Doug George-Kanentiio on the Origin of Indigenous Peoples

Doug George-Kanentiio on the Origin of Indigenous Peoples

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February 12, 2011
 

Doug George-Kanentiio, speaking at the event “Return Our Ancestors” American Indians and NAGPRA – Voices from the Haudenosaunee. Recorded at Binghamton University on May 6, 2010.

Doug George-Kanentiio is a Bear Clan member and Akwesasne Mohawk, and a well-traveled lecturer and author. He has written a number of critically acclaimed books including Iroquois on Fire and Skywoman: Legends of the Iroquois, co-written with his wife Joanne Shenandoah. So too he is a co-founder of the Native American Journalists Association and member of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum of the American Indian. He continues to advocate for the repatriation of all Haudenosaunee remains to their respective nations.

During his talk at Binghamton University, Doug George-Kanentiio talks about the history of anthropology, the responsibilities of anthropologists and the reasons why repatriating ancestral remains and sacred objects is so important.

Of particular note, Doug George-Kanentiio also shares a few of his experiences while working at the National Museum of the American Indian; including his involvement in a series of talks meant to challenge conventional academic thinking about the origin of Indigenous Peoples on what is now North, Central and South America.

Gradually, the world of Academia is catching up to what Indigenous People have always known.

From the Organizers:

“With the recent implementation of new federal rules governing the disposition of so-called ‘culturally unidentified human remains,’ we find ourselves at an important juncture in the ongoing relationship between anthropology and the American Indians it studies. This has been an area of strong contention between both groups, something that most anthropology students and faculty at Binghamton University have experienced first hand. So too most in the department are well aware of some of the challenges that have arisen in the last few years when American Indian voices have made their way into academia. We have invited three traditional Haudenosaunee individuals – G. Peter Jemison, Doug George-Kanentiio, and Joanne Shenandoah – who are well versed experts regarding these issues to bring their perspectives to the department and university in a free speaker event on May 6, 2010.

THIS EVENT WAS ORGANIZED AND SPONSORED BY THE INDIGENOUS STUDENT ASSOCIATION (ISA) AT BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY. ISA is a GSO-chartered organization. COSPONSORS OF THE EVENT include the Graduate School, the Sociocultural and Multicultural Assembly of the GSO, the Anthropology Graduate Organization, the Binghamton Political Initiative, the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program (LACAS), the Graduate History Society, the Computer Science Graduate Student Organization, and the Middle Eastern Cultural Association.

You can find all 4 parts of this video at http://essentialdissent.blogspot.com/search?q=return+our+ancestors

Thanks to http://essentialdissent.blogspot.com

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