FSU launches Native American and Indigenous Studies Center to enrich global indigeneity research

 

FSU launches Native American and Indigenous Studies Center to enrich global indigeneity research

In partnership with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, a new study center has been created at Florida State University that serves as a conceptual hub for Native American and Indigenous research and artistic practice to promote educational initiatives and collaborative scholarship.

The Native American and Indigenous Studies Center (NAIS) promotes and coordinates consultations with tribal nations and community leaders, educational efforts inside and outside of the classroom and collaborative scholarship more broadly.

“My vision is that the center will be the intellectual and cultural home for the university’s outreach with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and other Native American tribes in the South and a national leader for collaborative research and programming,” said Andrew Frank, the center’s inaugural director and the Allen Morris Professor of History.

FSU has called itself the “Seminoles” since becoming a coeducational school in 1947. While the relationship includes the use of the Tribe’s name and symbols in the university’s athletic department, the new center is a part of FSU’s larger commitment to collaborate with the Seminole Tribe of Florida as intellectual partners.

Frank said hosting this preeminent international conference is an example of how the center engages in larger conversations beyond Florida State’s campus, which is an important aspect of the center.

The physical center will soon have a permanent location near the Westcott Building.