Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Meeting

“Northern Arizona Tribal Communities:

Contemporary Concerns About Ancestral People & Places ”
Thursday, June 3, 2021, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. via ZOOM

During this third LWVNA DEI Committee meeting, Arizona Senator Jamescita Peshlakai, who is Diné from Cameron, Arizona and descended from a long line of tribal headmen and officials, will share how her interest in  elected leadership developed and carried her to the State Legislature. Ms. Kimberly Spurr will speak about Northern Arizona tribal history and the challenges our tribal neighbors have faced/still face in maintaining traditional cultures while interacting with non-Native communities, and working to expanding their influence in the political sphere. Ms. Kelley Hays-Gilpin will discuss tribal history, arts, and concerns about land and sacred places, as well as the diversity within and among Northern Arizona tribes. The talk will end with discussion of some specific legislation that is relevant to Northern Arizona tribal issues and attendee questions.

Representing Legislative District 7, Arizona Senator  Jamescita  Peshlakai  is  currently  serving  her third Arizona Senate term as the state’s first Native American female senator. Peshlakai also served in the state House of Representatives’ Fifty-first Legislature from 2013 to 2015. Senator Peshlakai’s district is comprised of nine of Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribal constituencies: Hualapai, Havasupai, Kaibab  Paiute,  San  Juan  Southern  Paiute,  Navajo,  Hopi,  White  Mountain  Apache,  San Carlos Apache, and a small portion of Zuni Pueblo.

Kimberly Spurr has been a professional archaeologist for more than 30 years, working  primarily in  the American Southwest. She is currently the Archaeology Division Director at the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA), where she works with federal agencies and tribal representatives to preserve and protect ancestral sites and cultural material. She spent a decade as an archaeologist with the Navajo Nation assisting with compliance for infrastructure development and training Indigenous archaeology students.

With a PhD in anthropology from the University of Arizona, Kelley Hays-Gilpin serves as Professor of Anthropology at Northern Arizona University and Edward Bridge Danson, Jr. Chair of Anthropology at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Her research focuses on visual arts in ancient to contemporary Pueblo communities, as well as contemporary Indigenous concerns about environment, ecology, and sacred places. She co-curated MNA’s “Native Peoples of the Colorado Plateau” gallery, and worked with representatives of 12 Native American tribes to present their stories in their own words.
This program is free. To register, CLICK HERE.
Problems registering? Please email: [email protected].
The League of Women Voters is a national, non-partisan organization fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice.  Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to the organization’s current and future success in engaging all individuals, households, communities, and policy makers in creating a more perfect democracy.  For   more information about League of Women Voters programs, please visit www.lwvnaz.org.