Speaker Biographies
I. Panel: “Self-determination through Indian Education”
Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert is enrolled with the Hopi Tribe from the Village of Upper Moencopi in northeastern Arizona. Centering his research and teaching on Native American history and the history of the West, Professor Sakiestewa Gilbert examines the history of American Indian education, the Indian boarding school experience, and federal Indian polices of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In addition to publishing articles on Hopi history and producing a documentary film (Beyond the Mesas) on the Hopi boarding school experience, Professor Sakiestewa Gilbert is completing a manuscript entitled Education Beyond the Mesas: Hopi Student Involvement at Sherman Institute, 1902-1929, which is under advance contract with the University of Nebraska Press. Professor Sakiestewa Gilbert is also co-editor of an anthology entitled Turning the Power at Sherman Institute, which is under review with the State University of New York Press.
Along with his work on the history of American Indian and Hopi education, Professor Sakiestewa Gilbert is writing a second monograph, Hopi Running in the Fourth Way of Life, which examines the history of Hopi running within the context of Hopi and American sport culture. Apart from his scholarship on Hopi runners, Professor Sakiestewa Gilbert has recently contributed a chapter on the encounters and relationships of American Indian leaders with presidents of the United States for an upcoming publication with the National Museum of the American Indian and Harper Collins Press.
Prior to his current post in American Indian Studies & History, Professor Sakiestewa Gilbert served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and as an adjunct faculty in history at the University of Redlands, Azusa Pacific University, San Bernardino Valley Community College, and The Master’s College.
Professor Sakiestewa Gilbert received his Ph.D. in History, and M.A. in Public History (Historic Preservation), from the University of California, Riverside, and also holds a M.A. in Theology from Talbot School of Theology (Biola University).
Nāmaka Rawlins is a native Hawaiian from Hilo, Hawai'i and a graduate of the University of Hawai’i at Hilo. As the Executive Director of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo over the last 18 years, she led the nonprofit organization in its crucial role in the revitalization of the Native Hawaiian language in the state of Hawai’i. Nāmaka administered the Pūnana Leo, language nests, on five major islands. She has been involved in the Pūnana Leo for nearly 25 years, first as a volunteer at the Hilo school in 1985 while studying Hawaiian language at the university. The Pūnana Leo model is a full day preschool in which the Hawaiian language is used exclusively with the children and between the teachers and staff as a means to revitalize the Hawaiian language. In 1987, the Pūnana Leo families and supporters established the Hawaiian immersion program in the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education to ensure the continued growth and use of Hawaiian in education. Today, Nāmaka is the director of strategic partnerships and collaborations and a senior advisor in leadership at the ʻAha Pūnana Leo. She also serves on the board of directors of the National Indian Education Association and the chairperson on the statewide Native Hawaiian Education Council.
Kauanoe Kamanā is a founding member of the ʻAha Pūnana Leo. She is also the Director of Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalani’ōpu’u, an internationally renowned P- 12 Hawaiian immersion laboratory school in Kea’au, Hawaiʻi. The campus houses the Pūnana Leo o Hilo infant/toddler and preschool, a K-8 charter school and a 9-12 DOE school within a school program. Ms. Kamanā has over 30 years of personal and professional experience in Hawaiian language revitalization. Kauanoe and her husband, fellow Hawaiian language educator Dr. William “Pila” Wilson helped found ‘Aha Pūnana Leo, the leading language revitalization organization in the United States. The couple’s own children are first language speakers of Hawaiian. Over the past 25 years, ‘Aha Pūnana Leo has increased the population of fluent Hawaiian speaking children from less than 40 to over 3,000. Today, Kauanoe serves as president of ‘Aha Pūnana Leo and is an associate professor at UH-Hilo. Her life’s work reestablishes the link between cultural vibrancy and academic success.
Norbert Hill is a member of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, Mr. Hill has developed and administered education programs for American Indian and disadvantaged youth for more than 35 years. Formerly, Norbert was the Executive Director of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) for many years and advocated education as the route to economic power. Under his leadership, this national nonprofit organization evolved into a major resource for increasing the number of American Indian scientists, and engineers.
Most recently, Norbert served as the Executive Director of the American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) in Albuquerque, NM for six years. He managed the largest American Indian scholarship program in the country - over $10 million dollars. Mr. Hill has served on the boards of trustees of Environmental Defense, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of the American Indian.
Mr. Hill is currently the Vice President of the College of Menominee Nation.
II. Panel: “Approaches to Native Nation Building”
Amy Besaw Medford is Director of Development at the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development housed in the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Through applied research and service, the Harvard Project aims to understand and foster the conditions under which sustained, self-determined social and economic development is achieved among American Indian nations.
Amy also serves on the Board of Directors for the Northwest Indian College Foundation and the Faculty Advisory Board for the Harvard University Native American Program. Previously, she was the Director of the Harvard Project’s tribal governance awards program, Honoring Nations, and a Research Associate in the area of family strengthening. Amy was also a private consultant in the areas of team building and organizational leadership.
Amy is Brothertown Indian and Korean. She was raised in a military family and has lived around the world, including her parents’ homelands. Amy received a BA in Business Administration from University of Washington, MA in Organizational Leadership from Chapman University, and an EdM in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.
David E. Wilkins is a Professor of American Indian Studies, Political Science, Law and American Studies at the University of Minnesota. He teaches and writes in the areas of comparative politics, American political theory, federal Indian policy, tribal government, and history of colonialism and native peoples.
