12th Annual Indigenous and American Studies Storytellers Conference

Call For Papers

April 15 & 16, 2016

University at Buffalo

Visualizing Indigeneity: Reclamation Through Action

The 12th year of the Storyteller’s Conference focuses on the theme of visual sovereignty – the use of mass media to create new forms of Indigenous representation. This year we welcome activist and social worker Amanda Blackhorse (Dine’ of the Áshįįhí clan, born for the Yé’ii Dine’é Táchii’nii Clan). Blackhorse, founder of Arizona to Rally Against Native American Mascots and lead complainant in the successful case to cancel the federal trademark registrations of Washington’s NFL team, is an international speaker on the harmful effects of offensive Native mascots and colonization and historical trauma’s contribution to racism and oppression of Indigenous people.

The founders of our program, John Mohawk (Seneca) and Barry White (Seneca), amongst others, envisioned Native Studies as a framework to examine our varied histories, knowledges, and current realities, Indigenous and non-indigenous alike. This vision continues to center the Storytellers Conference as well as our department here at the University at Buffalo (SUNY). Maintaining this tradition, we see this year’s gathering as a celebratory renewal of our predecessors’ work and commitment to community, story, and scholarship.

We encourage abstract submissions from all academic disciplines. All scholars, activists, educators, and community members are invited to submit theoretical, practical, traditional, and non-traditional presentations that broadly address this theme.

Potential areas of interest include:

Addressing the colonial legacy, colonization, and decolonization

Issues concerning the representation of national identity, racism, whiteness, class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and ability

Indigenous traditional knowledge, sovereignty, nationalism, politics, citizenship, and border crossings

Contesting negative stereotypes, symbols, and signifiers

Land reclamation and use, ecological /environmental protection, and restoration

Using oral traditions, stories, culture, and history to promote activism

Community work and community development projects

Language recovery and revitalization

Art, media and technology as a tool of decolonization and activism

Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and wellness

Please submit a 250 word proposal by February 15, 2016 via email to ubamsconference@yahoo.com

Note: This is a graduate student-run conference. We are unable to provide travel or lodging funds as this is outside of our ability and resources. Thank you.

Morgan Morningstar – mpmornin@buffalo.edu

Stephen Demchak – sdemchak@buffalo.edu