Education Conference Draws Navajo Luminaries

Professors, Advocates Meet to Advance Indigenous Academics at All Levels

Prominent Navajo educators will share ideas for advancing opportunities throughout the academic system, from grade school to grad school, during presentations at the 3rd Annual Navajo Education Conference on April 11 and 12 at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Ariz.

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute President Sherry Allison, EdD, will give a keynote address on student success. Henry Fowler, EdD, associate professor of Diné culture and leadership at Navajo Technical University, will share the effects of Navajo culture on student performance in math. Greyhills Academy High School Superintendent Loren Hudson, EdD, will discuss opportunities for Navajo youth, and Manley Begay, PhD, professor of applied indigenous studies at Northern Arizona University, will help us envision the Navajo Nation in the year 2040. See the full agenda.

This year’s conference also includes a presentation by Gerardo Tununbala’, co-founder of Misak University. The Misak are an indigenous people of Colombia, South America, who, like the Navajo, are working to decolonize their education and reclaim their language.

“For 45 years, Fielding Graduate University has worked with educational leaders who have a commitment to change educational systems from within,” noted Fielding President Katrina Rogers, PhD, “As a person who has worked with Diné, I am honored to lead Fielding, a university with faculty who are inspired by our partnership with the Navajo Nation, for this important exchange of ideas that will lead to a more authentic, productive, and satisfying educational experience for Navajo students of all ages.”

Fielding Graduate University has graduated many Navajo doctoral students and, with the Navajo Nation, is providing scholarships to 20 tribal members enrolled in its EdD doctoral program. Alumni and faculty are among the conference presenters. The university is organizing the conference with the Navajo Nation, Department of Diné Education, and Office of Navajo Nation Scholarship & Finance Assistance.

The Navajo Education Conference takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 11, and 9 am to 1 pm April 12, at the Navajo Nation Museum at Highway 264 and Loop Road in Window Rock, AZ. Register now.