March 7-8, 2025
The Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative Education Subcommittee is proud to present
Ninth Annual Urban Native Education Conference:
Weaving Worlds: Collaborating X Communities
Overview
The Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative (CAICC) is pleased to announce the 9th Annual Urban Native Education Conference on March 7-8, 2025. We are excited to host this year’s conference at the Newberry Library with the support of the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies. This conference is free and open to the public.
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Chicago (Zhegagoynak – via Pokagon Band of Potawatomi) is a place of woven worlds. For thousands of years, Native communities have traversed waterways and trails and converged on the shores of Lake Michigan to gather, trade, and build relations with one another. This connection is reflected in our theme for the 9th Annual Urban Native Education Conference: Weaving Worlds: Collaborating X Communities.
This year’s theme celebrates the intricate, transformative work of education, broadly construed, as a collaborative act of creation. Our conference theme invites presenters and participants alike to consider the numerous ways we are linked and how this is reflected in collaborations across communities that build a brighter tomorrow for future generations. Our theme explores the connections between ancestors and descendants, understanding that the past and future are woven together in the present. Through this lens, weaving becomes a metaphor for confluence, coalition, and community. The image of the woven X guides us to a place of confluence, a point of intersection that reinforces and binds, symbolizing the strength found in unity. A dynamic intersection of ideas and perspectives, where we come together not as a monolith but as a collective of many different lived experiences to build something greater with intention and purpose, demonstrating the power of different strands coming together for shared goals without canceling or erasing our differences.
Our diverse collaborations take root within urban intertribal communities, expand as we build across nations and places, flourish beyond as we partner with dedicated allies committed to the work, and foster representation across multiple spectrums, past, present, and future. Our theme asks us to consider the many ways we are weaving old, new, and remembered traditions together to create stronger communities throughout Indian Country.
We invite Native American and Indigenous community leaders, knowledge keepers and scholars, students, educators, youth, administrators, helpers and staff of educational programs, organizations and institutions, from Chicago-land and beyond to share their experiences and the wisdom they have gained in creating educational opportunities to prepare future generations of Indigenous leaders to inherit a world ripe with possibility.
We encourage presenters to imagine this theme in an expansive way and hope that folks will easily see how their work is weaving the worlds of tomorrow through their unique collaborations across different communities. If you are unsure how your work fits within the theme, we encourage you to still submit as all topics related to Indigenous knowledge systems will be considered.
Through the exchange of strategies, tools, and research for Native American education in urban communities, our goal is for attendees to engage in meaningful discourse, and come away feeling hopeful and inspired by thought-provoking ideas shared from our collective community. And then, like many of our ancestors who traversed lands and waterways from one camp to another, we want attendees to respectfully steward their newly gained knowledge home to share with their communities.
The mission of the CAICC Education Committee is to provide, advocate and support an inter-tribal urban system of education, through networks of Native American Programs and other providers to increase academic and career success for multi-generations that recognizes formal education and tribal cultures/traditions.
We hope you will propose a presentation for the 9th Annual Urban Native Education Conference. We are thrilled to learn from and engage with you.
Call for proposals
The Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative (CAICC) is pleased to announce the 9th Annual Urban Native Education Conference on March 7-8, 2025. We are excited to host this year’s conference at the Newberry Library with the support of the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies.
In alignment with our theme, Weaving Worlds: Collaborating X Communities, we invite Native American and Indigenous community leaders, knowledge keepers and scholars, students, educators, youth, administrators, helpers and staff of educational programs, organizations and institutions, from Chicago-land (Shikwaakwa – via Miami Nation) and beyond, to submit proposals that include, but are not limited to:
- designing learning environments that support Indigenous pedagogies and ways of knowing
- leadership, community engagement, and being a good relative
- policies or practices that support the welfare and wellbeing of Native American youth
Proposals are due 11:59 PM on January 24, 2025.
Why Present
- Amazing professional development opportunity
- Collaborate with experts in the field
- Receive recognition for and feedback about your practice or program
- Expand your professional portfolio
- Be part of a dynamic community that is composed of Indigenous community members working to support Indigenous initiatives
Presentation Types
Oral Presentation: The Oral Presentation format is 1 hour, including time for Q&A. Presentations are typically 40 minutes long with 10-15 minutes for Q&A. Oral presenters will have access to audio/visual connections. Each room will have a moderator who will assist with time keeping, technology, moderate Q&A and distribute evaluation surveys at the end of the presentation.
Panel Session: The Panel Session format is 1 hour, including time for Q&A. This format affords 2-4 panelists to weave together ideas, experiences, and perspectives on a shared theme or topic. Each room will have a moderator who will assist with time keeping, technology, moderate Q&A and distribute evaluation surveys at the end of the presentation.
Poster Presentation: Poster sessions provide a less formal opportunity to share information with attendees. Presenters have access to an easel for display. Presenters must be present for the duration of their scheduled poster presentation session. However, posters will be displayed for the duration of the conference.
Selection Process
Proposals are selected to ensure the conference offers a comprehensive, non-promotional, objective, and diverse program. Attention will be given to diversity of topics, institutions/organizations, presenters, and geographic location.
Proposals will be reviewed using the following criteria:
- Relevance of topic: Is the topic of relevance, importance, value, and/or interest to the community and this year’s conference theme?
- Proposed topic coverage: Does the proposal adequately cover content related to the proposers’ learning objectives?
- Presenter knowledge: Do the presenters have sufficient knowledge, expertise, and authority to address this topic based on evidence provided in the proposal and/or prior experience with or knowledge of the presenter?
- Engagement strategies: Does the proposal explain the methods used to actively engage participants?
Important Dates:
Proposal Deadline: January 24, 2025, 11:59 PM
Conference Registration Opens: January 1, 2025
Presenters Notified By: February 14, 2025
Conference Dates: March 7-8, 2025
Conference Details
Venue Location: Newberry Library Chicago (60 West Walton Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610)
Date/Time: March 8, 2025, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Registration Opens January 1, 2025
Agenda: Coming Soon!
Call for Vendors: Coming Soon!
Call for Volunteers: Coming Soon!
Become A Sponsor
Gain valuable exposure for your brand and help us ensure the success of our 9th Annual Urban Native Education Conference by becoming a sponsor!
Want to build valuable connections with Indigenous and Indigenous-serving educators, youth, elders, community members, and organizations and reinforce your commitment to advancing urban Native communities? Become a sponsor for the eighth annual conference! We appreciate your support and participation more than ever to ensure a highly valuable and successful conference experience for all.
We rely on our volunteers, sponsors and fundraising to make all that we do possible. With your support and participation, we are able to increase awareness of urban Native American educational issues, share ideas and knowledge, create community and support the mission of the CAICC Education Committee. Please consider becoming a sponsor. We appreciate your ongoing, generous support!
Questions? Please contact Aaron Golding at [email protected] or Haku Blaisdell at [email protected].
