This event is open to the public.

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Charles Wilkinson featured in Athearn Lecture Series

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 18:22:34 +0000

Charles Wilkinson featured in Athearn Lecture Series Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 01/26/2017 - 11:22

CU Law and CNAIS Core faculty, Charles Wilkinson will be delivering the Department of History's annual Athearn Lecture this year.

"Writing a Tribal History: My Long and Rewarding Journey with the Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon."

DATE: Thurs. Jan. 26, 2017

TIME: 5 PM - a reception will follow the lecture

WHERE: Eaton Humanities 150

Dr. Charles Wilkinson

Professor Wilkinson's primary specialties are federal public land law and Indian Law. Most recently he's been in the news for his role in the Bear Ears Monument - see CNAIS story. His Law School bio page includes the following:

In addition to his many articles in law reviews, popular journals, and newspapers, his fourteen books include the standard law texts on public land law and on Indian law. He also served as managing editor of Felix S. Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law, the leading treatise on Indian law. The books he has written in recent years, such as 1992's The Eagle Bird, are aimed at a general audience, and they discuss society, history, and land in the American West. He won the Colorado Book Award for Messages From Frank's Landing, a profile of Billy Frank, Jr. of the Nisqually Tribe of western Washington. In his book, Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations, he poses what he calls "the most fundamental question of all: Can the Indian voice endure?" In his latest book The People Are Dancing Again: The History of the Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon, Professor Wilkinson writes about how the history of the Siletz Tribe is in many ways the history of many Indian tribes: a story of heartache, perseverance, survival, and revival. Prior to joining the faculty of Colorado Law School, Charles Wilkinson practiced law with private firms in Phoenix and San Francisco and then with the Native American Rights Fund

Dr. Athearn

The late Prof. Robert G. Athearn (1914–1983) was a professor of Western History at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 1947 until his retirement in 1982.As part of his legacy, Dr. Athearn endowed a lectureship in the Department of History at the University of Colorado at Boulder to be held on topics in Western history.

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CU's Arapaho Language Project featuring CNAIS faculty Andy Cowell

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 17:15:18 +0000

CU's Arapaho Language Project featuring CNAIS faculty Andy Cowell Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 01/11/2017 - 10:15

CNAIS Faculty Executive Board member Andrew Cowell and doctoral student Irina Wagner are part of an effort to save the language with the Arapaho Language Project. They fear Arapaho will fade away after the fluent elderly speakers are gone.

“The Arapaho language is highly endangered,” said Cowell, chair of the Linguistics Department. “There are only about 200 people who speak it. Of the fluent speakers, no one is younger than 60.”The Arapaho Language Project is a website created by students and faculty in the Department of Linguistics to support the revival of the Arapaho language and to serve as a resource for learners. The website is rich in content, containing language lessons, a dictionary, a pronunciation guide, bilingual curriculum materials and examples of the language being used in everyday life. Read the full CU Boulder Today article.

Northern Arapaho Chiefs

The language is interwoven into the fabric of the Colorado land and culture. While the Arapaho lived mainly on the plains of Colorado, they spent time hunting in the Rocky Mountain National Park area. Several places in the state get their names from Arapaho, such as Kawuneeche Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park, from Arapaho "koo'ohwuunii," meaning "coyote river," and the Never Summer Mountains, from Arapaho "niiciibiicei'i," meaning "they are never summery." CU Linguistics & NAIS Grad Student, Irina Wagner

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CNAIS & CU Law faculty Dr. Wilkinson instrumental in Bear Ears Monument process

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 18:03:35 +0000

CNAIS & CU Law faculty Dr. Wilkinson instrumental in Bear Ears Monument process Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/06/2017 - 11:03

CU Law & CNAIS Core Faculty Charles Wilkinson

On Wed., Dec. 28, 2016, President Barack Obama announced the designation of Bears Ears National Monument, a measure conceived in part by Professor Charles Wilkinson. The president’s designation will protect approximately 1.35 million acres of federal land surrounding the Bears Ears Buttes in southeastern Utah.

Five tribes—the Hopi, Navajo, Ute Mountain Ute, Uintah and Ouray Ute, and Zuni—formally organized the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition in July 2015. Since then, he has served on a pro bono basis as senior advisor to the tribes. Wilkinson was one of the main architects behind the coalition’s overall strategy, including the October 2015 proposal to Obama for the creation of Bears Ears National Monument. Read the full story here.

“This is the first national monument ever brought forth by tribes,” Wilkinson said. “Tribes have signed off, usually as minor signatories on other monument proposals, but this is the first time they’ve taken the lead. The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition is the most amazing grassroots coalition I’ve ever seen.”

Prehistoric Granary overlooks Cedar Mesa - photo by Josh Ewing

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