Buffy Sainte–Marie to deliver keynote address at SOSU’s Native American Symposium

Press Release Date: 11-02-2005

Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s sixth Native American Symposium will be held Thursday and Friday, Nov. 10–11, on the Durant campus.

Buffy Sainte–Marie, acclaimed singer, songwriter, social activist, mother, composer of experimental music, TV actress, visual artist, and educator, will deliver the keynote speech at 7 p.m. Friday in the SOSU ballroom.

Winona LaDuke, nationally recognized Native American activist and advocate for environmental, women’s and children’s rights, will speak in the SOSU Little Theater at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Sainte–Marie was born on a Cree reservation in Qu’Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan. She started her multi–faceted career in the early 1960s and went on to receive numerous international honors for her achievements.

She earned a Ph.D. in Fine Art from the University of Massachusetts, as well as additional degrees in Oriental philosophy and teaching and has served as adjunct professor at several colleges and universities.

In 1966, she released “Up Where We Belong,” an album which contained new material with fresh versions of her most famous songs, and formed the basis for a television special. She currently operates the Nihewan Foundation for Native American Education, whose Cradleboard Teaching Project serves children and teachers in 18 states.

LaDuke is the Founding Director of the White Earth Land Recovery Project and founder and co–chair of the Indigenous Women’s Network.

She is also the author of several books, including “All Our Relations: Native Struggle for Land and Life” and the novel “Last Standing Woman.”

In the 1996 and 2000 elections, she ran as the vide–presidential candidate of the Green Party with Ralph Nader.

General registration and a continental breakfast are scheduled for 8 a.m. Thursday at SOSU’s Sidewalk Café. The 9 a.m. welcoming address will be presented by Dr. Dan Althoff, associate professor of Spanish; English, Humanities and Languages, who also serves as co–chair of the Native American Symposium Committee.

Friday begins with conference registration and continental breakfast at 7:45 a.m. in the Sidewalk Café.

The Keynote Banquet is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday in the ballroom. The meal will cost $15 per person. The entire two–day program is free except for the banquet. Checks or money orders should be made out to the Southeastern Foundation and mailed to Dr. Mark B. Spencer, P.O. Box 4121, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK 74701–0609.

For further information, contact Althoff at 580–745–2584 or e–mail: dalthoff@sosu.edu. Visit the Native American Symposium web site for the complete schedule.