Hatso, Hawnday Own Day (Greetings),

Welcome to the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas (IPA) Special Interest Group (SIG). The IPA SIG currently has approximately 234 voting members, and represents AERA members from a number of different research interests and tribal/Indigenous community contexts, both national and international.  For many years the IPA SIG has served as a gathering space at AERA to support emergent scholars interested in conducting Indigenous research in education, as well as a space in which returning scholars connect and share new accomplishments. A few and continued initiatives are:

• Development of an AERA program that reflects diverse interests of the membership -- drawing upon multiple contexts in which Indigenous research is conducted
• Revision of the IPA SIG By Laws with eventual submission of IPA SIG BY Laws for review by AERA governance
• Re-envisioning an election process that both honors Indigenous protocols and relationships, while reaching all members toward full engagement in SIG discussion and decision making
• Have a more robust presence on social media platforms (facebook and twitter) and update our website

At our annual business meeting, we celebrated the 2019 Mike Charleston Awardee, Dr. Stephanie J. Waterman, Associate Professor, University of Toronto.  

Stephanie J. Waterman is Onondaga, Turtle Clan, from the Onondaga Nation. She is the mother of two daughters and a proud grandmother of two—a grandson and a granddaughter. She earned her doctorate from Syracuse University after working there in 11 different departments. Her research has explored Native American/ Indigenous college student experiences. She and her colleagues, Heather J. Shotton, and Shelly C. Lowe edited the first book on Native American student affairs, Beyond the Asterisk: Understanding Native Students in Higher education (Stylus, 2013), and have since co-edited their second book, Beyond College Access: Indigenizing Programs for Student Success (Stylus, 2018).

The IPA SIG congratulates Dr. Waterman, this year’s Mike Charleston Award recipient!

We will be soliciting nominations for the 2020 Bobby Wright Early Career award nominations in the near future.

"The purposes of the IPA SIG are to mentor, support and increase exchange of knowledge uncovering Indigenous ways of knowing and doing in order to address issues surrounding Indigenous research methodologies, analyses, and reporting of educational issues impacting Indigenous peoples and communities."

Please view the Bylaws link to see the proposed purposes of the SIG.  As of 2016, these Bylaws are still under consideration and revision.  In 2016-15, a committee will be assembled to continue to work on these documents.

SIG Officers: 2015-2016:  In 2015, the SIG's in-person elections were determined to be invalid and therefore the following incoming SIG officers served the roles entirely without support of Elect officer positions:

Congratulations to our 2019 IPA SIG Officers:

Robin Starr Minthorn, Chair

Natalie Youngbull, IPA SIG Program Chair and Chair-elect

Charlotte E. Davidson, IPA SIG Secretary/Treasurer

Theresa Stewart-Ambo, IPA SIG Secretary/Treasurer-elect

Renee White Eyes, IPA SIG Graduate Representative

Charlie A. Scott, IPA SIG Graduate Representative-elect

For more information about these individuals, please visit Who We Are.