TAHELQUAH, Okla. Dr. Jeff Corntassel, associate professor
and director of Indigenous Governance at the University of Victoria,
will be the Northeastern State University College of Liberal Arts
2017 Sequoyah Fellow.
The Sequoyah Fellow program provides an opportunity for NSU
and the College of Liberal Arts to recognize an outstanding scholar
in the field of Native American studies.
During their fellowship year, recipients are given the opportunity
to share their expertise with the NSU community. Past Sequoyah Fellows
include former Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee Nation
Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Neil Morton and University of Arkansas
Dean of Law Stacy Leeds.
Corntassel, a CN citizen, holds a doctorate in political science
from the University of Arizona. His research and teaching interests
include sustainable self-determination and indigenous political
mobilization. His research has been published in "Alternatives,"
"Decolonization," "Human Rights Quarterly" and "Social Science Journal."
Corntassel's first book, "Forced Federalism: Contemporary Challenges
to Indigenous Nationhood," examines how indigenous nations in the
United States have mobilized politically as they encounter threats
to their governance from state policymakers.
His second book, "Everyday Acts of Resurgence: People, Places,
Practices," is an edited volume in collaboration with Kanaka Maoli,
professor in indigenous politics at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa.
Corntassel was the first to represent the CN as a delegate to
the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Peoples.
"Corntassel is an internationally recognized scholar. His time
in residence at NSU will provide a unique opportunity for our students
to learn about issues that are important to the future of all indigenous
people," NSU Dean of Liberal Arts Dr. Phillip Bridgmon said. "The
struggle, for example, of the Water Protectors at Standing Rock
to preserve their sacred land and the recent lawsuit filed by the
Cherokee Nation to get answers to the misappropriation of their
tribal lands and natural resources are recurring issues of sovereignty
that Dr. Corntassel can help us understand."
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