Weaving Stories for Indigenous Presence and Futures

In this compelling talk, Navajo scholar Amanda Tachine, PhD, will draw on findings from her book, Native Presence and Sovereignty in College, which takes a personal look at 10 Navajo teenagers, following their experiences during their last year in high school and into their first year in college.

It is common to think of this life transition as a time for creating new connections to a campus community, but what if there are systemic mechanisms lurking in that community that hurt Native students’ chances of earning a degree? Tachine describes these mechanisms as systemic monsters and shows how campus environments can be sites of harm for Indigenous students due to factors that she terms monsters’ sense of belonging, namely assimilating, diminishing and harming the worldviews of those not rooted in white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, capitalism, racism and Indigenous erasure.

Her talk will address the nature of those monsters and details the Indigenous weapons that students use to defeat them. Rooted in love, life, sacredness and sovereignty, these weapons reawaken students’ presence and power. Community members can gather in the Kingsmen Room to view the livestream or can join via Zoom.

The event is free. Information on joining the session via Zoom will be sent to those who register.

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