[UPDATE: The plenary session announced here is now scheduled for Thursday, May 20 after the opening at 8 PM and is open to the public. The schedule may change depending on availability of speakers, etc. The poetry reading that was to have taken place then, also open to the public, is now scheduled for Friday evening, May 21]

Sent to NAISA members by email May 6, 2010

Dear NAISA members,

We are writing to follow up on our May 2nd message about our decision to move ahead with our meeting in Tucson in the shadow of SB 1070, the anti-immigration law signed by Governor Jan Brewer on April 23. In that message, we expressed a “commitment to make this meeting a site of sincere and serious coalition-building and collective action,” which we said was central to our “desire to act responsibly as an organization.” We write now to let you know about some of the plans we are making to fulfill that commitment and to challenge all of you to help us, in the spirit of a local group that has expressed its support of our decision to come to Tucson, to “transform” the 2010 NAISA annual meeting.

We are inviting all meeting participants to join us on the first day of the meeting, Thursday, May 20, for a plenary session focused on SB 1070 and HB 2281, the anti-ethnic studies bill the Arizona legislature has passed and which now sits on Governor Brewer’s desk (we as a council have sent a letter, posted at naisa.org, to the governor urging her not to sign this legislation). We will announce the time and location of this session as soon as we address some logistical and other issues.

Council members Chris Andersen, Alice Te Punga Somerville, and Noenoe Silva are working with NAISA members Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez to put together what we hope is an informative, spirited session through which NAISA members and people from local communities who oppose these laws can join together in learning more about what’s happening on the ground and how we as NAISA members can support local efforts. Given the presence of committed Indigenous studies scholars from across the globe, this plenary will also afford a rare opportunity to discuss SB 1070’s and HB 2281’s broader links to similarly oppressive situations happening elsewhere. We have invited Congressman Raul Grijalva to participate in this session, and we hope he will join us.

We are working with the artists who have been invited to participate in our meeting to arrange the schedule so as to preserve their important contribution. We will have a screening of Indigenous video and filmmaking hosted by Hopi filmmaker Victor Masayesva and Victoria Bomberry, and a poetry reading arranged by our local hosts. Knowing the artists involved in these events, we have great faith that these will become powerful expressions of how art can speak to the crises that confront us.

On Saturday, May 22 we will meet for our annual business meeting. This meeting is important to our future as an organization and we urge all members to attend. Not only do we have at least one resolution before us to consider and bring to a vote, we also need to have a discussion of the process through which NAISA members can formally put forth issues of import before the association for collective action. The principles articulated in NAISA’s founding continue to guide us as the first elected council, and we believe the important issue of how, when, and where we express our collective resolve merits a face-to-face discussion. The business meeting will also provide an opportunity for us as officers to report on our activities and to let you all know more about our decision making processes. We welcome your questions and will be sending out the agenda for the business meeting as soon as a draft of it is ready.

We have tremendous faith in our members to heed the call of our local colleagues to appropriately and powerfully address these critical issues at the 2010 NAISA meeting. Already we have heard of people working collectively to alter sessions in response to SB 1070 and HB 2281. We urge others to do likewise as they see fit, and we also want to remind everyone on the program that there is, in fact, no such thing as business as usual when your mere presence as an Indigenous studies scholar stands in defiance to the anti-intellectual forces in the state of Arizona.

Finally, we want to express appreciation to all those who have written to us with ideas and suggestions. Some of these ideas require more coordination than we can provide, so we encourage you to move ahead with a promise from us that we’ll do what we can to help.

Signed,

Robert Warrior
President

Jean O’Brien
President-Elect

Maggie Walter
Secretary

Brendan Hokowhitu
Treasurer

J. Kehaulani Kauanui
Council

Noenoe Silva
Council

Chris Andersen
Council

Alice Te Punga Somerville
Council

Lisa Brooks
Council

Robert Alexander Innes
Council