October 31, 2000

Contact: Brent Metz, Center of Latin American Studies, (785) 864-4213.

KU to host major conference on indigenous peoples

LAWRENCE -- Faculty experts on indigenous peoples of Latin America and commentators on indigenous issues in North Ameria will meet Nov. 10 at the University of Kansas for a conference on "Latin America's Indigenous Peoples: Cultural Diversity and Globalization."

Sponsored by KU's Center of Latin American Studies, the conference runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, in the Ecumenical Christian Ministries Building, 1204 Oread. About 100 people are expected to attend, including KU faculty and students and teachers from a seven-state area.

"This is the first time we are uniting our strengths in indigenous studies of Latin America to complement those of North America at KU," said Brent Metz, conference coordinator and adjunct research associate in the Center of Latin American Studies. KU faculty will be joined by scholars from Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., the University of Nebraska at Lincoln; the University of Oklahoma at Norman and Idaho State University at Pocatello.

Metz described the conference as innovative in presenting comparative perspectives of indigenous issues throughout the Americas. "Few other universities have the number of faculty or the organization in place to offer this kind of conference."

In an age when technology is expanding markets to nearly everyone on the planet, native peoples of Latin America are experiencing challenges parallel to those of Native Americans in the United States, Metz said.

Latin America's indigenous peoples are struggling for control of their homelands, and survival of their languages, cultural practices and worldviews, Metz said. At the same time, indigenous peoples are attracted by modern technology; they actively seek formal education, access to modern medicine and opportunities for community development.

The conference is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Education under Title VI that provides for National Resource Centers. KU is a Title VI National Resource Center on Latin America.

The Latin American Area Studies Program is one of the largest and most respected in the Midwest, with an outstanding library collection.