A Witness to the MFA in Indigenous Arts Conference, Evergreen State College.

This September I was invited to witness and participate in the first conference about creating the MFA in Indigenous Arts program at Evergreen State College. I am sharing some of the Visions, Missions and Goals. The Vision of the MFA in Indigenous Arts Program is to provide an arts education that is grounded in indigenous cultural values, protocols, practices and forms of knowledge. The Mission directed by the Longhouse Education and Cultural Center, is to provide a graduate level, degree-granting program that advanced the field of Indigenous Arts by providing cultural arts leaders with education and training. Some of the Goals are to > develop innovative, student-centered approaches to Indigenous Arts practice within a culturally-affirming educational setting. > Increase the number of indigenous scholars researching, writing and presenting about indigenous arts and cultures within academia and the field at large. > To provide a curriculum that establishes professional development opportunities for students, including curating, exhibiting, grants, public art, networking, business training. > To provide opportunities for indigenous artists to assert their unique voice in the international art world by engaging current scholarship in art theory and criticism, as well as exhibiting. > To foster indigenous artistic and cultural exchange! > To strengthen the relationships among The Evergreen State College, tribes in the U.S., Native communities and indigenous peoples along the Pacific Rim.