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Kevin Schindler is the historian at Lowell Observatory, where he has worked for 28 years as an active member of the Flagstaff history and science communities. Schindler has given more than 1,000 presentations and written more than 600 magazine and newspaper articles on subjects ranging from local history and astronomy to baseball and the Lincoln Memorial, and contributes a bi-weekly astronomy column, “View from Mars Hill”, for the Arizona Daily Sun newspaper. Schindler has written nine books, including Historic Tales of Flagstaff (written with Mike Kitt). Fun fact: Kevin has both a fossil crab and asteroid named after him.

About Workshop Session 1: Nitsáhákéés (Thinking Creatively)
To think about how we build a relationship with our languages, this initial session will focus on a single word—naadą́ą́’ (simply translated as corn). We will be thinking about our relationship with naadą́ą́’ (and in extension planting) to generate ideas about how we can expand our thinking about and engagement with language. How are we looking at our languages on a deeper level? How can we create a deeper understanding? What are the philosophies present within words in our languages? What can these ideas teach us about being human and about our relationship with the physical spaces we inhabit? While we will be looking at a Diné conceptualization of the word “corn,” participants are encouraged to also work from the word for “corn” in their ancestral/heritage language. This initial meeting will focus on creativity and generative writing exercises and discussion.

Materials needed: something to write and take notes with, the word for “corn” in your ancestral/heritage language, and an open mind.
About our host:

Dr. Manny Loley is ‘Áshįįhi born for Tó Baazhní’ázhí; his maternal grandparents are the Tódích’íi’nii and his paternal grandparents are the Kinyaa’áanii. He holds a Ph.D. in English and Literary Arts from the University of Denver, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing-Fiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Dr. Loley is an inaugural Indigenous Nations Poets Fellow, a founding member of Saad Bee Hózhǫ́: Diné Writers’ Collective, and the editor for Leading the Way: Wisdom of the Navajo People. Since 2018, he has served as director of the Emerging Diné Writers’ Institute. His work has found homes in Poetry Magazine, Pleiades Magazine, the Massachusetts Review, the Santa Fe Literary Review, Broadsided Press, the Arkansas International, The Gift of Animals, Nihikéyah: Navajo Homeland, and the Diné Reader: an Anthology of Navajo Literature, among others. His writing has been thrice nominated for Pushcart Prizes. Dr. Loley is at work on a novel titled They Collect Rain in Their Palms. He is from Tsétah Tó Ák’olí on the Navajo Nation.

The room at SMCL will be L162, on the first floor of the library.

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International artist Antoinette Cauley was born in Phoenix, Arizona and draws her inspiration from the grittiness and beauty within her place of birth. Her work is heavily influenced by Black American hood culture with a feminist undertone and an overall focus of Black empowerment. Visually, she combines the dynamism of Black American culture with powerful punches of vibrant color and deep, emotionally driven messages. Cauley attended Mesa Community College (MCC) where she studied Fine Art with an emphasis in painting. Along with her unique and distinguishable paintings, Cauley is most known for her nine stories tall mural of Civil Rights activist, James Baldwin in downtown Phoenix, Arizona and her recent mural project with Brittney Griner & the Phoenix Mercury. Cauley has won several awards for her works including first place at the Artlink 19th Annual Juried Exhibition in 2019. Along with her awards, Cauley has been featured on various television and print publications including PBS, NPR, JAVA Magazine (cover), Forbes and was named one of Phoenix Magazine’s “Great 48: 48 Most Influential people in the state of Arizona” in 2019.

Amber Sampson explores the world through food as a trained professional Chef, who also holds degrees in Cultural Anthropology, Food Systems Sustainability, and a Master’s in Gastronomy. She studied food and race at Harvard University, brought ancient bread to life with fellow Anthropologists from Yale, and was awarded the prestigious US Government’s Gilman Scholarship for archeological research with Arizona’s O’odham Nations. Sampson’s work brings present-day relevance to ancient meals, people, and cultures, giving others a taste and connection to our delicious past, revealing a more sustainable and understanding future. She sits on the Board of Directors for Slow Food Phoenix and was the Arizona representative for the Global Food Security Summit in Washington, D.C., and Terra Madre in Italy in 2024. Sampson has worked for Boston University, S’edav Va’aki Museum, Arizona State University, and the Arizona American Indian Tourism Association. Sampson was awarded the Arizona Humanities 50th anniversary climate conversations grant for a documentary on her food research.

