Indigenous Writers of the Americas conference May 11-13, 2008, UC Davis

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PRESS RELEASE

More than forty distinguished and widely published Native 
American/Indigenous writers, poets, and scholars from the United States, 
Canada, and Latin America (Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, 
Chile) will be gathering at UC Davis May 11-13, 2008, for the conference 
“Discursive Practices: The Formation of a Transnational Indigenous 
Poetics,” organized by the UC Davis Department of Native American 
Studies. The event is free and open to the public.

This gathering is a historic occasion for Native American/ Indigenous 
writers and intellectuals from throughout the Americas to meet and share 
their work. The conference will provide a fertile space for the 
participants to engage in dialogue about the role of literature in 
cultural revitalization, autonomy, and intellectual sovereignty. The 
writers who are attending the conference are participants in major 
indigenous writers movements and organizations in their home countries. 
Their work represents a wide range of literary genres, from the oral 
tradition to fiction, poetry, and theater. Many of the writers produce 
work in their indigenous languages. One feature of the conference will 
be the literary readings each evening.

The opening reception, on Sunday, May 11, 6-9pm, will take place in the 
AGR room at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center and will feature 
literary readings by Frank LaPena (Wintun), Jorge Cocom Pech (Yucatec 
Maya), Victor Montejo (Jakaltek Maya), Graciela Huinao (Mapuche), and 
Joy Harjo (Muscogee).

On Monday and Tuesday, May 12-13, conference plenaries, roundtables, and 
literary readings will take place at Freeborn Hall. Concurrent sessions 
will take place at Freeborn Hall, MU Garrison, and the Risling room in 
Hart Hall. See the conference website for the full program: 
http://irca.ucdavis.edu/discursive-practices/en/.

Co-sponsors of the event include: Department of Native American Studies, 
Indigenous Research Center of the Americas, Rumsey Rancheria Endowed 
Chair in California Indian Studies, Chicana/Latina Research Center, 
Hemispheric Institute of the Americas, Davis Humanities Institute, 
Department of Spanish & Portuguese, American Cultures & Politics (ACAP) 
Research Cluster, and the Indigenous Research Cluster (UC Santa Cruz). 
System-wide co-sponsors include: UC Humanities Research Institute at UC 
Irvine, the UC Consortium for Language Learning & Teaching, and the UC 
Office of the President. The Ford Foundation Knowledge, Creativity, & 
Freedom Program has also provided support for this event.

The conference co-organizers are Professor Inés Hernández-Avila (Native 
American Studies) and Professor Stefano Varese (Native American 
Studies). For further information, please call the Chicana/Latina 
Research Center at (530) 752-8882.