The Cocurricular Programs Office is honored to host a very important event series in January 2016. On Wednesday, January 20, we will hold Cultural Appropriation or Cultural Appreciation?: Exploring the Fine Line, a presentation and discussion about the important issues surrounding cultural appreciation and/or
Dr. Keene (Cherokee Nation) is a Native scholar, writer, blogger, and activist, who is passionate about reframing how the world sees contemporary Native cultures. She will explore how “fascination with” and“longing to emulate” spring from an interest in indigenous cultures but often negatively impact our understanding of contemporary Native lives. This event is for anyone wishing to understand this issue more deeply, and find tools for change.
The following Wednesday we will hold a follow-up event designed for further dialogue and discussion in a more intimate setting, Further the Conversation: Putting the Fine Line into Action. At this event, two guest scholars at UCSC, Dr. Natalie Baloy, and Dr. Robin R.R. Gray, will reflect on the Keene's presentation and share their own insights, lived experiences and thoughts about the topic. It is our hope that this will allow both Native and non-Native perspectives to be shared in a productive and thoughtful manner.
Robin R. R. Gray is from the Ts’msyen and Mikisew Cree First Nations. She earned a PhD in Anthropology, and a Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her dissertation, Ts’msyen Revolution: The Poetics and Politics of Reclaiming, includes an examination of the legal and ethical dimensions associated with repatriating Ts’msyen songs from archives, and an exploration of embodied sovereignty and heritage reclamation in an urban Ts’msyen dance group. Robin has been appointed a 2015- 2016 University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellow to develop her current project, Researching, Representing and Repatriating Ts’msyen Cultural Heritage.
Natalie JK Baloy completed her PhD in cultural anthropology at the University of British Columbia last spring. Her interest in contemporary colonial dynamics - especially non-Indigenous people's relationships with Indigenous peoples, lands, and politics - developed while living on unceded Coast Salish territories in Vancouver, BC. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow with the UC Center for Collaborative Research for an Equitable California at UC Santa Cruz, where she is co-developing ethics training resources to support students, researchers, and community partners to develop robust collaborative research projects toward justice and equity.
Don't miss these events this January!
Cultural Appropriation or Cultural Appreciation?: Exploring the Fine Line
7-8:45pm Wednesday, January 20 in Multipurpose Room
Further the Conversation: Puttin gthe Fine Line into Action
7-8:30pm Wednesday, January 27 in Namaste Lounge
