Native & Indigenous Research & arts Symposium

Thursday, March 6, 2025 & Friday, March 7, 2025 - Scripps Cottage

Howka (Kumeyaay greeting)! The Native Resource Center (NRC) at San Diego State University (SDSU) warmly invites you to participate in our 5th Annual Native & Indigenous Research & Arts Symposium (NIRAS) taking place from March 6-7, 2025 at Scripps Cottage on the SDSU campus.

NIRAS serves as an academic space to uplift diverse Native and Indigenous research, narratives, art, issues, and knowledges. NIRAS aims to center Native and Indigenous epistemological and methodological frameworks that are otherwise ignored within dominant Western academic settings. We also take a transnational approach to Indigeneity that disrupts settler borders and uplifts Indigenous experiences across the globe. Additionally, in honor of the Native American Music and Dance Conference organized by Dr. Vince Whipple (Lakota/Diné) in 2022 - we are excited to continue to integrate the arts as a prominent part of our symposium. NIRAS will include visual performances by local and regional Indigenous artists. 

Submission Guidelines:

We invite all students at SDSU and beyond committed to the sovereign identity and progress of Indigenous Peoples to submit a presentation proposal. Participants are encouraged to center Indigenous constructions of knowledge and the relational and reciprocal aspects of research. We are looking for proposals from all disciplines. Presentation proposals are not limited to academic papers; we also encourage creative channels such as short documentaries, storytelling, visual arts, dance, music, theatre, and other mediums that transmit diverse Native and Indigenous epistemologies. Presentation proposals should be relevant to at least one of the NRC’s four core pillars: 
 Decolonization & Sovereignty
Truth, Education & Growth
Indigenous Philosophies & Identity
Health & Wellness

Deadline to submit presentation proposals is Friday, February 14, 2025 by 11:59pm.

Submissions can be submitted at: BIT.LY/NIRAS25

Presenters will be notified of their acceptance status by or before midnight on Friday, February 21, 2025. Following selection and notification, chosen presenters may be requested to submit additional information or revise details based on the needs of the symposium.

Presentations will take place in-person on Thursday, March 6th from 10am-6pm and Friday, March 7th from 10am to 4pm at Scripps Cottage. Presentation time slots are 15 minutes long and we encourage presenters to stay for the duration of the symposium.

For questions and concerns, please email NRC Faculty Scholar, Matt Fowler at [email protected].