4/10/99 PROPOSED ARTICLE FOR RELEASE
American Indian Philosophers Struggle
for Recognition and Community
FIRST,
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ANITA SILVERS, VINE DELORIA, M.A. JAIMES GUERRERO,
ANGELA GONZALES, AND ALL WHO PARTICIPATED TO MAKE THIS EVENT SUCCESSFUL FOR
MANY COMMUNITIES.
At the recent American Philosophical
Association (A,P.A.) Pacific Division Meeting, at the Claremont Resort in
Berkeley, California, the Organizers for the A.P.A. Committee on American
Indians in Philosophy, sponsored two symposia
sessions about Americas Indigenous Philosophy.
The organizers of these symposia have been active within the A.P.A. for
the past three years, working to carve out a niche the field of American
Indigenist Philosophy, and support for an autonomous organization, the American
Indian Philosophy Association (A.I.P.A.).
Both of these groups are interested in advancing the scholarship and
recognition of indigenist philosophy in
the Americas.
On Thursday, the first symposium
“Native Voices and Philosophical Worldviews,” was chaired by Dr. Nancy Tuana
(University of Oregon) and included the following presentations: Dr. Viola Cordova Apache and Hispanic (Idaho
State), “Exploring the Sources of Western Thought”; Dr. Scott Pratt (University
of Oregon) “Black Hawk’s Sense of Place as Providing Order and Value”; Anne
Waters, J.D., Ph.D., Five Civilized Nations (University of New Mexico),
“Broadening the Scope of American Philosophy”; and graduate student Lorraine
Brundige, M.A., Canadian Metis/Cree (University of Oregon) as Commentator. This session of the conference (just as the
American Indian session in December ‘97) was well attended; chairs were brought
in from another session to accommodate seating for the audience. Discussion following presentations focused
on the emerging paradigm shift of what constitutes “American Philosophy.” Dr. Cordova indicated a need to include
American Indian perspectives of the “traditional” western philosophical canon. Dr. Pratt pointed to evidence of an ontology
of place and time in American Indian thought, that is not present in western
thinking. Dr. Waters presentation
claims that recent interventions in the
tradition of American philosophy suggests a paradigm shift in the meaning of
“American Philosophy” is underway; this shift of meaning is emerging in order
to accommodate nonwestern philosophical voices in the Americas that would
otherwise stand out as anomalies of American philosophy. Lorraine Brundige, as commentator, pointed
out that Dr. Cordova and Dr. Waters’ ________________________, and Dr. Pratt
_______________________________________.
On Saturday, the second symposium,
“The Philosophy of Vine Deloria” was chaired by Dr. M.A. Jaimes Guerrero, Yaqui
(San Francisco State University) and included presentations focused on various
works of Dr. Vine Deloria, Jr., including:
Dr. Viola Cordova, “Time”; Dr. Anne Waters, “Identity, Place, and
Sovereignty”; and Dr. Angela Gonzales, Hopi Pueblo, (San Francisco State
University) “Native Intellectuals and Identity”; commentators included graduate
students John Dufour, Dakota (College of Santa Fe and Albuquerque Community
College), Joely De La Torre
affiliation??? (San Francisco
State University), and Judy Kersatz, Lumbee (San Francisco State
University). Vine Deloria was present
as discussant, and talked for about an hour with the audience, which included
many American Indian students from the local colleges. Central to his discussion was that identity
issues needed to move beyond what Dr. Jaimes Guerrero has identified as
“identity police” and into the larger arena of working on political
issues. At one point, Deloria said,
“OK, you are Indians, and there isn’t a damn (sic) thing you can do about it,
so let’s get over it and on to other issues.”
Dr. Deloria also announced his legal case against using the trademark
“Red Skins” was successful, that the court ruled the trademark demeaning to
American Indians, and that it would soon disappear.
Following this second symposium, a
reception was held in Vine Deloria’s honor, and an opportunity was provided for
faculty, community, and students to discuss the issues of the
presentations. Also present were
Malinda Maynor, Lumbee, a filmmaker (San Francisco State University), and
WHO--HELP?????, a graduate student in journalism/communications
school????. ______ took notes for an
article, while Malinda videotaped most of the session.
