Reflecting on 100 Years of Indian Citizenship

media release: This year marks the 100 year anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act. Join Torey Dolan, William H. Hastie Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Law School, for a reflection on the past 100 years of Indian citizenship and the role that Native Americans play as voters, candidates, and organizers in our modern political landscape. This talk will cover the good, the bad, the different, and the triumphant stories of Native people with varying approaches to citizenship - from rejection to incorporation.

About the presenter: Torey Dolan (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) is a William H. Hastie Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Her scholarship focuses on Tribal Nations, Democracy, and American Indian self-determination and political actualization in the intersections of Federal Indian Law and Election Law. Prior to receiving the Hastie Fellowship, Dolan was a Native Vote Fellow with the Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law Indian Legal Clinic where she helped lead the Arizona Native Vote Election Protection Project through the 2020 and 2022 election cycles. She has assisted in litigation on matters pertaining to Tribal sovereignty, the Voting Rights Act, and state election law before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal District Court of Arizona, and the Superior Court of Apache and Pinal Counties in Arizona.

This event will be hosted virtually through Zoom. The link to this program will be sent to you by email when you sign up. Zoom is a free video platform, and you can watch on a browser, or through the free mobile app for iOS(link is external) or Android(link is external). You can also call in with a phone to attend with audio only. 

Part of the Teejop and Beyond: Celebrating Native Nations series in partnership with Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison and made possible thanks to the Friends of Madison Public Library(link is external). Visit madpl.org/teejopandbeyond for more info.

Each fall, Madison Public Library and Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison welcome a variety of Native artists, storytellers, and community leaders for a series of programs celebrating Indigenous people in and beyond Teejop (pronounced day-JOPE, meaning Four Lakes, or Madison). Beginning on Indigenous Peoples' Day each year, Native folks from different nations lead programs highlighting both traditional and contemporary practices, stories, and community relationships.

This year, six presenters representing different Native tribes in Wisconsin will lead programs throughout October and November on a wide range of topics, including Native citizenship and participation in the electoral process, the recent discovery of canoes in Lake Mendota, the history and process of making musical instruments, and more. 

Program participants will also have the opportunity to try hands-on crafts like beading and basket-weaving and understand how techniques and approaches vary depending on the tribal traditions guiding them. This year, presenters represent the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Ottawa, and Choctaw nations. Meet the presenters and sign up for programs below.

If you have questions, please contact community@madisonpubliclibrary.org.