Mission

Syracuse University’s Center for Global Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Justice (CGIC) is located on the ancestral homeland of the Onondaga Nation, central firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and within a short distance to the Seneca, Cayuga, Tuscarora, Oneida, and Mohawk territories.

We are committed to promoting transformative academic research, engagement, and pedagogies rooted in Indigenous environmental and restorative justice against colonizing projects, particularly around the themes of Environmental Humanities; Law, and Justice; Indigenous artistic heritage, preservation, and promotion of expressive culture; and Wellbeing and Wellness amidst the threat posed by environmental injustice such as natural resource extraction and chemical development; anthropogenic climate change; and other state violences.

Our work is guided by the principles of Relationality, Indigenous Ontologies, Indigenous Knowledges, Epistemologies, Resilience, Survivance, and Indigenous Futurisms.

Goals

• Explore the potential for a major degree program in NAIS in the College of Arts & Sciences at Syracuse University
  
• Establish a certificate in Native American and Indigenous Cultural Competencies for Museum and Arts Professionals
  
• Highlight innovative research through annual symposia
  
• Increase NAIS students’ opportunities for intellectual and community engagement through experiential learning, internships, and study abroad programs
  
• Collaborate with community partners, other Syracuse University units, national and international Indigenous-based organizations, and environmental justice and human rights groups