When tackling massive global issues like climate change, hunger, war and poverty, “the world is struggling,” says Nadine Fabbi, director of the University of Washington’s Canadian Studies Center. “We’re lacking balance in how we think about these issues, and a huge part of that lack of balance is that the Western world has not successfully worked with Indigenous Peoples to integrate Indigenous values and worldviews into Western thinking.”
Thanks to a partnership among the Canadian Studies Center, Continuum College and the Native American Law Center, Fabbi and her counterparts did something about it. In autumn 2023 the UW team applied for and were awarded the 2024 Distinguished Humphrey Fellowship Program on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The result? In May 2024, over 19 professionals from 17 countries gathered for two weeks at the UW’s wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House for a rare opportunity to collaborate across borders to share strategies and advice on how to advocate for the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in their respective communities on pressing global issues. The program also involved a week in Seattle, small-group visits to other North American tribal communities and capstone sessions in Washington, D.C.
Read more about the May 20
24 Humphrey training
The UW shared Indigenous knowledge and experiences from the Pacific Northwest, including presentations from local Indigenous leaders about the Tribal Canoe Journey and First Nations herring protectors, with the Humphrey Fellows, shedding light on the larger systemic issues harming Indigenous people.
Peter K. Morgan, Director of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship at the Institute of International Education said in awarding the Fellowship: “UW brings deep scholarly and community resources, along with strong administrative know-how, to this topic of critical global importance.”
In addition to Fabbi, who served as a co-Investigator on the program, Sandra Janusch, Associate Vice Provost, Continuum College, acted as Principal Investigator (PI) on the $120,000 grant responsible for the design and implementation of the program. Monte Mills, Charles I. Stone Professor of Law
Director, Native American Law Center, contributed his expertise on the intersection of Federal Indian Law, Tribal sovereignty, and natural resources as well as race and racism in the law and legal education.
Since 2016, the Distinguished Humphrey Fellowship Program (DHFP) has provided 14 short-term professional development opportunities to Fellows from over 75 countries, as part of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship. This is the second DHFP hosted by the University of Washington and the first of its kind to spotlight indigenous rights.