About Workshop Session

Building off of ideas discussed in session one, this follow-up session will focus on materials (ex: poems, excerpts from longer works, ancestral stories, family stories, songs, etc.) centering naadą́ą́’ (simply translated as corn), planting, growth, and creativity. We will engage with materials written/created/passed down by other Indigenous writers, thinkers, and elders to deepen our understanding of language and storytelling. What have other people written or said about these concepts? What are some existing frameworks and ways of thinking about these concepts? How is our thinking fitting into this conversation? What are some new ways to approach these ideas? This session will be a practice in honoring pre-existing knowledge while finding our own voice and creating new material. This second meeting will involve discussion, writing exercises, group activities, and sharing.

Materials needed: something to write and take notes with and participants are welcomed to bring in any materials they would like to share that relates to corn/planting/growth.

Dr. Manny Loley is ‘Áshįįhi born for Tó Baazhní’ázhí; his maternal grandparents are the Tódích’íi’nii and his paternal grandparents are the Kinyaa’áanii. He holds a Ph.D. in English and Literary Arts from the University of Denver, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing-Fiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Dr. Loley is an inaugural Indigenous Nations Poets Fellow, a founding member of Saad Bee Hózhǫ́: Diné Writers’ Collective, and the editor for Leading the Way: Wisdom of the Navajo People. Since 2018, he has served as director of the Emerging Diné Writers’ Institute. His work has found homes in Poetry Magazine, Pleiades Magazine, the Massachusetts Review, the Santa Fe Literary Review, Broadsided Press, the Arkansas International, The Gift of Animals, Nihikéyah: Navajo Homeland, and the Diné Reader: an Anthology of Navajo Literature, among others. His writing has been thrice nominated for Pushcart Prizes. Dr. Loley is at work on a novel titled They Collect Rain in Their Palms. He is from Tsétah Tó Ák’olí on the Navajo Nation.

About Workshop Session:

In this third session, we will expand on ideas from the first two sessions and move toward the physical/embodied aspect of language and storytelling. We will physically handle corn seeds/objects in some kind of way. This could look like creative exercises using physical corn seeds or corn objects, learning from a traditional knowledge holder and planting, or another kind of engagement activity. The idea is that we’ll be putting our ideas and writing about corn, planting, and growth into action through physical engagement with these materials. How does our understanding of language and storytelling change when we engage in physical action? What can this teach us about the connection between language/stories, knowledge, and our physical bodies? This third meeting will involve some physical aspect of engaging with the ideas we’ve discussed thus far, discussion, and potential writing exercises. Participants are also invited to share their creative work at an Indigenous Open Mic held at the ASU Labriola Center later in the evening.

Dr. Manny Loley is ‘Áshįįhi born for Tó Baazhní’ázhí; his maternal grandparents are the Tódích’íi’nii and his paternal grandparents are the Kinyaa’áanii. He holds a Ph.D. in English and Literary Arts from the University of Denver, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing-Fiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Dr. Loley is an inaugural Indigenous Nations Poets Fellow, a founding member of Saad Bee Hózhǫ́: Diné Writers’ Collective, and the editor for Leading the Way: Wisdom of the Navajo People. Since 2018, he has served as director of the Emerging Diné Writers’ Institute. His work has found homes in Poetry Magazine, Pleiades Magazine, the Massachusetts Review, the Santa Fe Literary Review, Broadsided Press, the Arkansas International, The Gift of Animals, Nihikéyah: Navajo Homeland, and the Diné Reader: an Anthology of Navajo Literature, among others. His writing has been thrice nominated for Pushcart Prizes. Dr. Loley is at work on a novel titled They Collect Rain in Their Palms. He is from Tsétah Tó Ák’olí on the Navajo Nation.