Symposium Honoring AIS Founder Vine Deloria Includes Presentation by Students in the AIS Major
Vine Deloria Jr. on the left; students in 496T/596T Indigenous Intellectual Traditions; AIS and History Professor Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert.
On Nov. 20-21, 2025, the University of Arizona is hosting the 2nd Annual Tribal Education Symposium, which will honor the legacy of Vine Deloria Jr.
The event is sponsored by the U of A Native American Advancement, Initiatives & Research and co-sponsored by various university units, including the Department of American Indian Studies (AIS) in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The symposium allows AIS to spotlight the longevity and historic nature of its programs – Deloria helped establish the first AIS master’s degree at the U of A more than 40 years ago – and to highlight the revitalization of its B.A., which recently refreshed its core curriculum.
Vine Deloria Jr. (1933-2005) was an educator, scholar, lawyer, activist, and theologian. The symposium will explore Deloria’s work, his influence on contemporaries and students, and how his interdisciplinary legacy continues to thrive 20 years later.
Deloria joined the University of Arizona in 1978 and helped establish the first American Indian Studies master’s degree program in the United States in 1982. The university later established a Ph.D. in AIS in 1997, the first doctorate program in the discipline. Both degrees are Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs offered through the Graduate College.
The symposium will also feature students from the American Indian Studies major, housed in the College of SBS. Students in the new AIS core class “496T/596T Indigenous Intellectual Traditions” will present on this semester’s work examining Deloria’s scholarship. The session will be moderated by Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert, a professor in AIS and History and the course instructor.
Tom Holm, professor emeritus in AIS, will also be presenting, along with Joseph Brewer, an alumnus from the AIS master’s degree program.
“Deloria envisioned American Indian Studies as a place where students could learn to lead and serve Native communities in Arizona and beyond,” said Amy Fatzinger, associate professor and interim head of the Department of American Indian Studes. “Since its inception, American Indian Studies has thus played a key role in the U of A’s ability to fulfil its land grant mission to serve all of Arizona’s diverse communities.”