Kathy & Neal Kimmel generously underwrite the Hot Topics series
Cindy Engles generously underwrites the summer season of programming
On August 16, 2023, the new Vail Symposium series, Conversations on Controversial Issues with Clay Jenkinson, presents a robust discussion about Native American issues to address the present-day challenges and opportunities facing these communities. Jenkinson is offering this primer for our community to learn about Native American history and culture as well as the American context in which they exist.
Most Americans don’t know much about Native Americans beyond pow wows, dream catchers, poverty and a sense that Native Americans were mistreated through the frontier period of American history.
This is an opportunity to catch up on some important subjects. What do we mean by the Doctrine of Discovery? Why do some people say the “Indian Wars” never ended? What is the nature of Native American sovereignty on and off the reservations? What is going on with respect to Native and water issues in the American West? What is a Land Acknowledgement Statement and what is the right thing to do? What would Indian Reconciliation Commissions do and would they be effective? What is the right term for Native Americans? Are reservations a good thing or an impediment to Native American progress?
In a non-political way, historian Clay Jenkinson will bring us all up to speed with slides, film clips and humor.