Professor Wilkins received his B.A. degree in Sociology from Pembroke State University in 1976, his M.A. in Political Science and American Indian Policy from the University of Arizona in 1982, and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1990. From 1984–87, Professor Wilkins was an instructor at the Navajo Community College,Tsaile, Navajo Nation, Arizona. In 1990, he was an adjunct lecturer and from 1991–97 an Assistant Professor for the Department of Political Science and American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona. He has been at the University of Minnesota since 1999. Professor Wilkins is currently serving as Chair of American Indian Studies.
W. “Ron” Allen, as the Tribal Chairman (1977-present), is responsible for representing the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe as the elected leader and for addressing political and policy issues and/or positions at the national, state and local levels. As the Executive Director (1982-present), he is responsible for the administration of all the Tribe's programs including education, career development, social services, housing, health, economic development, natural resource management, and cultural/traditional affairs. As Tribal Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, he continues to address a wide range of issues that affect the Jamestown S’Klallam people as well as Indian country as a whole. Ron is responsible for leading the Tribe from a zero resource base in 1982 to a current annual budget level of approximately $7 million; and from a landless reservation base in 1982 to a land base of approximately 1,000 acres without federal assistance. Additionally, he has led the Tribe to establish business enterprises including Seven Cedars Casino, Northwest Native Expressions Art Gallery, JKT Development, and Jamestown Health & Medical Supplies.
Ron remains passionately driven in the fight to-- first and foremost-- protect Tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and governmental responsibilities. As a proud and self-sufficient people, he believes hard work must be done in the quest for self-sufficiency and to provide quality programs and services to address the unique needs of the Jamestown S’Klallam community. This remains his goal and vision for the Tribe.
Ron Allen is a longstanding delegate of the National Congress of American Indians, formerly serving in the capacities of Secretary, Treasurer, and President of the organization.
In addition, he serves as the President of the Washington Indian Gaming Association (WIGA), an organization of federally recognized Tribes in the state of Washington. WIGA's mission and purpose is to educate and disseminate information to the Indian gaming community, federal and state governments, and the general public on issues related to gaming in Indian Country, and to provide the necessary political advocacy and support to preserve and protect the Tribes' right to engage in the gaming industry as well as defend the integrity of gaming operations conducted in Indian Country. WIGA advocates for the rights of the 29 Tribes in Washington State to protect their governmental rights to engage in this industry.
Finally, Ron Allen has been extensively involved with numerous organizations including the Pacific Salmon Commission, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, National Indian Policy Center at George Washington University, and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.
III. Speaker Series: “Economic Development in Indian Country – Gaming Industry”
Raymond C. Etcitty is General Counsel (attorney) for the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise. The Enterprise is a Navajo Nation wholly-owned business entity designated to conduct gaming operations within the Navajo Nation.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Etcitty was Chief Legislative Counsel for the Navajo Nation Council. In this position, he was the chief attorney who provided legal advice to the Nation’s legislative branch and to Navajo Nation Council – the governing body of the Navajo Nation. His office was also responsible for drafting and codifying all laws of the Navajo Nation. He held this position for 5 years.
Mr. Etcitty held a cabinet position within the Navajo government, as Executive Director for the Office of the Navajo Tax Commission (which is the tax and revenue department of the Navajo Nation). While managing the Office of the Navajo Tax Commission; Mr. Etcitty put in place the Navajo Fuel Excise Tax and Navajo Sales Tax; and administered the Navajo Nation’s other five taxes (Possessory Interest Tax, Business Activity Tax, Oil and Gas Severance Tax, Tobacco Products Tax, and Hotel Occupancy Tax). Prior to his arrival, the Nation was collecting approximately $25 million in tax revenues per year; during his last year in office and currently, the Nation collects over $75 million per year. In his position, he negotiated numerous state/tribal tax credits and intergovernmental tax agreements with the surrounding states.
In the area of economic development, Mr. Etcitty was an attorney for the Nation’s Division of Economic Development; Attorney for the Division of Community Development; and Staff Attorney in the Navajo Nation Department of Justice. In these positions, he was involved in drafting and negotiating business site leases, contracts, business arrangements, regulations, and policies.
Mr. Etcitty received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of New Mexico and a J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law. He has two daughters Hannah, and Grace.
Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum is the Chairman of the Mohegan Tribe in Connecticut. He was first elected to the Tribal Council in 2004. He won re-election to the Tribal Council in 2005 and was selected by his fellow Councilors to serve as Chairman. He is an appointed ceremonial Pipe Carrier, a long-honored Mohegan tradition, and a self-taught, indigenous flutist. Bozsum previously served as the Manager of Cultural and Community Programs for the Tribe, responsible for educational outreach programs, the annual Wigwam Festival and Cultural Week. Before that he worked as a Floor Supervisor for the Tribe’s High Stakes Bingo operation.
The Mohegan Tribe is the owner of Mohegan Sun, the East Coast’s premier entertainment, meeting, shopping and gaming destinations, with two casinos, 40 dining and retail establishments and three entertainment venues, plus the 1,200-room luxury Mohegan Sun Hotel and Spa. The Mohegan Tribe “chose to implement this ‘governmental gaming’ as a source of tax revenue, much like a state chooses gaming or lotteries to enhance its tax base.”
IV. Keynote
Tom Goldtooth is Dine' and Dakota. He is the Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), which is a “network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions.” Mr. Goldtooth oversees the work of IEN and assists IEN staff in policy work around environmental protection, environmental justice, climate justice, energy, toxics, water, globalization and trade, and sustainable development.
