Center for Global Indigenous Cultures & Environmental Justice

11/21/2024

Associate Professor Chie Sakakibara (Native American & Indigenous Studies and Geography & the Environment; CGIC affiliate) and Assistant Professor Danika Medak-Saltzman (Women's & Gender Studies; CGIC affiliate) received a $1.36 million research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to collaborate with specific circumpolar Indigenous communities to facilitate a socio-environmental knowledge repatriation project for 2024-2026. Chie and Danika visited Ainu Mosir (the ancestral homeland of the Indigenous Ainu people) with undergraduate student collaborators Charlotte Dupree (Akwesasne Mohawk) and Destiny Lazore (Kanien'kehá:ka Mowahk) to initiate the dialogue in June and July 2024. The SU team also visited a number of prominent institutions and museums across Japan on this trip including the Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies at Hokkaido University in Sapporo and the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka. This photo was taken at the National Ainu Museum & Park (Upopoy), which was founded in Ainu Mosir in 2020

10/29/2024

Representing global indigenous voices on the world stage 🌟

We are proud to share that Prof. Huambachano and Dr. Scott Manning Stevens presented at the NAISA Conference, hosted by the Sami People in Boda, this past June. Together, they contributed to an invaluable exchange of knowledge and cultural insights.

Credits:- Dr. Scott Manning Stevens

10/21/2024

We are excited to announce the launch of “Recovering Our Ancestral Foodways: Indigenous Traditions as a Recipe for Living Well” by Professor Mariaelena Huambachano! 🍠📚

This groundbreaking book is a celebration of Indigenous wisdom from the Māori and Quechua peoples, offering profound insights into how traditional foodways can foster sustainable well-being for humankind. Through over a decade of immersive fieldwork in Peru and New Zealand, this work beautifully weaves together the philosophies of food, sustainability, and community. 🌿🌍

Discover the ancestral practices that continue to safeguard food systems, and learn about the innovative Khipu Model for researching Indigenous knowledge. Whether you’re passionate about sustainability, Indigenous cultures, or food systems, this book is a must-read! 💫

✨ Available now!

10/12/2024

Meet Maresa Helu, a student at Syracuse University aiming to get a minor in Native American Studies👏

“My name is Maresa Helu, although friends, peers, and colleagues know me as “Risi”. My name comes from a background of Haudenosaunee, Tongan, and European roots. I am from Syracuse, NY, and have lived in the city my whole life. My family comes from the Onondaga, Mohawk, and Seneca nations. All parts of my identity brought me to be a part of the Native Student Program, its subgroups, and to declare a minor in Native American Studies.

When half of your identity comes from multiple cultures, you tend to come off as racially and religiously/spiritually ambiguous and are commonly asked “What are you? Where did you come from? What community do you serve/belong in?” I did not know how to answer those questions because it did not feel right to “pick a side”. Deciding to be an active member of the Indigenous community here at SU meant that I would set a goal to better understand my place in my culture; and appreciate the multi-perspective vantage point I have as an ambiguous Indigenous community member.

It is also in my best interest to take what I learn from Indigenous cultures and use it within my lifetime of seeking climate justice. I hope to combine the minor and my major in Television, Radio & Film to share media in Indigenous knowledge of topics like protecting the land and seven generational thinking. I want to shine a light on the overlooked customs of indigenous communities. There is plenty to learn from and ways I hope to change and grow in the rest of my time here at SU, and beyond!”

08/26/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/yiAWiKRFYqWX4bvN/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Save the Date!

Indigenous non-profit organization Rematriation is hosting an academic symposium in collaboration with Syracuse University’s Center for Global Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Justice from February 28 through March 2, 2025.

Syracuse University is located on Onondaga Nation lands in the heart of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The purpose of the symposium is to share Haudenosaunee and Indigenous matrilineal knowledge as a praxis to address critical global challenges. Proposals from all disciplines are encouraged. Indigenous, non-Indigenous, all genders, and non-gendered peoples are all invited and encouraged to submit proposals, attend and participate.

Registration opening soon! Please share with those who may be interested in submitting a proposal!

Proposals can be submitted via Rematriation website at www.rematriation.com/symposium-presenters.

06/03/2024

Syracuse University offers several scholarships and grants specifically for Indigenous students, underscoring our commitment to welcoming and supporting Native students as members of our Orange community. The Haudenosaunee Promise Scholarship expresses Syracuse University’s gratitude and appreciation for the historical, political and cultural legacies of the Haudenosaunee communities and honors the continually growing relationship between us. The scholarship makes the University’s rich educational experiences available to qualified Haudenosaunee students.

Please contact the Financial Aid Office or visit this link for more information: https://financialaid.syr.edu/whoareyou/indigenous-student-support

05/30/2024

Meet Michael “Wishe” Benedict, a student at Syracuse University aiming to get a minor in Native American Studies.