The success of both these symposia
is historic; as is the recent A.P.A. creation of the Committee on American
Indians in Philosophy, and the American Indian Philosophical Association. A chair of the A.P.A. Committee is to be
announced next fall. The current
officers of the A.I.P.A. are Dr. Waters, President, Dr. Jaimes Guerrero, Vice
President, John Dufour, Secretary, Lorraine Brundige, Treasurer, and Dr.
Deloria, honorary lifetime member and advisor.
The membership of the A.I.P.A. is rapidly growing among “traditional”
philosophers of both Western and American Indian traditions.
Anne Waters noted that according to
published A.P.A. proceedings, four Native American scholars received their
Ph.D. in philosophy from 1992-1994.
Anne Waters and Viola Cordova both received Ph.D. in 1992; neither C.A.I.P. nor A.I.P.A. has not yet
identified other American Indian
Philosophers recently receiving a Ph.D. in Philospophy, but would
appreciate any information provided.
Moreover, three identified American Indian Ph.D. candidates on their way
to finishing dissertations in Philosophy include: Lorraine Brundige, (University of Oregon); John Dufour (Yale University);
and Lee Hester (University of Oklahoma).
Anyone interested in joining this
philosophical organization may either mail a request to join to A.I.P.A., c/o Dr. A. Waters, University of New Mexico, Philosophy
Department, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, or email for information to <shonnel722@aol.com> or
visit our website in cyberworld.
Future activities of both the C.A.I.P. and the A.I.P.A. include
philosophical presentations at future A.P.A. meetings next December in Boston,
and April in Albuquerque. The A.I.P.A.
is also looking forward to sponsoring workshops, and an autonomous conference
in an as yet to be determined location, in the next few years.
Anyone wishing to participate in
future C.A.I.P. or A.I.P.A. sessions
should email Dr. Waters at <shonnel722@aol.com> indicating your
affiliation, research area, and how you see your work fitting in with these
organizations. According to the April
7-14, 1997 issue of Indian Country Today, the American Indian Higher Education
Consortium reports that 42 % of tribal college graduates transfer to four-year
institutions. The C.A.I.P. and the
A.I.P.A. are hoping to interest more of these students in the study of American
Indian philosophy in the future.
As for future articles, the RADICAL
PHILOSOPHY REVIEW is interested in receiving articles about indigenist and
American Indian philosophy, and the A.I.P.A. hopes to have its own journal
within a few years. In the meantime,
the C.A.I.P. will soon be granted space in the A.P.A. Newsletter, which is currently
formatted as a journal, and some of the papers presented at this symposia may
be published there. Also, for those
interested, a Canadian journal, Ayaangwaamizin: International Journal of Indigenous
Philosophy, is being edited by Dennis McPherson at Lakehead University in
Thunder Bay, Canada, and Lee Thurmond Hester, Jr., teaching at Oklahoma City
University.
=====================================================
AMERICAN INDIAN
PHILOSOPHY ASSOCIATION
The
following are the Mission, Goals,
Constitution, Amendments, and By Laws (as adopted and revised (May 1998) from
the now defunct Ad Hoc Committee to Advance the Status of American Indians in
Philosophy) for a new American Indian Philosophical Association (A.I.P.A.)
created in May, 1998 by a group of American Indian Philosophers. This document was voted on and ratified by a
unanimous vote at a membership meeting of the ad hoc A.I.P.A. in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, May,1998.
M I S S I O N
The American Indian Philosophy Association
exists in order to promote research, writing and teaching of American Indian
philosophy, and philosophical analysis of issues specifically relevant to
American Indians. This organization, involving hundreds of philosophers and
many more students, seeks to facilitate understanding of America’s indigenous
philosophy in all educational curricula in the Americas, and especially
curricula used to educate American Indians. This association, although
affiliated with the American Philosophical Association, is an autonomous
organization, academically and financially responsible to itself.
