Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies Newsletter - End of Spring 2024 Semester Newsletter
New Indigenous Staff and Administration
CNAIS hired a new staff person!
We are pleased to welcome Lila Crank to our office. She is moving into the role previously held by Cibonet Salazar, who left to take a position with her home Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico.
Lila is Diné, originally from Farmington, New Mexico. She is Ashkenazi Jewish, born for Tł’ááshchí’í, Ashkena...
CU hires a Native student support position in Student Services
Junior Reina Toc has been hired in Student Affairs at the Center for Inclusion and Social Change to specifically support Native American students.
Junior (he/him/él) comes to us from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he served as program director at the office of international affairs at Lehigh Univer...
Welcoming CU’s new Associate Vice Chancellor for Native American Affairs
Benny Shendo Jr., Photo Credit: Denver Post
Benny Shendo, Jr has joined CU as its first-ever Associate Vice Chancellor for Native American Affairs. Benny is a member of the Jemez Pueblo Tribe. He was elected Chairman of the Board of First Nations Development Institute in June 2016 after serving ma...
Meet our four new Core Faculty Members
CNAIS has welcomed four new Core Faculty Members this Spring!
We would like to give a warm welcome to our four new Core faculty members:
Leila Gomez, Professor of Women & Gender Studies
Dr. Leila Gómez in an Associate Professor in the Department of Women and Gender Studies at CU Boulder. Her r...
2024 Research
CNAIS Sponsors New Research
CNAIS Sponsors New Research
CNAIS received a significant budget increase from the Graduate School last Fall. The additional resources allowed us to issue a call for proposals for new research projects that we can support. We were able to support a number of interesting projects with grants of up to...
Spring Semester Events
Hosting the UN Expert Group Meeting of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
NARF Executive Director and CNAIS External Advisory Board Member John Echohawk addresses Expert Group Meeting.
Photo credit: University of Colorado
CNAIS joined with the Law School to co-host the UN Expert Group Meeting of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Jan. 24-26, 2024. Delegates from...
CNAIS Hosts BVSD Native Student Ceremony
CNAIS hosted the BVSD Native student ceremony for the third year with the American Indian Parent Committee of BVSD.
On May 1, CNAIS served as campus host for BVSD’s Native student graduation ceremony. Ten Native students graduated this year, and the students and their parents were able to use the C...
Ravis Henry Visits CNAIS, Speaks at Fiske
Ravis Henry, Diné, Towering House Clan and born for the Coyote Pass-Jemez Clan, visited our campus early this semester on January 25 and 26 from Canyon de Chelly in Chinle, AZ. We were thrilled to host him at CNAIS and contribute to "The Navajo Night Sky" event for which he spoke at Fiske. Henry sh...
Completing the First Year of the Native & Indigenous STEM Routes Pilot Program
In collaboration with CU Boulder's STEM Routes Mentorship Program, CNAIS is completing the first year of a pilot mentorship program for Native American graduate students in STEM fields. This program seeks to increase Native opportunity and presence in all STEM areas. After inspecting some of the bar...