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Message from the Director

Dear Friends of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center,

We are excited to report that Executive Vice Chancellor Scott Waugh has appointed Dr. Belinda Tucker as Vice Provost of the Institute of American Cultures, which will oversee all the Ethnic Studies Centers at UCLA, including the AISC. Dr. Tucker has been a long -time supporter of ethnic studies at UCLA, and we look forward to a period of growth under her leadership. You can read more about her appointment below.

Please join us tomorrow, February 8th, for a premier AISC event, in which will be hosting a provocative dialogue between two giants in the field of Native studies. UCLA professor and Chair of the American Indian Studies Center's Faculty Advisory Committee, Peter Nabokov, will engage the ever-dynamic Dr. David Treuer (USC) in conversation about his new book, Rez Life. We are honored to host this event with such esteemed scholars, and we hope you will join us at the Faculty Center. All the details are below.

As a reminder, our website -- including local events, activities, and job opportunities -- is updated daily. Please check back often to learn about items of interest.

We hope you're having a wonderful February, and we look forward to seeing you all soon.

Megwetch (thank you),
Angela R. Riley
Director

(www.aisc.ucla.edu)

Appointment of M. Belinda Tucker as Vice Provost of the Institute of American Cultures

To: Deans, Faculty, Vice Provosts, Vice Chancellors, Chief Administrative Officers, Institute of American Cultures Staff, and Ethnic Studies Centers Staff

I am pleased to announce that Professor M. Belinda Tucker has accepted an offer from Chancellor Block and me to serve in the newly established position of vice provost of the Institute of American Cultures. The IAC will serve as the administrative hub for UCLA's four ethnic studies centers and will initiate campus-wide research, educational programs and collaborations that support a wide range of disciplinary approaches to the study of American cultures.

Professor Tucker holds a faculty appointment in the department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, and she is a faculty associate of the Bunche Center for African American Studies. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan. Professor Tucker has enjoyed a long history of administrative service at UCLA, including most recently her position as associate dean in the Graduate Division from 2007 to 2011.

For 30 years and largely with NIH funding, Professor Tucker has examined and published extensively on the nature of close-personal relationships in a sociocultural context. She has directed or co-directed a number of major national studies, including the landmark National Survey of Black Americans, and well as the 21-city Survey of Families and Relationships, a panel study. She also has conducted research on inter-ethnic relations, the transition to adulthood among urban Black youth from distinct cultural groupings, the social adaptation of developmentally delayed adults over the life-course, and the impact of incarceration on family members and close ties. From 2003 to 2009, Professor Tucker directed the Family Research Consortium IV, a National Institute of Mental Health-funded collaborative network of scholars focused on family mental health, as well as an affiliated national postdoctoral fellowship program.

Under Professor Tucker's leadership as vice provost, the IAC will advance the understanding of new social and cultural realities in America, especially those occasioned by recent unparalleled population shifts. UCLA already has great strength in this area, due in large measure to the work of our ethnic studies centers. I expect the IAC to build on our success, and to both deepen and broaden the study of American cultures at UCLA.

I encourage you to read the IAC's academic plan <http://evc.ucla.edu/reports/IAC%20FINAL%20PROPOSAL%20for%20release%20010412.pdf>, and Vice Provost Tucker welcomes your ideas for collaborative research and programs. Please join me in congratulating her as she begins this important new role.

Sincerely,

Scott L. Waugh
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

THIS WEEK: Are Reservations Stand-Ins for Indians? Sovereignty, Identity, and Authenticity in David Treuer's Rez Life

You're invited to attend a reading by Dr. David Treuer from his latest book, Rez Life, a powerful, gritty, and poignant memoir/history that details life in his Great Lakes Ojibwe homeland. Philip Deloria calls Treuer "one of the most provocative voices in American Indian literary writing and criticism" and recommends Rez Life for "those who really want to understand Indian casinos, fishing rights, poverty, alcohol, spirituality, family, crime, war, law, sovereignty, violence, love, dedication, endurance...." The reading will be followed by a thought-provoking Q&A with Peter Nabokov, UCLA Professor of World Arts and Culture and author of A Forest of Time: American Indian Ways of History  and Where the Lightning Strikes: the Lives of American Indian Sacred Places.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
UCLA Faculty Center, Sierra Room [Campus Map]
Light refreshments will be served

If you will need parking on campus, please go to the parking kiosk located on Hilgard and Westholme. Let the attendant know you will be attending the David Treuer "Rez Life" book reading. They will provide you with a complimentary parking permit to LOT 2, located directly across the street from the Faculty Center.

DAVID TREUER is the author of three novels and a book of essays. His writing has also appeared in Esquire, Bomb, Granta, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and Slate.com. He is the winner of a Pushcart Prize, the Minnesota Book award, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Bush Foundation. A professor of literature and creative writing at USC, he divides his time between Los Angeles and Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota.

