Perspectives in Health, Law, and Human Services: Indigenous Languages and Cultures in Our Practice

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 2019 as International Year of Indigenous Languages. The UMB Writing Center, Center for Global Education Initiatives, and Office of International Services have officially joined the worldwide programming with a discussion of decolonial perspectives and practices in health and human services education here at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Event Details

Thursday, November 21, 2019
3:30 - 5 p.m.
SMC Campus Center, Elm Ballroom B

Come and learn about the Indian Child Welfare Act and its connections to current health and human services education and practice before engaging in a curated dialogue focused on how we, as students, faculty, and practitioners can work with Indigenous communities to provide more equitable health, legal, and human services.

Refreshments will be served following the event.

If you need an accommodation, please contact the UMB Writing Center at writingcenter@umaryland.edu by November 14, 2019.

Keynote Speaker

Young woman staring at camera.

Rebecca Nagel
Cherokee activist, writer, and speaker. One of the National Center American Indian Enterprise Development’s 2016 Native American 40 Under 40.

Panelists

Bayley J. Marquez, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of American Studies, University of Maryland, College Park and Indigenous scholar from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians

 

Headshot of woman smiling at camera in front of a colorful background.

Nalini Negi, PhD
Associate Professor, University of Maryland School of Social Work

 

 

Headshot of woman smiling at the camera in front of green trees and grass.

Gabrielle Tayac, PhD
Principal Investigator for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and member of the Piscataway Nation

Land Acknowledgement

Indigenous women wearing a t-shirt that says Indigenous strongChristine Duckworth
Baltimore American Indian Center, Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina

Hand Drum Song

Headshot of a smiling Indigenous woman Jennifer Folayan
Baltimore American Indian Center, Pueblo, Cherokee, and Azetc

Agenda

3:30-3:40 p.m.
Land acknowledgement by the Baltimore American Indian Center’s Christine Duckworth, Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina

Hand drum song in honor of missing and murdered Indigenous women by Baltimore American Indian Center’s Jennifer Folayan, Pueblo, Cherokee, and Azetc

3:40-3:45 p.m.
Opening comments and introduction of keynote speaker and panelists by the UMB Writing Center’s James Wright

3:45 - 4:15 p.m.
Keynote Address: Rebecca Nagle

How have the institutions of law, medicine, and social work impacted Native families and Native communities? This talk will start broad and get specific, focusing on the Indian Child Welfare Act or ICWA. When the ICWA was passed in 1978, 25-35% of Native children had been taken away from their families and were being raised in non-Native homes. Native American tribes lost a third of one generation. Today, more than forty years later, half of U.S. states are out of compliance with the law, and a small and well-funded group is working to get it declared unconstitutional.

Designed for UMB faculty and students who currently or in the future may interact with Native law and Native youth in their profession, this talk will cover the importance of respecting Native cultures, families, and tribal sovereignty.

4:15 - 4:45 p.m.
Panel Discussion

4:45 p.m.
Closing Reception