DIVISION OF STUDENT SERVICES

Multicultural Affairs

Vine Deloria Jr. Lecture Series

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Vine Deloria Jr. was one of the preeminent intellectuals of the 20th century, whose work brought attention to the importance of place and traditions within Native American communities. He was the author of more than 20 works, and was an active leader for numerous Native American institutions. After Deloria died in 2005, Reed students and staff created the Vine Deloria Jr. lecture series to honor his memory. The series recognizes the work of Native American scholars whose intellectual pursuits reflect the spirit and commitment exhibited by Deloria. This series is a collaborative effort between the multicultural resource center and the office for institutional diversity. The inauguration of this series occurred in fall 2007.

2010

Cindy Cumfer: Cynthia, J.D., PhD has specialized in representing nonprofit groups since 1978. Her clients have included charities, educational organizations, social service organizations, immigrant and ethnic groups, quasi-governmental nonprofits, and advocacy groups.  Cindy was an Adjunct Professor of Nonprofit Law at Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law, co-author of The Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Handbook, and taught the history of nonprofit organizations at Reed College in the fall of 2003. Her book on Tennessee history, Separate Peoples, One Land, was awarded the 2007 Tennessee History Book Award.

Suzan Harjo: Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee) is a writer, lecturer, curator, and policy advocate who has helped Native Peoples protect sacred places and recover more than one million acres of land.  She has developed key laws to promote and protect Native sovereignty, children, arts, cultures, and languages.  Ms. Harjo is Guest Curator and General Editor for the National Museum of the American Indian's upcoming exhibit and publication on Treaties. She also curated the first Native art exhibit ever shown in the U.S. Senate and House Rotundas.  She is currently President of The Morning Star Institute, a Native rights organization founded in 1984 for Native People's traditional and cultural advocacy, arts promotion, and research.

Robert J. Miller: Lewis & Clark Law Professor Robert Miller is the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of the Grand Ronde Tribe and sits as a judge for other tribes. His published articles include pieces on civil procedure and a wide array of federal Indian law issues. He is a board member of the Oregon Native American Business and Entrepreneurial Network, and the Tribal Leadership Forum. He helped found and was on the executive committee of the Oregon State Bar Indian Law Section, and was on the board of the National Indian Child Welfare Association. He was involved in the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial because his tribe appointed him to the Circle of Tribal Advisors and to the National Committee of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial.  His book, Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and Manifest Destiny, grew out of that work. He is an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.