HRTS MA student Tommie Lorene receives Native Pathways Graduate Research Award

Congratulations to Human Rights Practice MA student Tommie Lorene, who is one of seven new recipients of a Native Pathways Graduate Research Awards to expand Indigenous resilience research at the University of Arizona. Tommie will work under the supervision of Prof. Mette Brogden to create a documentary on the Duwamish Tribe located in the Seattle area. To read more about the award and about Tommie, please see below and/or visit the full announcement. 

The Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment & Social Justice (Haury Program) was established in 2014 to honor the life and work of Mrs. Agnese Nelms Haury. The Native Pathways Graduate Research Awards Program was designed in 2021 to strengthen the academic pathways for Native American and Indigenous Resilience students and scholars, with an emphasis on UArizona programs and graduate students devoted to Native and Indigenous resilience education, research, and outreach. This year’s cohort of awardees includes 7 graduate students from across campus: College of Public Health, College of Education, School of Anthropology, College of Law, Environmental Science and Human Rights Practice Program at College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. Their work addresses a wide range of topics, from traditional textile technologies, identity and health correlations, soil and traditional foods pollution, and college affordability for Native American students, to tribal sovereignty, Traditional Environmental Knowledge, tribal food traditions and Indigenous storytelling. The awardees will be working on the University of Arizona campus, as well as with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the Qawalangin Tribe in Alaska, the Duwamish Tribe in Washington, Coash Salish people in British Columbia and Tohono O’odham and Mexican populations in Western Pima County.

Tommie Lorene is a Master Student in Graduate Programs in Human Rights Practice at the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and her advisor is Dr. Mette Brogden. Ms. Lorene will create a 20 - 40 minute documentary “We Are Still Here” on Duwamish Tribe. The Duwamish Tribe, dxwdəwʔabš have a history of at least 12,000 years in the land familiarly known as Seattle, WA / Greater King County. They were the first signatories on the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, signed by Chief Si'ahl, who was chief of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The Duwamish Tribe filed to be federally recognized in 1978. They received federal recognition from the Clinton administration in 2001, which was swiftly taken away by the Bush administration in 2002. “We Are Still Here” will be a short documentary showcasing Duwamish culture, strength, and resiliency despite lacking federal recognition and funding. The film will answer the questions of why being federally recognized is important, why the Duwamish Tribe has been denied the distinction, how the tribe has maintained its presence and culture, and how they support their community without federal funds.