Recent News

AIS Associate Professor, Jean Dennison, an Osage Nation citizen, wrote an article for Time Magazine: What Killers of the Flower Moon Doesn't Show About Osage Nation's Legacy.  This beautiful piece firmly conveys not just a surviving, but a thriving Osage Nation. As many head to theaters to see the Martin Scorsese's new film adaptation of the book, Professor Dennison's article provides critical context beyond… Read more

Have you heard? UW Professors from the College of Arts and Sciences were featured on the new "Ways of Knowing" Podcast. Episode 7 featured Chad Allen who discusses the Indigenous knowledge around earthworks and mounds. Give it a listen: https://www.washington.edu/news/2023/10/10/ways-of-knowing-episode-7-ch… From UW News: Chadwick Allen is a professor of English and American… Read more

AIS is proud to support the new UW Canoe Family, č̓away̓altxʷ ʔiišəd (translated to Shell House Family from Lushootseed), a name gifted to the Canoe Family by AIS Professor, Tami Hohn (Puyallup). This summer marked the first Canoe Journey č̓away̓altxʷ ʔiišəd travelled on. This Journey was embarked on with great care. The Canoe Family met throughout the year to prepare every aspect, from carving paddles with CAIIS’s Native knowledge-in-residence coordinator Philip Red Eagle (Dakota/Salish),… Read more

Just as the year is wrapping up, our friends at CAIIS (the Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies) received some amazing news. With the initial 3 year $1.8 million Melon Foundation grant ending, the Center just received a renewal. The renewal is for $2.3 million over the next 5 years, ensuring the work and community build by the Center will not just continue, but grow. The University is celebrating with us and published a… Read more

 Kristy Lee graduated 2020 from the UW with a B.A in English Language and Literature and a minor in American Indian Studies. Kristy is a Associate Project Manager at Qualitest (formerly Q Analysts) in Kirkland, WA, where she collects training data for machine learning and artificial intelligence, primarily through user studies. AIS program has taught Kristy a lot. "Taking American Indian Studies courses at UW showed me the importance of diversity and minority representation in all areas, even… Read more

AIS is thrilled to announce not one, but two, amazing new faculty who will be joining our department this Autumn 2023. We want to thank our campus community who helped us through this process, especially the Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies. As our support for Native students, faculty, and staff grows on campus, we are able to build to even bigger and better things, including new courses and opportunities for students in our department. Please join us in welcoming our new AIS… Read more

Born and raised in Washington State, Dr. Joshua L Reid (registered member of the Snohomish Indian Nation) is an associate professor of American Indian Studies and the John Calhoun Smith Memorial Endowed Associate Professor of History at the University of Washington. This Spring, he's away from campus, or at least the Seattle campus. He's teaching AIS 311 The Indigenous History and Environment of the Salish Sea, at UW's Friday Harbor Labs on San Juan Island. It makes perfect sense then, that he… Read more

AIS Chair and Professor, Dr. Christopher B. Teuton (Cherokee Nation) has recently published his third book, Cherokee Earth Dwellers: Stories and Teachings of the Natural World.  To celebrate, there will be a book launch and signing held at wəłəbʔaltxʷ Intellectual House on April 6, 2023 from 4-6:30pm.  All are… Read more

Last March, 2022, the UW welcomed its first official Director of Tribal Relations. Sherri Berdine is a UW graduate, former AIS student, and Alaskan Native. In a recent article in the College of Arts and Sciences' Perspectives newsletter, Berdine credits First Nations and AIS Professor Dian Million with helping her feel welcome and finding her place at the University.  We're so excited to have Sherri on campus and are looking forward to the big dreams and projects she's taking on. Read the full… Read more

Dr. Michael Tulee, UW alum and AIS Instructor, Director of the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, is helping Seattle regain a Native perspective. This story was published by the Seattle Times on January 4th, 2023 and we're excited to share it with you all. More than 150 years after Seattle’s government tried to ban Native residents and more than 50 years after Native activists embarked on a campaign to regain waterfront access in the city, a space dedicated to Coast Salish canoe culture… Read more