Reflections from the NCIAS Graduate Student Conference

Fri. Mar. 28, 2025

In February 2025, two MDP students, Jackie Dormer and Fiona Slota, attended the Newberry Consortium in American Indian and Indigenous Studies (NCIAS) Graduate Student Conference at the McNickle Center in Chicago.  The conference serves as a community for scholars, graduate students, and community leaders to dialogue about critical issues Indigenous communities are experiencing across North America.

Fiona presented on Restoring Indigenous Languages in the Healthcare Environment: Keeping Shared Memories Alive and Maintaining Cultural Unity. This highlights the importance of integrating Indigenous languages into healthcare settings to create inclusivity and culturally aware and sensitive environments for Indigenous patients. Jackie and Fiona’s visit to the Newberry Library was also a wonderful experience. "Overall, my time at the NCIAS Graduate Student Conference provided a space to share my thoughts and ideas and reinforced the importance of collective efforts in addressing Indigenous issues," said Fiona.

Jackie delivered a thought-provoking presentation on Reconciling the Financial Burden of Language Revitalization in Canada, where she highlighted the economic challenges communities face when accessing funding for programs and additionally highlighted future solutions in sustaining Indigenous language programs. A common goal between both students includes the ongoing conversations about the intersection of Indigenous knowledge systems, policies, and building sustainable communities. Jackie said that aside from the presentations, “Attending the NCAIS Graduate Student Conference was an amazing experience. In addition to presenting my research, I connected with other graduate students and faculty liaisons in the field of Indigenous Studies. It was such a positive and supportive space to share research and learn from each other."

Jackie and Fiona were also able to visit to the Newberry Library and described their trip and overall conference experience as inspiring and enriching. Congratulations to both students!