Native Nation Institute (NNI) Research Analyst, Mary Beth Jäger (Citizen Potawatomi) and Student Data Manager Kyra James (Navajo Nation, Dine’) presented at the Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico on January 9^th-11^th. This annual meeting is one of the largest political science conferences in the United States and includes a range of research presentations. Jäger and James presented further findings on their state recognition research with Senior Researcher Danielle Hiraldo (Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina) titled "How Federalism Advances Rights of State-Recognized Tribes" as part of a federalism panel.

About the conference Jäger commented, “it is important for us to participate in a political science conference because it allows us to advocate for Indigenous self-determination through our presentation and as an audience member listening to other panels. This research raises awareness about state-recognized tribes being a participant in state political systems, which is missing in the political science literature. My hope is this our presentation and this research will provide ways for state-recognized tribes to strengthen their governance.” James commented, “presenting our research to this conference was an amazing opportunity because we received great feedback on our work, how to better interpret our findings, and other factors to consider to benefit our research. Overall, going to a conference of this size was beneficial to hear from other scholars doing research that can impact Indigenous communities from youth and families to environmental issues.”

Hiraldo, Jäger and James are working on a forthcoming paper.

Image: Mary Beth Jäger and Kyra James