Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

October 31, 2017

Professor Mark Trahant resigns after Standing Rock journalists seminar repeatedly rejected

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Update: University will allow lecture series
http://diverseeducation.com/article/104251/

By Mark Trahant, Shoshone-Bannock
Censored News
I have decided to not renew my term as an endowed chair at the University of North Dakota. It really comes down to this: I am disappointed and disgusted that the university is not an institutional leader in this state. It should be a beam of light, shining on the protected realm of rational discourse. Last year, for example, I was asked to coordinate a journalism lecture series. I proposed hearing from the journalists who covered Standing Rock. Nope. Instead the series was “put on hold.” This year I suggested a conference on technology and society, again leading with a conversation about Standing Rock and social media. Again, no, and I learned about senior administration fears that the legislature might retaliate.

I understand that it's important to keep fighting, but when your institution is absent, well, for me, this chapter ends.
I do appreciate my many colleagues who do great work and will carry on. Thank you for that. And, despite everything, I'm grateful for my experiences here.
Right now my inclination is to leave the academic world and focus on journalism (but I have some time to figure that out). My TV project with FNX is launching soon and I will work harder to raise funds for my other worthwhile projects.
Mark
Read more:
Professor resigns after university repeatedly rejects seminar on Dakota Access Pipeline
By Elanor Sheehan at Splinter -- "Mark Trahant, a journalism professor at the University of North Dakota, has tried to teach a seminar on the Dakota Access pipeline protests for two years. After his second proposal was rejected this year, Trahant has decided to quit." https://splinternews.com/professor-resigns-after-university-repeatedly-rejects-p-1819897178

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