Menu

Lunch and Learn Archives (2021)

Videos and materials from Lunch and Learn sessions in 2021 are posted on this page.  For information on current Lunch and Learn talks, go to: https://equitydiversity.cals.wisc.edu/lunch-and-learn/.

“An Imperfect Path: A Reckoning for Land Grant Universities in this Moment of Equity”
January 11, 2021

The panelist bios can be viewed here.

Wisconsin First Nations stewarded the land of present-day Wisconsin since time immemorial. In 1832, this land and its living beings experienced their second greatest transformation, behind only the episodic glaciation periods, in the change of land stewardship from Indigenous societies whose worldviews held sustainable compacts with nature to that of a capitalist worldview focused on exploiting natural resources. By examining treaties and the Morrill Land Grant Acts as the product of settler colonialism driving extraction, replacement, and exploitation, attendees learned the history of UW-Madison’s involvement in land expropriation, and the importance of moving toward meaningfully recognizing how our shared history defines how we currently operate, and how to explicitly counter settler colonialism for an inclusive shared future. Countering settler colonialist mindset and ongoing colonialism, panelists discussed strategies for the restoration of right relations with Tribal Nations, ways to sustain learning about Indigenous Peoples, and shared strategies for building capacity, support, and confidence within units to advance Indigenous education in a committed and sustained way within CALS. This lunch and learn session was the first in a series of five focusing on Our Shared Future.

In preparation for this session, attendees were encouraged to:

  1. Gain an appreciation of creation stories and their role in Indigenous knowledge: The Ways of Knowing Guide.
  2. Understand that land stewardship is not about extractions, replacement, and exploitation, which is why Native Nations within WI are such successful environmentalists and how their value systems are so disjointed from capitalism by watching the 2018 annual State of the Tribes address, delivered by former Menominee Tribal Chair Gary Besaw.
  3. Understand that the history of land-grant universities and other public universities intersects with that of Native Americans and the taking of their lands.

 

“Cultural Trauma of Our Collective History and Present”
February 8, 2021

Building capacity for non-Indigenous allies to work respectfully and authentically within Indigenous communities requires a strong understanding of historical and ongoing cultural trauma, and the resilience and ingenuity of Indigenous communities. In this session, we welcomed Barb Blackdeer-Mackenzie, Community Healer and Indigenous CARES Director at Healing Intergenerational Roots (HIR) Wellness Institute, to share a social justice-informed and culturally rooted Intergenerational Healing Approach™ that improves mental health and wellness outcomes for Indigenous and underserved communities. Barb will demonstrated that the trauma experienced, intergenerationally, from social injustice, racism, discrimination, and the cascading effects of Historical Trauma, require culturally responsive, relevant, and community-informed and co-created mental health services and programming. This session carried a trigger warning for individuals carrying intergenerational trauma.

This lunch and learn session was the second in a series of five focusing on the Our Shared Future Heritage Marker, representing the university’s commitment to the Ho-Chunk Nation, and a multi-year effort to educate the campus and the broader community on the Ho-Chunk Nation and the history it shares with the university.

Speaker Biography:  Barb Blackdeer-Mackenzie (Ho-Chunk Nation) is the Community Advocate Resource and Emotional Support (CARES) Director and Community Healer for HIR Wellness Institute (HIRWI). She was recently asked to work on the Wisconsin Department of Justice Missing and Murdered Indigenous Task Force legislative and policy work group. She provides professional development on the following topics: Indigenous/ First Nations/ Native American people and tribal nations; Teachings of the Medicine Wheel (C. Thunder); Mending Broken Hearts; Mothers of Tradition; Survivors of Suicide, Homicide and Genocide (White Bison, Inc.); pan-tribal attitudes; trauma-informed care; historic and intergenerational trauma; community resilience; bias, stereotyping, and prejudice; recovering at-risk youth; physical and sexual violence, sex trafficking and advocacy work. Pre-COVID, Barb worked for Ho-Chunk Nation Social Services and was board president for HIR WI.

The Advising and Career Services Book and Film Club recently shared the fifth episode in a series of emails to help the advising and career services communities further understand the experience of Indigenous students, settler-colonialism, and Indigenization efforts in higher education. In response to February Lunch & Learn questions surrounding resources to support Indigenous students, the Advising and Career Services Book and Film Club has graciously shared Exploring Our Shared Future: Episode 5: Indigenous Students in Higher Ed:

Exploring Our Shared Future: Episode 5: Indigenous Students in Higher Ed: In this episode, we invite you to learn more about the lived experiences of Indigenous students in higher education. Some of the resources you’ll find are from college students in Canada, which can easily be translated to the experiences of Indigenous students in US educational settings. As always, we encourage you to explore these resources and reflect on the experiences of Indigenous students at UW Madison. Continue to ask yourself how we can transform our advising practice and create spaces of belonging for Indigenous students.

Click here to access Episode 5 (pdf).

 

“Our Shared Future of Collaboration and Innovation: A Discussion Surrounding Authentic and Informed Educational and Research Partnerships” 
March 1, 2021

Panelist bios can be viewed here.

