Prominent UAF grad to address indigenous values and ethics
April 7, 2016
A University of Alaska Fairbanks alumnus with an international reputation for research
methods involving indigenous peoples will give a free public presentation at 1:15
p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in the Murie Building auditorium on the Fairbanks campus.
Shawn Wilson's presentation will outline indigenous philosophy as it relates to values
and ethics. His views are informed by his extensive work with indigenous peoples across
the globe and his own experiences. Wilson's research focuses on concepts of identity,
health and healing, culture and well-being.
The presentation is hosted by UAF's College of Rural and Community Development and
College of Liberal Arts Center for Cross-Cultural Studies.
Wilson is Opaskwayak Cree and hails from northern Manitoba, Canada. He is currently
the director of research at Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples at Southern
Cross University.
Wilson earned a doctorate in social sciences and indigenous studies from Monash University
in Australia, a master's degree in community psychology from the University of Alaska
Fairbanks, and a bachelor's degree in microbiology and zoology from the University
of Manitoba. “Gwich’in Native Elders,” available at http://ankn.uaf.edu/publications/Books/Gwich'in_Native_Elders.pdf, documents his master’s research in Fort Yukon, Alaska. It was published by the Alaska
Native Knowledge Network in 1994. Wilson’s 2008 publication, “Research is ceremony:
Indigenous research methods,” has earned global recognition.
Wilson will give the keynote address on April 16 at the Alaska Native Studies Conference
in Anchorage following his UAF visit.
The College of Liberal Arts, the largest of UAF’s academic units, comprises the arts,
humanities, social sciences and language disciplines across 20 departments. The College
of Rural and Community Development provides academic and vocational education through
four rural campuses and, in Fairbanks, the Community and Technical College and Interior
Alaska Campus.
CONTACTS: Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies Beth Leonard, brleonard@alaska.edu, 907-474-7451; Naomi Horne, nehorne@alaska.edu, 907-474-6464
ON THE WEB: www.uaf.edu/cla, https://www.uaf.edu/cxcs/, https://www.uaf.edu/rural/