The Appalachian Center represented by Dr. Edward Lo has organized this year’s Seminar on Indigenous Issues with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York as part of the broader 2024 United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City. Joining him are Venus Evans and Shelbie Larmour, two lifelong Kentuckians, Appalachians, and Native Americans who will provide a voice to the Commonwealth’s Indigenous population. Emerald Skye Byrd and Anagali (Shace) Duncan further represent Indigenous activism and interests from across the country.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York cordially invites you to an in-person seminar on the margins of the 23rd session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), titled “Elevating Indigenous Rights to Self-Determination Based on Indigenous Youth Perspectives” at 6:00 pm (EDT) (Registration begins at 5:30 pm) on April 24, 2024, in collaboration with Taiwan's Council of Indigenous Peoples, the University of Kentucky, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission, Native and Indigenous Students' Circle and 7 Ravens Ministries. The seminar will be followed by a welcome reception with food and beverage. Please kindly RSVP before Friday, April 19. We look forward to your participation!

Join us at the Appalachian Center for our annual end of year celebration! We will be recognizing our graduating seniors with friends, food, and festivities!

Join us for our SWAP (Sharing Work on Appalachia in Progress) presentation at the Appalachian Center or tune in virtually via Zoom. This year's SWAPs will showcase the research conducted by recipients of the 2023 James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia and the UK Appalachian Center Eller & Billings Student Research Award, as well as other scholars and students sharing their research.

April 12 Presentations:

Rachel Sneed (virtual), 2023 Eller & Billings Student Research Award, "Assessing Endophyte Frequency Distributions and the Effect of Epichloe brachyeltri in the Chemotypic Diversity of Brachyelytrum erectum"

Arshiya Jeelani, 2023 James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia, "Mary Jane in the Mountains: The Social, Political, and Environmental Effects of Marijuana Growth in Eastern Kentucky"

Courtney Martin, 2023 James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia, "Examining Appalachian Patient Experiences among those with and/or Post Critical Illness"

Register for the Zoom meeting here.

Be sure to check your spam for the Zoom link after registering.

Appalachia has long been considered a disabled region. It is widely understood as a “disability belt,” and anti-Appalachian systems are deeply entwined with dis/ablist ones. However, there has been limited conversation between the fields of Appalachian and Disability Studies, and Disabled Appalachian voices have been marginalized in both areas.
The Symposium on Dis/Ability and Debility in Appalachia seeks to foster an interdisciplinary and intersectional conversation on dis/ability and debility in the region, bringing together Disabled and Appalachian people, theorists, practitioners, advocates, and attendees at the many intersections of these identities.

The Symposium will be held  in the  Healthy Kentucky Building on the campus of the University of Kentucky and virtually via Zoom. Date TBA. Lunch and a light breakfast will be provided for in person attendees
 

April 13, 2024

11:00am - 3:30pm

Location: Lend-A-Hand Center

3234 KY 718 Walker, KY

Call (606)-622-1385 to pre-register

(required, spaces limited)

Accommodations Available

To register to participate with the Appalachian Center at the cleanup and to share your driving/carpool plans, please complete the form linked here.

For those that filled out the form volunteering to be a mentor to undergraduate and/or fellow graduate students, please attend either this meeting OR Tuesday's meeting to ask any questions that you may have about the program and to meet your fellow mentors. We will be meeting in the Appalachian Center Annex Conference Room (641 S. Limestone; entrance is in the back of the building by the gravel parking lot) and via Zoom. Please contact Jed (jed@uky.edu) or Shelby (shelby.roberts@uky.edu) with any questions/ comments/ concerns!

For those that filled out the form volunteering to be a mentor to undergraduate and/or fellow graduate students, please attend either this meeting OR Friday's meeting to ask any questions that you may have about the program and to meet your fellow mentors. We will be meeting in the Appalachian Center Annex Conference Room (641 S. Limestone; entrance is in the back of the building by the gravel parking lot) and via Zoom. Please contact Jed (jed@uky.edu) or Shelby (shelby.roberts@uky.edu) with any questions/ comments/ concerns!

Time TBD