The Iowa State American Indian studies program is hosting several guest speakers discussing a variety of topics. These speakers were organized as part of this year’s American Indian Symposium, including the lecture “Including Our Neighbors in the Land Grant Mission,” held Monday, March 26.

A round table discussion will be held on Tuesday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m. in Lagomarcino Hall 2660. The discussion will address how native communities can be included in Iowa’s K-12 curriculum.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2012, 0.5 percemt of students in elementary and secondary schools in Iowa identified as American Indian or Alaska Native. The enrollment of Native Americans in post-secondary education is projected to steadily decline through 2024.

Of the 30,406 undergraduate students enrolled at Iowa State for the fall 2017 semester, only 57 students identified as American Indian/Alaska Native.

Guest speakers for the discussion include Jason Younker, assistant vice president and advisor to the president on sovereignty and government-to-government relations at the University of Oregon; Jeffrey Burnette, director of the Native American Future Stewards Program at Rochester Institute of Technology; Leah Slick-Driscoll, teacher at Meskwaki Settlement School; Lance Foster, tribal historic preservation officer, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; David Gradwohl, professor emeritus of anthropology at Iowa State; and Richard Meyers, president of the Association of Indigenous Anthropologists, Oglala Lakota College.

The conversation will be facilitated by Sebastian Braun, director of American Indian studies, and Katy Swalwell, associate professor in the school of education.