5th Haudenosaunee Conference

The 5th Annual Haudenosaunee Conference

"Moving Beyond ID Card Indians: The Search For Native Citizenry"

Video 1: Welcoming Remarks - Robert Odawi Porter (Seneca), Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Indigenous Law, Governance & Citizenship

Video 2: Michael Taylor (Seneca), PhD, Assistant Professor Anthropology and Native American Studies, Colgate University

Video 3: Opening Address - Chief Jake Swamp (Mohawk)

Video 4: Tassy Parker (Seneca), PhD, RN, Assistant Professor Anthropology and Native American Studies, Colgate University

Video 5: Kevin White (Akwesasne Mohawk), PhD, Assistant Professor of Native American & American Studies at SUNY Oswego

Video 6: Meghan McCune, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University

Video 7: Scott Lyons (Leech Lake Ojibwe), PhD, Assistant Professor of English, Syracuse University

Video 8: Robert Odawi Porter (Seneca), Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Indigenous Law, Governance & Citizenship

Video 9: Closing Address

Prior to colonization, citizenship was a much simpler question. Indigenous nations exercised their own citizenship laws with little dispute as to what constituted citizenship.  Over 500 years later, assimilationist governmental policies have invaded our communities, causing us to question - who is an Indian?  Is carrying a tribal identification card enough?  Or a card from the federal government?  Or does citizenship envision much more, such as a contribution to one=s community by participating in governance and/or cultural events?  And who has the authority to make that determination? 

Today Indigenous nations continually struggle with the citizenship issue and the Haudenosaunee are no different.  But our issues may be more complex.  What does it mean to be Haudenosaunee vs. being a Mohawk or Seneca?  Does citizenry in one of the Six Nations automatically grant one citizenship as Haudenosaunee?  And what happens when an international boundary divides your territory and you=re required to have an internationally accepted id card simply to visit your family? 

The 5^th 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 indigenous citizenship; a historic view of citizenship; the people=s role in defining citizenship; and the citizen’s role in a nation.