KeyNOte
Speakers
Born in Nofire Hollow, Oklahoma, Studi was schooled
on a reservation. Until he attended grade school, he spoke only Cherokee. In
1967, he was drafted into the Army and served 18 months in Vietnam. After his
discharge, Studi studied at Tulsa Junior College. He is best known for his roles
as both brave and vicious Indians, in such roles as the Pawnee warrior in Dances
With Wolves and as Magua in The Last of the Mohicans. In 2002, Studi brought
to life the legendary Tony Hillerman character Lt. Joe Leaphorn, for a series
of PBS movies produced by Robert Redford. In 2005, he portrayed a character
inspired by the Powhatan warrier Opechancanough in The New World, a 2005 Academy
Award-nominated film directed by Terrence Malick, and starring Colin Farrell.
The historical adventure is set during the founding of the Jamestown, Virginia
settlement and includes other characters inspired by historical figures, notably
Captain John Smith (Farrell) and Pocahontas. Much the film was shot at locations
in James City County and Charles City County, not far from where the first permanent
English colony in the New World was established at Jamestown, Virginia beginning
on May 14, 1607. In addition to acting, Studi is a stone carver, an author of
two children's books, and plays bass in a local band.
An expert in Indian Law, Strickland just retired
from the University of Oregon School of Law, where he served as the Philip H.
Knight Professor of Law. He received his S. Juris Doctorate from Virginia State
University. Currently, Dr. Strickland is serving as a visiting professor to
the University of Minnesota School of Law, and later this year he will move
on to serve on the faculty of the University of Oklahoma School of Law. Dr.
Strickland is known across the country for his expertise in Indian Law, and
will be discussing the contrast between the American Indian lifestyle before
and after Oklahoma statehood. Dr. Strickland will explore the topics of immigration,
industrialization, entertainment, education, and Oklahoma statehood brought
about changes for American Indians and the operation of tribal governments.
Yamamoto received his Ph.D. in Anthropological
Linguistics and serves as the Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics at the
University of Kansas. Dr. Yamamoto has also become one of the leading experts
in Native Language revitalization efforts, working with American Indian tribes
across the nation in their efforts to maintain their Native Languages and increase
the number of fluent speakers. By preserving their Native Languages, the American
Indian tribes are also maintaining their traditional cultures. Dr. Yamamoto
will provide the audience with strategies which have proven to be successful
in Native Language revitalization, and will also discuss the importance of maintaining
Native Languages. He will also compare several different Native languages in
terms of linguistic structure, as it relates to language preservation.
Receiving his
Master of Arts in English from Bemidji State University, Tall Chief specializes
in Native art and culture. Mr. Tall Chief is the Director of the Jacobson House
Native Art Center at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. He will discuss the
history of the Jacobson House and Oscar Brown Jacobson’s involvement in
the introduction of the Kiowa Five, a group of American Indian artists who were
introduced into the international art arena in the 1930’s. The Kiowa Five
were comprised of James Auchiah, Spencer Asah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope,
Monroe Tsatoke, and Lois Smoky. These individuals exerted a strong and positive
influence on American Indian artists; their achievements were a source of pride
for their Kiowa tribe and also for all American Indians. Mr. Tall Chief will
discuss how art is a vocation which is compatible with American Indian communal
values, and how the world of art has become a major arena for economic development
of American Indians.
Stremlau earned her Ph.D. in American History from
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the mentorship of Dr.
Theda Perdue, specializing in Native American History and American Women's History.
Her research interests include federal Indian policy, ethnohistory, and gender.
She has published on allotment and on interracial sexual violence. The winner
of the Oklahoma Historical Society's award for Outstanding Dissertation in Oklahoma
History, Stremlau is continuing research on her project on Cherokee experiences
of allotment. She is an assistant professor of history at the University of
North Carolina at Pembroke. Dr. Stremlau will discuss the ways in which Cherokee
families in Oklahoma adapted allotment policy to meet their own needs and conform
to their own customs. By giving the audience a new perspective on the allotment
of lands to Cherokee Indians, the audience can better understand how the Cherokee
Nation survived the twentieth to century to thrive today.
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