5th Annual Haudenosaunee Conference examines Native citizenry and government intervention

Jaclyn D. Grosso
(315) 443-9534

Prior to colonization, citizenship was a much simpler question. Indigenous nations exercised their own citizenship laws with little dispute as to what constituted citizenship. Today, indigenous nations continually struggle with the citizenship issue, and the Haudenosaunee are no different. The 5th Annual Haudenosaunee Conference, “Moving Beyond ID Card Indians: The Search for Native Citizenry,” will be held Saturday, Nov. 15, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Goldstein Student Center, 401 Skytop Road.

“Our conference seeks to better understand the modern conception of ‘indianness,'” says Robert Odawi Porter, director of The Center for Indigenous Law, Governance, & Citizenship at Syracuse University College of Law. “After 200 years of radical cultural, economic and political change, it is important to revisit fundamental elements necessary for Indian survival.”

The 5th Annual Haudenosaunee Conference is an opportunity for Haudenosaunee scholars and people to discuss the various layers of citizenship. Topics will include defining Haudenosaunee and nation citizenship; citizenship decision makers; the federal government’s impact on indigenous citizenship; a historic view of citizenship; the people’s role in defining citizenship; and the citizen’s role in a nation.

For more information on the conference, including the agenda and presenters, contact Chris Ramsdell at (315) 443-9542, e-mail ceramsde@law.syr.edu or register online at http://www.law.syr.edu/indigenous.