Indigenous Thinkers

Designed by a team of distinguished faculty, academic professionals and IT specialists, ArizonaNativeNet is a collaborative, university-wide effort led by two of the UA's most highly regarded Native American academic programs, the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management and Policy (NNI) at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program (IPLP) at the James E. Rogers College of Law, with technical and production assistance provided by the Native Peoples Technical Assistance Office (NPTAO) within the Office of the Vice President for Research.

ArizonaNativeNet project leader, Robert A. Williams, Jr., E. Thomas Sullivan Professor of Law and American Indian Studies and Director of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) Program at the James E. Rogers College of Law, says that the idea behind ArizonaNativeNet is to provide Native communities access to the most up-to-date, cutting edge research, executive education and distance learning resources and other Web-based nation building databases and information. Much of the educational and distance learning content on ArizonaNativeNet is being produced and contributed by the more than twenty academic programs on campus that participate in the Vice President for Research Native Programs Collaborative, an effort by the university to improve its service and outreach to Native communities in Arizona and elsewhere.

The ArizonaNativeNet Web site features breaking news, simulcasts and videotaped lectures, workshops and conferences, along with up-to-date research, analyses and resources on Native Nations governance, law, health, education, language and culture. The site is designed for use by tribal leaders, policymakers, students, educators, media and the general public.

Special features on the new Web site will include the "ArizonaNativeNet Distinguished Lecture Series," made up of distinguished scholars, experts, policymakers and tribal leaders brought to the university by the many Native American-related academic programs on campus. The "Native Nation Building Resource Database" will include important information on research, grants and outreach and service programs benefiting Native Nations conducted by faculty and staff at the UA since 2001. Other distance learning content and coursework focusing on tribal leadership executive education and designed specifically for ArizonaNativeNet is being produced by NNI and IPLP.

Ian Record, Native Nations Institute
(520) 626-2637
recordi@email.arizona.edu