G O A L S
As an American Indian organization,
originally created by, and for, American Indians, and created to assist a
renaissance of respect and scholarship for American Indian Philosophy, and
created in order to engage in the praxis necessary to maintain an American
indigenous voice of philosophy, this association is, as determined by a vote of
the officers, charged with the following
ongoing activities:
first,
assessing and reporting on the number and status of American Indian
philosophers in the profession, including undergraduate majors, and graduate
students; and assessing and reporting on the number and status of nonAmerican
Indian philosophers working in the area of American Indian Philosophy;
second,
studying and proposing culturally appropriate ways to encourage respect for
American Indian Philosophy, and to help American Indian students enter the profession, by educating
and acting on strategies to facilitate the acceptance, support, encouragement,
graduation, presentation, employment, and publication of American Indian
philosophers, including students, and participating in organizing institutes
for American Indian college students at the junior level to attract them into
philosophy;
third,
providing a culturally apropriate forum for oral and written tradition,
historic and contemporary, to deliver an American Indian voice, and provide
information on philosophical works about American indigeneity, by indigenist philosophers; preparing and
maintaining a database of culturally appropriate materials on American Indian
and Indigenist Philosophy, including
bibliographical and biographical materials, in English, Spanish, Native and
other languages, as deemed appropriate by the officers;
fourth, fifth,
establishing an ongoing American Indian Philosophy Newsletter and Journal, to
promote the culturally appropriate study, teaching, research and publication of
American Indian Philosophy, from paradigmatically American-Indian-Centric
historic, traditional, and contemporary perspectives;
fifth, advising
all committees and the Executive Board of the A.P.A., about identified
culturally inappropriate, unfair, or discriminatory practices (as determined by
the A.I.P.A., or a committee therof, or as determined by the Committee for
American Indians in Philosophy (C.A.I.P.), or a committee thereof) and ways in
which they may be rectified, including, but not limited to advising all
philosophers within the A.P.A. or specified institutions of ways to prevent and
overcome discrimination based on concepts of, for example, ability,
affiliation, age, belief, citizenship, class, ethnicity, gender, indigeneity,
lifestyle, nation, origin, place, practice, race, recognition, sex, space, or
time, against American Indian philosopers;
sixth,
promoting outstanding, culturally appropriate scholarship in the field of
American Indian philosophy, by working in coalitions that allow an indigenous
voice of the Americas to address issues of common concern with committees,
societies, associations, etc.; and report on ways to include American
Indigenous philosophical voices in the mainstream of undergraduate and graduate
education programs; and
seventh, take
affirmative actions to maintain a strong Indigenist presence and voice in this
Association, the A.P.A., and in the mainstream of graduate and undergraduate
philosophy programs, especially in the Americas.
---------------------====================================
C O N S T I T U T I O N
(May 1998)
for
AMERICAN
INDIAN PHILOSOPHY ASSOCIATION
Preamble:
In order to secure the advancement of American Indian Philosophy as a field, and Indigenous Philosophers of the
Americas
as a group, this constitution will govern the American
Indian Philosophy Association.
Definitions.
1. ‘Members’ shall mean all dues paying and
officially acknowledged honorary members.
Non dues paying members shall be referred to on when ‘general
membership’ is used.
2. ‘Status’
means an individual autonomous membership identification.
3. ‘President’ shall mean a duly nominated and
voted president of the association (with the exception that Vine Deloria, Jr.
is to hold a lifetime honorary presidential status); the presidential office
shall last three years in duration, but may be extended indefinitely, by proper
nominating and voting procedures; presidents may be deposed by a majority of
American Indian status votes by dues paying members; criteria is to include a
Ph.D. in Philosophy and American Indian Status.
4. ‘Vice President’ shall mean a duly nominated
and voted vice president of the association; the vice presidential office shall
last four years in duration, but may be extended indefinitely, by proper
nominating and voting procedures; vice presidents may be deposed by a majority
of American Indian status votes by dues paying members; criteria is to include
American Indian status.
5. ‘Secretary’ shall mean a duly nominated and
voted secretary of the association; the secretarial office shall last four
years in duration, but may be extended indefinitely, by proper nominating and
voting procedures; secretaries may be deposed by a majority of American Indian
status votes by dues paying members; criteria is to include a Masters or
Professional Degree or American Indian status.
6. ‘Treasurer’ shall mean a duly nominated and
voted treasurer of the association; the
treasurer office shall last four years in duration, but may be extended
indefinitely, by proper nominating and voting procedures; treasurers may be deposed
by a majority of American Indian status votes by dues paying members; criteria
is to include a Masters or Professioinal Degree, or American Indian status.
7. ‘American Indian Philosophy’ is to mean
philosophy of the Americas, traditional or contemporary, of North, Central and
South America, and including Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Carribean
Indigenous; these geographical boundaries are intended to capture the spirit of
inclusivity with respect to continent and place of the Americas.
