Bard College Center for Indigenous Studies (CfIS) Hosts Annual Symposium With Keynote Speaker Miranda Belarde-Lewis on March 9–10

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.— Bard College Center for Indigenous Studies  (CfIS) presents its third annual symposium, An Invitation to Interconnectedness: Indigenous Approaches to Information, Knowledge, Justice, and Belonging, taking place March 9–10 on Bard’s Annandale campus. Organized by CfIS as part of its mission to nurture public programming focused on education, arts, and advocacy in Native American and Indigenous Studies, this program will enable participants to think deeply about Indigenous approaches to information in libraries, archives, and museum collections.

Through panels, discussions, and collaborative workshops presented by a host of distinguished scholars, the symposium aims to explore Indigenous taxonomies, reparative cataloging and protocols in libraries, archives and museums, through Indigenous frameworks of relationality. “Relationality is dynamic,” write guest conveners Miranda Belarde-Lewis, Marisa Duarte and Sandy Littletree. “It allows us to actively participate in our world, ensuring that our interactions are compassionate, loving, and caring, as we become accountable to those with whom we relate.” The event also intends to develop and strengthen networks among those committed to equitable information services in the Mahicanituck [Hudson] Valley and beyond.

The event will open with a keynote presentation by Miranda Belarde-Lewis (Zuni/Tlingit) on March 9 at 11:15am, followed by  a workshop for library professionals led by a team from the Labriola National American Indian Data Center and various presentations taking place through March 10.  Registration required. For more information and to register, please follow this link, and reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

Speakers include Miranda Belarde-Lewis (Zuni/Tlingit), associate professor of North American Indigenous Knowledge at the University of Washington Information School; Marisa Duarte (Pascua Yaqui/Chicanx), associate professor in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University; Sandy Littletree (Navajo/Eastern Shoshone), assistant professor at University of Washington Information School; Sarah Kostelecky (Zuni Pueblo) associate professor and director of the Indigenous Nations Library Program (INLP) at University of New Mexico; Alexander Soto (Tohono O'odham Nation), director of the Labriola National American Indian Data Center at the Arizona State University Library; and Vina Begay (Diné Nation), assistant librarian and archivist at the Labriola National American Indian Data Center at Arizona State University and chair of the Native American Archives Section.

Heather Topcik, dean of libraries at Bard College, states, “libraries and archives are not neutral repositories but sites of relationship and responsibility. This convening invites us to rethink how knowledge is organized and shared, and to build practices that honor Indigenous epistemologies and sustain more just futures for information work.”

About the Speakers

Miranda Belarde-Lewis (Zuni/Tlingit) is associate professor of North American Indigenous Knowledge at the University of Washington Information School, and has worked extensively to create Native-centered educational programming and publications with tribal, city, state and federal museums.

Marisa Duarte (Pascua Yaqui Tribe/Chicanx), associate professor in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University, examines issues of information, knowledge, and technology in Native American and Indigenous contexts. Her scholarship focuses on the ways in which Native and Indigenous people utilize social media as a method of circulating Indigenous ways of knowing.

Sandy Littletree (Navajo/Eastern Shoshone), assistant professor at University of Washington Information School, studies the relationships between Indigenous systems of knowledge and the field of library and information science. Her influential work advancing Indigenous frameworks in these realms connects to the heart of this event.

Sarah Kostelecky (Zuni Pueblo) is associate professor and director of the Indigenous Nations Library Program (INLP) at University of New Mexico. She held the inaugural role of Program Specialist (Indigenous Peoples) for the Library of Congress, and explores how institutions can shift their practices and parameters to support and safeguard Indigenous ways of knowing.

Alexander Soto (Tohono O'odham Nation), Director of the Labriola National American Indian Data Center at the Arizona State University Library, has developed culturally responsive research services and led efforts to Indigenize community-based archival initiatives for Tribal communities. Soto, along with colleague Vina Begay, will discuss systems of organizing and understanding archives with a commitment to building information practices grounded in Indigenous frameworks, centered around Indigenous access.

Vina Begay (Diné Nation) is Assistant Librarian and Archivist at the Labriola National American Indian Data Center at Arizona State University and currently serves as the Chair of the Native American Archives Section (NAAS) and is a member of the Society of American Archivists’ Archival Repatriation Committee. Her work brings a strong focus on Indigenous-centered archival practice and community authority over cultural knowledge and belongings.
 
About the Center for Indigenous Studies
The Center for Indigenous Studies (CfIS) provides dedicated programming on key topics and methods in Native American and Indigenous studies throughout the Bard network and in public-facing events, including an annual lecture series, arts programming, curricular enrichment programming, and community-focused events. The creation of CfIS was made possible through a transformational endowment gift to Bard College made by the Gochman Family Foundation in 2022, matched by the Open Society Foundation, to substantially advance the College’s work deepening diversity and equity in American and Indigenous Studies.

Bard College’s Land Acknowledgement, developed in dialogue with the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians.

In the spirit of truth and equity, it is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are gathered on the sacred homelands of the Munsee and Muhheaconneok people, who are the original stewards of the land. Today, due to forced removal, the community resides in Northeast Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We honor and pay respect to their ancestors past and present, as well as to future generations, and we recognize their continuing presence in their homelands. We understand that our acknowledgement requires those of us who are settlers to recognize our own place in and responsibilities toward addressing inequity, and that this ongoing and challenging work requires that we commit to real engagement with the Munsee and Mohican communities to build an inclusive and equitable space for all.
 

This event was last updated on 02-19-2026

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