The Indigenous Women’s Series is one of the longest running and most successful speaker series at Oberlin College bringing students, faculty and staff together as collaborative partners. Seven years ago, a committee of students and staff from the American Indian Council, the Multicultural Resource Center and the Edmonia Lewis Center for Women and Transgender People came together in order to raise awareness surrounding the history of U.S. and European imperialism in the Americas and Pacific Islands. The long-term goal of the series has been to increase the institutional awareness and support of Indigenous issues in the curriculum and among the campus community.

The result of their groundbreaking work was Oberlin’s first annual Indigenous Women’s Series. Over the last seven years, the series has brought to Oberlin 20 scholars, artists and activists including Chrystos, Andrea Smith, Antoinette Charfauros, Haunani-Kay Trask in 2000-2001; Cherrie Moraga, LeAnne Howe, Stormy Ogden, J. Kehaulani Kauanui in 2001-2002; Inez Hernandez-Avila, Susan Applegate Krouse, Charlene Teters, Myla Vicente Carpio in 2002-2003; Mililani Trask, Sharon Day, Andrea Smith in 2003-2004; Ellen Baird, Tiya Miles, and Davianna MacGregor in 2004-2005; and Anne Keala Kelly, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and Michelle Raheja in 2005-2006.

In its fourth year IWS evolved into a highly popular Comparative American Studies mini-course, taught by Dr. Andrea Smith of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, that examined Native American feminisms in greater depth. This growing support for the academic study of Indigenous issues was part of a larger effort that most recently has resulted in the approval of a Mellon Post-Doctoral position for the 2005-2006 academic year in Indigenous Studies, housed in the Comparative American Studies program.

The 2007-2008 Indigenous Women's Series Schedule:

THE MISSION COALITION – IRIS MORALES
Public Lecture "The Mission Coalition: Environmental Racism and Justice"
on October 11, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. in Craig Auditorium.
*co-sponsored with the My Name is My Own Series

THE MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK -
FLOR CRISOSTOMO AND MARIA SOCORRO GUTIERREZ
Public Lecture "Immigrants and Immigrants' Rights: A Perspective on Race
and Gender" on November 5th at 4:30pm in Wilder 101

ANGELA MORRILL
Public Lecture "Decolonizing Klamath Termination" on March 18th at 4:30
pm in Wilder 101.

IWS 2006-2007 pamphlet

IWS 2005-2006 pamphlet

IWS 2004-2005 pamphlet