Book launch celebration for ‘American Indian Studies: Native PhD Graduates Gift Their Stories’

Join contributors of American Indian Studies: Native PhD Graduates Gift Their Stories, with editors Mark L. M. Blair, Mary Jo Tippeconnic Fox, and Kestrel A. Smith, with a special introduction from Dr. Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert, Head of Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona, to celebrate the publication of this new book.

When: Wednesday, April 6, 2022, 5:30 p.m. Arizona time.

Registration is required. A Zoom link to enter the event will be emailed to you the morning and afternoon of the event date on April 6, 2022. Please register here.

In American Indian Studies, Native PhD graduates share their personal stories about their educational experiences and how doctoral education has shaped their identities, lives, relationships, and careers.

This collection of personal narratives from Native graduates of the University of Arizona’s American Indian Studies (AIS) doctoral program, the first such program of its kind, gifts stories of endurance and resiliency, hardship and struggle, and accomplishment and success. It provides insight into the diverse and dynamic experiences of Native graduate students. The narratives address family and kinship, mentorship, and service and giving back. Essayists share the benefits of having an AIS program at a mainstream academic institution—not just for the students enrolled but also for their communities.

This book offers Native students aspiring to a PhD a realistic picture of what it takes. While each student has their own path to walk, these stories provide the gift of encouragement and serve to empower Native students to reach their educational goals, whether it be in an AIS program or other fields of study.