Image/Autumn Harry
A Virtual Salon: Indigenous Narratives in the Modern Context
Friday, May 15, 2020
6 pm PST
facebook.com/nevadahumanities
Indigenous histories are often ignored within the United States which has led to the erasure of place-based narratives. A panel of Native scholars and journalists will discuss how the impacts of colonial mapping practices have created complex jurisdictional issues, inspiring a new generation of storytellers.
Pull up a chair and join Nevada Humanities for A Virtual Salon: Indigenous Narratives in the Modern Context on Friday, May 15, 2020, 6:00 pm PST at facebook.com/nevadahumanities, for a discussion about journalism, jurisdictional issues, and Indigenous narratives. Participants will be there answering questions.
Autumn Harry is a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in northern Nevada. Autumn is currently a Masters student at the University of Nevada, Reno, studying geography with an emphasis on Indigenous mapping methods and restoration of Indigenous place names. Autumn is a fisherwoman, land defender, and Indigenous rights advocate who continues to work within Indigenous communities, learning about how climate change affects cultural and natural resources. Recently, Autumn has been involved in organizing actions such as the Reno Women's March, bringing awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and the importance of preserving water in Nevada.
Tsanavi Spoonhunter is a reporter and filmmaker from the Paiute, Arapaho, and Lakota nations. Spoonhunter is an enrolled member of the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, but was raised in the Owens Valley of Central California. She is currently a Masters of Journalism documentary film candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. While studying at Haskell Indian Nations University in 2012, she realized that Native perspectives and stories are significantly underreported, this began her interest in covering Indian Country. She transferred to the University of Nevada, Reno’s Reynolds School of Journalism with an emphasis in print reporting. Following her inherent passion to pursue the current landscape of Native issues, but in a captivating way, she was led to documentary filmmaking. Her thesis film that highlights the Crow Tribe of Montana in the southeastern region of the state is scheduled for completion by May 2020.
Jarrette Werk, A’aniiih and Nakoda of Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana, is a junior at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, studying multimedia journalism. Inspired by the lack of mainstream media coverage of the Dakota Access pipeline, Werk decided to pursue a degree in media. His work focuses on positively and accurately covering the issues of Indigenous Peoples within Indian Country. Werk has been a fellow of the Native American Journalists Association since 2017, as well as a 2018-2019 Generation Indigenous Movement Builders fellow. His MBF cohort created the ‘Reclaiming Our Narrative’ project—the multimedia narrative change project highlighting the work of young Indigenous professionals conducting impactful and important works within Indian Country, including activism, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, climate change and media representation. As a portrait photographer, he captures and creates fresh and contemporary imagery of Indigenous Peoples. Jarrette currently works as the Communications Lead for the Center for Native American Youth at The Aspen Institute, providing a platform to amplify the voices of Indigenous Youth.
The bi-monthly Salon series features a panel discussion with topics relevant to the humanities in Nevada. This program is part of the “Democracy and the Informed Citizen” initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The initiative seeks to deepen the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry. We thank The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and the Pulitzer Prizes for their partnership.
A special thanks to Sundance Books and Music, our forever partners in the Nevada Humanities Salon Series. You can order books over the phone at sundancebookstore.com.