Free Online Talk: “Collaboration in Practice: Transforming Community-Based Research in the Southwest,” with Octavius Seowtewa and Fumi Arakawa.

Amerind Free Online Talk

Thursday, February 11, 2027

12:00 pm (AZ time)

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline02112027

Join us on Thursday, February 11, 2027 at 12:00 pm (AZ time) for an online talk

“Collaboration in Practice: Transforming Community-Based Research in the Southwest,” with Octavius Seowtewa (A:shiwi (Zuni))  and Fumi Arakawa.

Focusing on the Chavez Cave collections in Las Cruces, New Mexico, this presentation examines the partnership between New Mexico State University and the Zuni Cultural Resource Advisory Team (ZCRAT). We will explore the collaborative process—including site visits, exhibition development, and the co-authorship of a book—as a model for ethical, reciprocal, and respectful research practice. The presentation will address both the challenges and transformative potential of collaborative scholarship, highlighting how such partnerships can reshape approaches to research, interpretation, and knowledge production. Through this project, we seek to demonstrate a path forward for community-based research that centers Indigenous voices, perspectives, and values while fostering meaningful relationships between academic institutions and Indigenous communities.

Fumi Arakawa, PhD is an associate professor of anthropology at Indiana University, Bloomington (IUB). Before joining I IUB, he served as director of the University Museum and professor of anthropology at New Mexico State University. In 2022, he published Correlative Archaeology, which introduced a new theoretical framework for interpreting archaeological data from multiple perspectives.

Octavius Seowtewa is the head medicine man for the Newekwe/Galaxy medicine society and also a member of the Eagle Down medicine society. He is a supervisor for the Zuni Cultural Resource Advisory Team (ZCRAT). Seowtewa has been involved with numerous museum projects, not only in the United States but also in Japan and the Netherlands. He has reviewed innumerable Zuni cultural remains at museums for more than 20 years.

Please remember, if you are unsure if you will be able to watch live, register using an email and the recording of the talk will be sent to you to watch at your leisure.

We hope you will join us!