The impact of pervasive colonization informs the shared future of collaboration and innovation between Wisconsin Native Nations, and UW-Madison faculty, staff, and students. In this session, we welcomed a panel of UW-Madison faculty and staff to discuss current projects and programs, helping attendees begin to understand the process for authentic and respectful partnerships with Wisconsin Native Nations, knowing that accurate and legitimate information is a crucial part of thriving collaborations. This lunch and learn session was the third in a series of five focusing on the Our Shared Future Heritage Marker, representing the university’s commitment to the Ho-Chunk Nation, and a multi-year effort to educate the campus and the broader community on the Ho-Chunk Nation and the history it shares with the university.

In preparation for the session, participants were encouraged to view the following webinar with resources, facilitated by Earth Partnership and Spencer Research Team Members, and featuring Dr. Nicole Bowman: Culturally Responsive Research Relationships: Building the Awareness and Skills of Academic Partners to Work in Good Relations with Native Nations and Indigenous Communities. Readings and resources within the link were curated by Dr. Bowman specifically to help non-Indigenous academics develop early skills in developing and nurturing positive, respectful relationships with Indigenous communities.

 

“Indigenous History is Your History: Reconciling with Federal Indian Law & Policy” 
Presentation by Samantha Skenadore
April 19, 2021

In this session, a stark look was taken at the backbone of federal Indian law and policy, its shifting nature and ripple effects, both on tribal governance and local/state laws, right down to those institutions that shaped your knowledge of indigenous peoples of America.  This session discussed popular stereotypes facing Indian country and dismantled the colonial forces that built them.  Attendees experienced cultural awareness in a raw, direct and factual fashion while finding reconciliation in their paths forward as members of the TeeJop community.

Samantha Skenandore (Ho-Chunk/Oneida) is an attorney in the Indian Law & Policy Practice Group in Quarles & Brady’s Madison, WI office. Samantha’s practice includes both federal Indian law and tribal law; advising tribal and corporate clients in tribal governance, governmental affairs, corporate transactions, real estate, labor issues, and litigation. She has an extensive multijurisdictional experience that includes representation of corporate entities, both tribal and nontribal, in matters involving economic development, mergers & acquisitions, financing, minority or women-owned certification, labor relations, complex commercial real estate matters, and government relations. Samantha’s experience also extends to representing clients before members of Congress, congressional committees and agencies through federal lobbying services.

In 2019, Samantha served an elected term as Associate Justice of the Ho-Chunk Nation Supreme Court. She has been admitted to practice before 8 tribal jurisdictions and in the states of Wisconsin and Arizona. Samantha received her B.A. in Behavioral Sciences & Law with a certificate in American Indian Studies in 2002 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her J.D. from the University of Denver in 2005.

 

The culmination of our Spring Lunch & Learn Series was a half day Cultural Responsiveness Workshop on Thursday, April 29th. This training built on awareness gained from the “Our Shared Future” series and served as an opportunity to form relationships and pledge commitment to sustained involvement. Sessions and takeaways included:

 

“Financing Higher Education: How Implicit Bias Impacts Scholarship Awarding”
Presentation by Lo Klink, Associate Director for Special Awards & Student Engagement, Office of Student Financial Aid
October 18, 2021

Implicit bias encompasses the views or stereotypes affecting people’s actions and decisions outside of their conscious awareness. These preferences impact socialization, interpreting unfamiliar information, and decision-making. We all have implicit bias and even if we are not selecting students for scholarships, it is impacting our decision-making processes which could lead to inequitable outcomes for the students we serve. Join Lo Klink to learn about this topic and resources you can tap into to evaluate how to lessen implicit bias in your daily life.

 

“Social Justice: Disability Awareness, Identity, and Culture”
Presentation by Paul Vogt, MS CRC – Access Consultant at McBurney Disability Resource Center
November 15, 2021

Paul is an alumnus from the UW Rehabilitation Psychology undergraduate and graduate programs. His past work focused on vocational rehabilitation services, assisting job seekers with disabilities to meet their vocational goals. He had worked for both the states of Wisconsin and Iowa in this capacity for 13 years before recently shifting into his role as access consultant at McBurney this past summer.

During the presentation, Paul addressed current trends in disability in higher education, common accommodations and the application process students complete in order to receive accommodations at UW.

 

“Native Nations UW: Continued Dialogue and Action – Phase 2”
Presentation by the Leaders of Native Nations UW Phase 2 Implementation Group – Annie Jones, Aaron Bird Bear, Omar Poler
December 20, 2021

For the last CALS Lunch and Learn session for the Fall 2021 semester, we revisited the central theme undertaken during the Spring 2021 semester highlighting awareness of historical and current issues relating to Indigenous communities, and forging partnership opportunities as part of Our Shared Future. In the spirit of Author Jemar Tisby’s ARC of racial reconciliation (Awareness, Relationship, Commitment), we cannot stay in the awareness stage, even though that continues to have great importance. We urge individuals, units, and departments in CALS to take action steps to forge relationships steeped in long-term commitment to serve and support the efforts undertaken on campus and in the community.

Leaders of the Native Nations UW Phase 2 committee joined us to help recap the goals of the Our Shared Future presentations from Spring, provided an overview of the seven focus areas of NNUW for 2021-2025, and discussed ways CALS might be involved in the seven focus areas, including people and funds to develop an institutional land acknowledgement process.

Login Request Help Help Docs