We are pleased to invite you to attend Technologies of Sovereignty in Indigenous North America, an ISERP-sponsored graduate history conference. It will take place from 10am to 6:30pm on February 28th, 2025 in the Lehman Centre for American History, Columbia University, 420 W 118th St., room 406.
The conference seeks to explore the meanings, significance, and iterations of sovereignty in North America. ‘Technology’ here speaks to the innovative and creative nature of Indigenous self-determination, as well as sovereignty’s historical work as a tool – a language, practice, and posture of resistance. What did and does Indigenous sovereignty look like under conditions of constraint? Where does the concept of sovereignty sit in Indigenous history; what are its limitations and advantages? In bringing together scholars working across time periods and geographies, our conference will facilitate vital conversations about continuity and change in Indigenous sovereignty – from the ambiguous, overlapping spaces of imperial New Spain to the Canadian prairies.
Join us as we explore these themes through three panels:
- Law, Sovereignty, and Resistance (chaired by Professor Maggie Blackhawk, NYU)
- Indigenous Knowledge, Identity, and Education (chaired by Professor Abelardo de la Cruz, UNC)
- Migration, Displacement, and the Politics of Land (chaired by Professor Jimmy Sweet, Rutgers)
Please register for Technologies of Sovereignty using this link or the QR code on the poster. All registered guests will receive lunch and are invited to join the speakers and presenters for a reception from 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm. All attendees must pre-register by February 18th, 2025.
If you have any questions, please contact conference organizers Ana Laura Zuniga Loreto ([email protected]), Kate Reeve ([email protected]), and Wyatt Reynolds ([email protected]).
Conference Schedule
10:00 AM | Coffee, greetings, and pick-up programs
10.15 AM | Conference introduction and welcome address from the Native American Council of Columbia
10.30-11.45 AM | Panel: Indigenous Knowledge, Identity and Education
COMMENTATOR: DR. ABELARDO DE LA CRUZ, UNC-CHAPEL HILL
Chair: Ana Laura Zúñiga Loreto, Columbia
Panelists:
Zoe Zimmermann, Princeton
"Old Wounds, New Medicine: Native Power and Knowledge Exchange in Early New England”
Jacquelyn M. Davila, Yale
“Not-So-All-American Acequias: Courses of Contestation and Community in Territorial New Mexico”
Anthony Trujillo
“Occom University, Founded 1771: The Indigenous Institution that Reformed American Education”
12:00–1:00 PM | Lunch
1.15–2.30 PM | Panel: Law, Sovereignty, and Resistance
COMMENTATOR: DR. MAGGIE BLACKHAWK, NYU
Chair: Kate Reeve, Columbia
Panelists:
Keziah Anderson, Harvard
“Reproducing (Dis)Inheritance: Imperial Expansion & the Enduring Mark of the Black Mother’s Womb in Postbellum Indian Territory"
Andrew Hoyt, Princeton
“Restoration, Reciprocity, and Rice: The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and the Politics of Environmental Sovereignty since 1980”
Andrea Ho, Yale
“Fighting for Indigenous Freedoms Behind Bars: The Untold History of New Mexico State Penitentiary' s Indian Cultural Club”
2.30–2:45 PM | Break
2:45–4:00PM | Panel: Empire, Displacement, and the Politics of Land
COMMENTATOR: DR. JIMMY SWEET, RUTGERS
Chair: Wyatt Reynolds, Columbia
Panelists:
Madison Bastress, NYU:
“Sustaining Places: Myaamia Returns to the Wabash River Valley, 1680s-1690s”
Thomas Maggiola, Columbia
“Navigating Asylum: Guatemalan Refugees in Mexico, 1980-2001”
Alice Gorton, Columbia
“Treaty Agriculture Policy and Indigenous Land in Canada, 1870-1900”
4:00–4:45PM | Plenary Talk: Camilla Townsend
5:00–6:30PM | Reception