8. ‘A vote of association officers’ means a
simple majority vote; to include honorary presidential member in case of a tie.
9. ‘A simply majority vote of the association’
means all current dues paying members shall be entitled to one vote, with the
exception that American Indians shall be entitled to count each of their votes
proportional to
non American Indian voting members so as to maintain a 51% simple majority of
the voting power; such 51% to be determined by the actual number of non
American Indian votes cast.
Identification of American Indian status shall be determined by each
autonomous individual member.
ARTICLE 1.
Name and Objective
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the
American Indian Philosophy Association (A.I.P.A.).
Section 2. The objectives of this Society shall be:
a) To promote a culturally appropriate field of American Indian Philosophy, broadly construed
as the teaching, research,
and publication of American Indian Philosophy from both an historic and contemporary perspective.
b) To provide a forum where issues concerning Indigenist Philosophy and Voice may be openly discussed and examined.
c) To provide a means by which those interested in American
Indian Philosophy may meet, exchange ideas, and promote the field.
ARTICLE II.
Membership
Section 1. The membership of this organization
shall be open to all who are interested in and concerned with issues of
Indigenist Philosophy of the Americas, but not to exclude an American Indian
presence.
Section 2. Membership criteria of this organization
shall be determined by the officers.
ARTICLE III.
Members and Officers Duties
Section 1. Officers must meet as a group once a
year. Members shall meet at least once
a year, at a location designated by the officers. The Secretary will keep records of these meetings, to be made
available to all members.
Section 2. The secretary shall maintain a yearly Report
of the A.P.A. Committee on American Indians In Philosophy, and minutes from
meetings, to be disseminated as determined by a majority vote of the
association officers.
Section 3. It is the responsibility of each officer,
upon recognition of affiliation by a division, to attend each of the three
divisional meetings of the A.P.A. each year.
It is the president’s responsibility to ensure that at least one hotel
room is made available for this purpose, to be paid for proportionally by any
member sharing the room.
Section 4. Expenditure of any funds by any officer or
member of the association must be approved by a majority vote of the
officers. The treasurer will maintain a
record of financial transactions by member and by transaction. The secretary will maintain a membership
list, complete with institutional affiliation, addresses, phone numbers, email,
etc.
ARTICLE IV.
Elections and Meetings
Section 1. The regular meeting of the Committee shall
be held in conjunction with meetings of the American Philosophical Association,
and shall be announced at least three months in advance by the Executive
Committee.
Section 2. Proposals for times and places for the
regular meetings may be submitted by any member.
Section 3. The vice president shall convene an annual
meeting at which nominations and elections shall take place, and may call for
other meetings as necessary.
Section 4. Future officers may be nominated by any
member, nominations must be approved by a nominating committee and current
officers. The nominating comittee shall
perform all duties relevant to the Bylaws and shall conduct voting procedures
for any officer elections scheduled at annual meetings of the Association. All current dues paying members shall be
entitled to one vote, with the exception that American Indians shall be
entitled to count each of their votes proportional to non American Indian
voting members so as to maintain a 51% simple majority of the voting power;
such 51% to be determined by the actual number of non American Indian votes
cast. Identification of American Indian
status shall be determined by each autonomous individual member.
Section 5. The president shall be elected every third
year, to begin in May of 1998; and the
remaining officers shall be elected every four years to begin in May of 1998. If for any reason an officer discontinues
responsibility of the office, with the agreement of the President and Vice
President, a member may accept the office and duties until such time as the
official voting procedure comes due.
Section 6. Officers shall be elected by secret ballot
after open discussion of the nominees, during the aforementioned required
meeting, and their term of office shall begin at the close of the meeting.
ARTICLE V.
Rules of Order
Section 1. When deemed appropriate at the request of
any officer of the association, the rules contained in the current edition of Robert's
Rules of Order Newly Revised shall informally govern association meetings.
ARTICLE VI.
Amendments to the Bylaws
Section 1. These Bylaws can be amended at the annual
meeting of the committee by a simple majority vote of the members attending
that meeting.
Section 2. Proposed amendments may be submitted at the
annual meeting or to any association officer in writing before the meeting.
By Laws.
END OF A.I.P.A. CONSTITUTION