Sovereign Nations, American Citizens: 100 Years of Indian Citizenship

Sponsored by Kentucky Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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In-person only event.

In June of 1924, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act granting universal US citizenship to Native American individuals. While some Native American individuals celebrated this civil rights achievement, others felt divided by a forced dual identity as both a citizen of their Tribal Nation and the United States. Reflecting on the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act provides an opportunity to broaden our understanding of Native American rights, past and present, and to examine the unique challenges faced by Indigenous communities in the United States today.
 
Our esteemed panelists, each bringing their unique perspectives as Native individuals, will engage in a crucial dialogue on the complexities, challenges, and enduring importance of Indigenous sovereignty within the United States. This event promises to be a powerful exploration of what it means to be a citizen of a sovereign tribal nation and a citizen of the United States.  

Brandie Macdonald (she/her) is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation with ancestral ties to the Choctaw nation. She is the Executive Director of Indiana University’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.  Her work focuses on systemic change in museums through the implementation of anti-colonial and decolonial theory-in-practice, which centers truth-telling, accountability, and tangible change to redress colonial harm. 

Dr. Liza Black is an Associate Professor of History and Native American and Indigenous Studies at Indiana University. She is the author of How to Get Away with Murder: A Transnational History of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirits (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025). Dr. Black is a citizen of Cherokee Nation (there are two other Cherokee Nations, hence she drops “the”).  

Logan York is a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and serves as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) for the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, a position responsible for the protection and preservation of culturally significant properties of concern to Myaamiaki (Miami people) and their history. 

Panel will be moderated by Raina Melvin, a citizen of the Comanche Nation and Program Director at Historic Locust Grove.