LaDonna Harris


University Libraries' Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections fellows, Max Fitzpatrick and Ashley Sherry, will present "I Interact, Therefore, I Am: LaDonna Harris and A Life of Activism"  on Friday, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room, Zimmerman Library, UNM.

The Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections was awarded $50,175 from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to process the LaDonna Harris Papers, including the records of Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO).  This lecture marks the completion of the project.

Harris, a longtime Albuquerque resident, has been an ardent activist and advocate for Native American equality and social justice. She is the founder and president of Americans for Indian Opportunity, an organization dedicated to facilitating initiatives to enrich the cultural, political, and economic lives of indigenous peoples around the world.

Graduate fellows, Max Fitzpatrick and Ashley Sherry have been working under the direction of project archivist, Beth Silbergleit.  Fitzpatrick is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology; Sherry is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Anthropology.  Their presentation will focus on Harris' formation as an activist and include excerpts from an oral history recorded earlier this fall.

AIO continues to serve native peoples around the world.  The CSWR is committed to preserving their record of achievement for future generations.  For more information contact Beth Silbergleit at bsil@unm.edu or 277-0060. The event is free and open to the public. 

Media contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu