Indigenous Rights, Cultural Conservation, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge with Melissa Nelson

Melissa Nelson, associate
professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University and
president of The Cultural Conservancy, will be speaking at UC Santa Cruz during
an event hosted by the Common Ground Center. Her talk will focus on indigenous
rights, cultural conservation, and traditional ecological knowledge. Following
her presentation, there will be a question and answer session.

Melissa K.
Nelson, Ph.D. is a cultural ecologist, writer, media-maker and indigenous
scholar-activist. She is an associate professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University
and president of The Cultural Conservancy, an indigenous
rights organization, which she has directed since 1993. Melissa is
Anishinaabe/Métis/Norwegian and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.
Her work is dedicated to indigenous revitalization, environmental restoration,
intercultural understanding, and the renewal and celebration of community
health and cultural arts. 



Melissa received her B.A. degree from the University of
California, Santa Cruz and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis,
both in the field of Ecology with an emphasis in Native American Studies. In
2005 Melissa was the co-producer of the award-winning documentary film, The Salt Song
Trail: Bringing Creation Back Together.  She serves on the boards of
directors of the Collective Heritage Institute/Bioneers
and the Center
For Whole Communities and is an advisory board member of the Alfonso Ortiz Center for
Intercultural Studies.

The
event is sponsored by UCSC's Common Ground Center at Kresge College. The
mission of the Common Ground Center is to “create cultural change for social
justice, environmental regeneration and economic viability”. The Center hosts a
series of public lectures and workshops based on this mission, as well as
undergraduate courses, two themed residence halls, and a range of student-led
activities. A list of subsequent talks, and more information, can be found at kresge.ucsc.edu/commonground.

This event is free and open to the public. Parking is $3
in the Core West Parking Garage. More parking information is online at http://kresge.ucsc.edu/commonground/about/parking.html