Come join us for an information session. Learn more about the grants and application process! Get tips and advice!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012
12:30 – 1:30 P.M. and 2:00 – 3:00 P.M. *
3232 Campbell Hall

* There are two timeframes given, both are the same workshops. Feel free to attend both or choose one.

Research grants are available to current UCLA faculty, staff, graduate students, and IAC postdoctoral fellows with demonstrated interest in ethnic studies. The Research Grant Program is on a reimbursement basis only. Ordinarily, faculty projects will be funded for no more than $10,000 and graduate student projects for no more than $7,000. Application deadline: April 20, 2012

If you have any questions about the workshop, please contact either AISC IAC Coordinator Rebecca H. Rosser at rhrosser@aisc.ucla.edu or AASC IAC Coordinator Melany De La Cruz-Viesca at melanyd@ucla.edu

Save the Date: The UCLA Library Writer Series Presents Maya Lenca Storytelling: Into the Next Millennium

A performance of a Maya-Lenca creation myth by the young chief Leonel Chevez. Leonel Chevez is a health worker, artist, and activist grounded in his Maya-Lenca traditions. Born in the Maya-Lenca region of El Salvador, he has worked to maintain his traditions alive. For more info on Chevez see http://www.antoniochevez.com.

Thursday, March 1, 2012
1:00 – 3:00 P.M.
Charles E. Young Research Library, Presentation Room
This event is free and open to the public.

Please RSVP by February 25, 2012 at lesliem@library.ucla.edu

Save the Date: Native American Student Advocacy Institute Diversity Conference

The Native American Student Advocacy Institute celebrates individual triumphs over educational inequities, and provides opportunities for educators and community leaders to form partnerships to ensure postsecondary access and excellence for Native American students.

Tuesday-Wednesday, May 22-23, 2012
UCLA

Assistant Research I
UCLA American Indian Studies Center

Seeking Assistant Researcher who is responsible for producing and bringing to completion comprehensive research projects related to American Indian Studies, as understood as an inter-disciplinary field;  developing major and small research proposals for Center-supported programs; assisting faculty in developing, writing, and submitting research proposals and monitoring their movement through University procedures and rules; cooperating with faculty in the operation of major research projects; supervising research assistants; managing and monitoring Institute of American Cultures grants and fellowships; and working closely with the Director on Center research projects. Terminal degree (JD accepted) required by start date, salary range $53,200 - $55,000. Maximum 2-year appointment beginning July 1, 2012.

Please forward 1) cover letter, 2) CV, 3) writing sample, and 4) 2 letters of recommendation sent directly to:
Rebecca Rosser, Assistant Director
UCLA American Indian Studies Center
rhrosser@aisc.ucla.edu

Complete Application due by March 1, 2012

Other News and Events

The Significance of The Frontier in An Age of Transnational History Symposium, The Huntington Library

An international symposium on the concept of the frontier in its global contexts, presented by the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West

Saturday, February 25, 2012
8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friends' Hall, The Huntington Library
San Marino, CA

All lectures and roundtables are free and open to the public. A luncheon with the participants will be available for $10 (students) and $20 (faculty and public). Please RSVP by contacting icwfrontiersymposium@gmail.com

This collaborative event for students and educators in the community marks the launch of PIEAM's educational programs and AASC's latest special issue of Amerasia Journal, “Transoceanic Flows: Pacific Islander Interventions across the American Empire.” Supportive of the emerging field of Pacific Islander Studies, the AASC and PIEAM affirm the vital role that Pacific Islander Studies can play in curricula for
learners and scholars of all ages and levels.

Join us at PIEAM on Saturday, February 25, 2012 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM for this free event. Teaching the Pacific will spotlight the living arts of the Pacific Islands, including demonstrations from authentic food vendors, carvers, and weavers and feature the following presenters:

- Acclaimed Samoan artist and writer Dan Taulapapa McMullin
- Recently hired UCLA Maori faculty member Michelle Erai
- Manaia W. Petaia, faculty advisor for Pacific Islander Clubs at the Jackie Robinson Academy (K‐8) and Cabrillo High School
- UCLA graduate students working in Pacific Islander Studies

* PIEAM's educational programs include school and community tours, docent training, online resources and volunteer opportunities.

* The Amerasia Journal special issue, “Transoceanic Flows: Pacific Islander Interventions across the American Empire” is guest edited by UCLA Professor Keith Camacho, the first Pacific Islander faculty member in the University of California system. The issue includes innovative research and creative work from leading
Pacific Islander scholars and artists.

To RSVP visit www.aasc.ucla.edu/archives/eventrsvp.asp or email aascrsvp@aasc.ucla.edu

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