"She:kon, my name is Michael “Wishe” Benedict. I am from the Akwesasne Territory of the Mohawk nation within the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. My experience at Syracuse university has been very good. Like many other Indigenous students, I grew up on the reservation very close with a deep connection to my family, friends, and community but I was also scared to go to a University like Syracuse with a population that is most likely bigger than my home. But I was able to find myself a community here with other indigenous students and with many non-indigenous students too. I’ve got to learn about different people and their backgrounds, either be very different than me or very similar to me.

Currently I am majoring in History and aiming to get a minor in Native American Studies, but I do hope one day it does become a major at Syracuse University. I think Indigenous studies is very important for everyone to learn about, it helps bring Indigenous issues to light and takes a deeper dive into our people's history than many of my non-indigenous friends did not know about. The classes have helped me gain a better understanding of my history, I went to high school off the reservation and was taught the same history as everyone else with little to no Indigenous involvement. But here at Syracuse I get to learn more not just about my people but other Indigenous communities too.

I do plan on going for my Master's and maybe a Doctorate as well. My plans for now are to teach History in either High school or at a University and include an Indigenous twist to it. I want other students to know about our history and not the sad story of what happened but include how beautiful our culture and how intelligent our people have always been. Maybe this way of teaching I could also help inspire other indigenous students to continue to work hard and help give back to our communities and teach others as well."

05/28/2024

Spotlight: the Haudenosaunee✨
The ancestral lands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, or the “people of the longhouse,” extend across what is now known as Upstate New York. It is made up of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas Tuscaroras and Senecas. Founded by the Peacemaker with the help of Aionwatha, more commonly known as Hiawatha, it is said to be one of the oldest participatory democracies in the world.

If you're looking for more Haudenosaunee resources, information about museums and cultural centers, Indigenous educational resources, information about Indigenous rights or Haudenosaunee Lacrosse, visit Native American and Indigenous Culture Resources - https://artsandsciences.syracuse.edu/cgic/native-american-and-indigenous-culture-resources/

05/24/2024

Our faculty highlight this week is Chie Sakakibara [Ryūkyūan descent, Japan].
Chie Sakakibara, an associate professor of geography and the environment and Native American and Indigenous studies, is a scholar in global Indigenous environmental studies and one of two recent cluster hires for the Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) program shared by Maxwell and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Sakakibara’s work explores the interplay of climate change and Indigenous resilience. She is of Ryūkyūan descent, an Indigenous group of southwestern Japan including the Okinawan archipelago and its diaspora within and beyond Japan. Her research focuses on the humanistic dimensions of global climate change in Native North America, specifically on Indigenous sovereignty, health and well-being, and environmental justice in Arctic Alaska.

Sakakibara holds a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Oklahoma, with an undergraduate degree in Native American studies from the same institution. She has published widely in academic journals and her work in the Arctic has received three grants from National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Arctic Social Sciences Program, and the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, resulting in the publication of her recent book, “Whale Snow: Iñupiat, Climate Change, and Multispecies Resilience in Arctic Alaska” (University of Arizona Press, 2020), which was awarded the American Association of Geographers Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Books in Geography.

05/21/2024

Revitalize and Preserve the Iroquois Language for Future Generations. The Iroquois language family is a group of distinct but closely related languages. The Certificate in Iroquois Linguistics (CIL) provides an opportunity to study linguistic principles and grammatical features unique to the Iroquois languages, with examples from the six Haudenosaunee languages: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora.

The courses are designed for students and teachers of Iroquois languages, as well as linguists, anthropologists, and others who support the revitalization of Iroquois languages. Explore more at https://professionalstudies.syracuse.edu/academics/on-campus/iroquois-linguistics-certificate

05/17/2024

On April 8, 2024, a solar eclipse once again traversed the lands of the Haudenosaunee, marking a significant, yet not widely known, event in human history.

According to Haudenosaunee tradition, the Indigenous Peoples of what is now New York State, which included the five nations of Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida and Cayuga, were once locked in a period of strife and warfare. Amidst this turmoil and conflict, the story tells that the Creator sent a messenger from across the Great Lakes, known as the Peacemaker. He was sent to bring peace (Skä·noñh) and unity to the people, which could be established only if they were in proper relationship with the natural world.

Read more at https://artsandsciences.syracuse.edu/2024-eclipse/solar-eclipse-helped-the-haudenosaunee-confederacy-forge-the-first-democracy/
Source: The College of Arts and Sciences - Syracuse University

05/15/2024

Our faculty highlight for this week is Dr. Mariaelena Huambachano [Quechua, Peru]. A native Peruvian Indigenous scholar, Dr. Mariaelena Huambachano, Assistant Professor, joined Syracuse University in the 2021-22 academic year to help build the Center for Global Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Justice.

Dr. Huambachano’s research and teaching are rooted in an interdisciplinary approach to Indigenous Studies, Environmental Studies, and Sustainable Development. These areas encompass food and climate justice, environmental governance, agroecology, public policy, community-driven development, traditional ecological knowledge and decolonizing methodologies.