The Interfaculty Initiative for American Indian Affairs (IIAA) is sponsoring Witaya Lecture Series, a new program that focuses on topics related to American Indian and Alaskan Native studies.
” ‘Witaya’ means ‘coming together as a community’ in the Lakota language,” said Dana Klar, J.D., director of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies.
“We hope people will gather around the topics presented in the series,” Klar said.
The series began Oct. 30 with a lecture by Victoria Graves, doctoral candidate from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, on “Native Science and Western Science: An Ethnocultural Landscape That Bridges Cultures.”
The lectures are free and open to the public. The remaining lectures are:
• Tuesday, Nov. 6, in Dunker Hall, Room 201, Hurst Lounge. Craig Howe, graduate studies instructor at Oglala Lakota College in Kyle, S.D., will discuss “Approaches to Teaching Lakota Culture.”
• Dec. 7 in Brown Hall Lounge. John Kelly, Ph.D., senior lecturer in the Department of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences, will speak on “Cultural Preservation and Policies of Repatriation — Cahokia Mounds, World Heritage Site.”
The IIAA is committed to building greater awareness of American Indian culture, values and communities through the advancement of research, teaching and community endeavors.
Additional lectures will be held in the spring. For more information, contact Stephanie Kettler, Buder Center program manager, at 935-5896 or at skettler@wustl.edu.