NEA Big Read Phoenix: Keynote with Layli Long Soldier
In every instance, Joe. In every heart-soaking instance. As the priest here you know well I have buried infants and whole families killed in car accidents and young people who made terrible choices, and even people who got lucky enough to die old. Yes, I've seen it. Every time there is an evil, much good comes of it—people in these circumstances choose to do an extra amount of good, show unusual love, become stronger in their devotion to Jesus, or to their own favorite saint, or attain an unusual communion of some sort in their families . . . So it is that every evil, whether moral or material, results in good. You'll see.
From The Round House by Louise Erdrich (p. 254)
Every time a person goes missing, it's a tragedy. But statistics are only part of the picture. In times of crisis, we come together as a community to protect one another, honor those we've lost and gather strength to keep moving.
For our keynote event, join acclaimed poet Layli Long Soldier for Bring Them Home: An Evening Dedicated to Missing and Murdered Indigenous People on Friday, March 26, 2021 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Phoenix MST on Zoom. At this event, Long Soldier will share new work created in response to issues surrounding missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG), followed by a larger conversation with advocates and community organizers Patti Hibbeler, Valaura Imus-Nahsonhoya, and Agnes Woodward moderated by Jaclyn Roessel.
This event is presented in partnership with the Phoenix Indian Center and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Humanities Division at Arizona State University, will be live-streamed and recorded and is open to the public and free.
Looking for more events? Explore Diné womanhood with Laura Tohe and Luci Tapahonso on February 27, learn about Arizona's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Study Committee on March 19 or view the full schedule for the NEA Big Read today at http://piper.asu.edu/nea-big-read/events.
About our Partners
Layli Long Soldier holds a B.F.A. from the Institute of American Indian Arts and an M.F.A. from Bard College. Her poems have appeared in POETRY Magazine, The New York Times, The American Poet, The American Reader, The Kenyon Review Online, BOMB and elsewhere. She is the recipient of an NACF National Artist Fellowship, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a Whiting Award, and was a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award. She has also received the 2018 PEN/Jean Stein Award and the 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award.
Patricia K. Hibbeler (Salish and Kootenai), ABD, MA is the Chief Executive Officer of the Phoenix Indian Center, Inc. - an organization with a 69-year history. The Center’s core services are prevention, workforce development, youth and language/cultural revitalization services. Ms. Hibbeler has a strong background in organizational culture and operations, partnership development, program and organizational evaluation and board development. Ms. Hibbeler’s past positions include Field Research Director of a NIDA funded grant entitled the American Indian Multi-sector Health Inventory (AIM-HI) study initiated by Washington University; Assistant Director of Arizona State University’s Arizona Prevention Resource Center; Nebraska Department of Education Drug Free Schools Coordinator; Business Education Instructor for Spencer School of Business; Bilingual Education Program Director for St. Francis Indian School; Teacher Aid for Two Eagle River School.
Valaura Imus-Nahsonhoya (Hopi Tribe) has eighteen (18) years of direct victim services to crime victims, working in Tribal communities addressing historical trauma and trauma informed practices. Executive Director with Honwungsi Consulting Services, LLC and Chief Executive Officer of Omauw Resource Center, 501(c)3. Employed with National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
A citizen of the Navajo Nation, Jaclyn Roessel is proud Diné asdzaan (Navajo womxn), a poet, certified personal coach, and a cultural equity & justice consultant. Roessel believes in the power of Indigenous ways of knowing and teachings to support the building of healthy, strong, and just communities. She lives in the Pueblo of Tamaya with her husband and their children.
Agnes Woodward is Nehiyaw Iskwew (Plains Cree) from Kawacatoose First Nation, Saskatchewan, Canada. Agnes is a wife, mother, owner/designer of ReeCreeations and a full time Advocate with the Three Affiliated Tribes Victim Services Program. She is also a family member of a MMIWG2S as her aunt Eleanor "Laney" Ewenin was murdered in 1982, and her family has been active in the movement since the nineties.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Humanities Division. English. History. Creative Writing. Philosophy. Religion. Languages. Film and Media Studies. When you study humanities, you embark on a journey to understand the human experience and find answers to thought-provoking questions with no definitive answers – like what’s the meaning of life? How do we determine what’s right or wrong? Why do we believe things are true?
For seventy years, the Phoenix Indian Center has enriched the lives of American Indian people through the long-standing services we provide and through our several relationships. We are the first urban Indian Center in the Nation of its kind. As one of the early American Indian non-profits, we are a leader in doing this work and continue to be the connection to American Indian communities across the Nation, serving as a home-away from home for our urban American Indian community.
About NEA Big Read
NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. This event is presented as part of the NEA Big Read: Phoenix, celebrating Indigenous literary arts and culture in the Valley with over 25 talks, workshops, performances, book clubs, art exhibits and other virtual events inspired by The Round House by Louise Erdrich. NEA Big Read: Phoenix is presented by the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University with additional support from Arizona Humanities, Phoenix Public Library, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Humanities Division at ASU and over 40 authors, performers and community organizations. Find events, meet our partners, and start reading today at http://piper.asu.edu/big-read.
Support Indigenous Communities
The Phoenix Indian Center is the oldest American Indian non-profit organization of its kind in the United States, providing workforce development, cultural enrichment and other vital services to Indigenous communities throughout the Valley for over 70 years. To support their work, visit their website at https://phxindcenter.org/financial-support/, click the donate button, enter an amount and enter "NEA Big Read" in the description. Please consider making a gift to the Phoenix Indian Center today.