1996 Native American Symposium
First Annual Native American Symposium “Speaking Aloud/Allowed: Native American Voices Past, Present and Future”
Keynote Address
This year’s keynote dinner address is delivered by professor Alfonso Ortiz, a nationally known Native American activist, scholar, teacher, and writer. Professor Ortiz will address changing historical relationships between Native Americans and Euro-Americans. Professor Ortiz is the author of several influential books on Native American history and anthropology among them The Tewa World: Space, Time, Being, and Becoming in a Pueblo Society (University of Chicago Press) and North American Indian Anthropology (University of Oklahoma Press). He has also edited numerous books on these topics.
Round Table Discussion
Tribal members and historians discuss topics such as attacks on tribal religion, state taxing of smoke shops, tax revenues gathered from tribal gambling establishments, and proposed constitutional changes that would dramatically affect tribal financial operations and judicial proceedings. Participants:
* Ernest Hooser is a Choctaw story teller, photographer, and historian. After forty years as an administrator and a math teacher at Durant High School, he is now retired.
* Curtis Billy is a Choctaw story teller who, as a guest lecturer, broadens the perspective of humanities courses in public schools and community colleges in the Texoma area.
* Cecile Carter is a Caddo historian and cultural representative of the Caddo Indian Tribe of Oklahoma who has published several historical studies, including Caddo Indians: Where We Come From (University of Oklahoma Press, 1995). This recent book traces Caddo history according to archeologists, explorers, missionaries, and what she calls “searchers.”
* Bob Rabon practices law in Hugo, Oklahoma, where he is a member of the law firm of Rabon, Wolf and Rabon. He is a 1968 graduate of Oklahoma University of Law School. Actively engaged in the field of Indian Law, he and his frim have served as general counsel to the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations for more than twenty years.
* Cliff Jones …..
* Alfonso Ortiz will serve as the moderator for this panel.
Performance by the Chickasaw Nation Dance Troupe
According to the Chickasaw Nation’s brochure: “The Chickasaw Nation Dance Troupe was formed in 1992 to educate, preserve and restore the Chickasaw traditions. The troupe serves as a goodwill ambassador for the tribe. The purpose of the Chickasaw Nation Dance troupe is to preserve ceremonial and social Chickasaw songs and dances.” The Dance troupe also wants “reinforce our traditional beliefs and to continue this heritage through future generations.” The Chickasaw Nation Dance troupe “educates and encourages participation from our audiences. With these avenues, we can communicate our heritage by interrelation.”
Members of the Conference Planning Committee
Dr. Andrew Robson, Chair, English, Humanities, and Language (Committee Chair)
Ms. Neta Cox, Assistant Librarian
Mr. Brad Cushman, Chair, Art
Ms. Corie Delashaw, Social Sciences
Ms. Jane Gainey, Director of Counseling Services
Dr. Elbert Hill, English, Humanities, and Language
Ms. Marion Hill, Community Representative
Ms. Tamla Hill, Student Representative
Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, Psychology and Counseling
Mr. Chad Litton, Sociology
Ms. Camille Phelps, Multicultural Coordinator
Dr. Glenda Zumwalt, English, Humanities, and Language