Tribal Summit 2017

Second Annual Tribal Summit

Nov. 9, 2017 marked the second Tribal Summit held at the University of Idaho. With over 120 attendees, participants engaged with speakers, panelists, and one another to discuss topics such as: tribal sovereignty; Indigenous knowledge and teacher education; and related ongoing efforts at the University of Idaho. The day was broken up into two sessions, “Understanding the Value of Tribal Sovereignty” and “Intersections of Indigenous Knowledge and Public Education”. The importance of understanding where indigenous knowledge and practices could be integrated into curriculum was heavily emphasized.

The Tribal Summit is the result of advisory meetings between then-President Staben and Tribal Council representatives from the 10 Tribe Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The first summit, held in 2015, focused on Tribal Natural Resources which engaged the College of Natural Resources and Tribes in critical discussions toward the development of the Natural Resource Stewardship Certificate.

The education focus of this past year’s summit stemmed from a presentation on Indigenous framed research in education by U of I students, Sammy Matsaw and Monique Wynecoop, at the President’s Native American Advisory Council Meeting last April. The Office of Tribal Relations brought together various Tribal Representatives and the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences to collaborate the planning, preparation, and implementation of the summit.

The next Tribal Summit will be held in the fall of 2019. For more information email tribal-relations@uidaho.edu.