The Indigenous Speakers Series is honoured to present Sarah Deer, acclaimed legal scholar and advocate widely recognized for her work addressing violence against Indigenous women and advancing Indigenous feminist approaches to law and justice.
About the speaker
Sarah Deer is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma and a University Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas, where she holds a joint appointment in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the School of Public Affairs and Administration. A lawyer by training and an advocate in practice, her scholarship explores the intersection of U.S. federal law and victims’ rights through the lens of Indigenous feminist legal theory.
Over more than two decades, Deer has worked alongside survivors and communities to address violence against Indigenous women. Her award-winning book, The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America, examines the historical and legal roots of gender-based violence in Indigenous communities. Her contributions to Indigenous rights and legal reform have earned national recognition, including the American Bar Association Spirit of Excellence Award in 2016 and induction to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2019. Deer was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow in 2014 and a Carnegie Fellow in 2020.
In her presentation, Sovereignty of the Soul, Justice Deer will speak about the movement in the United States to address gender-based violence in tribal communities. The movement includes legal changes that will allow tribal nations to assert sovereignty over criminal and civil cases involving victims of crime. Drawing from her scholarship and work as Chief Justice for the Prairie Island Indian Community Court of Appeals, Deer will highlight the role of advocates in engaging in law reform for marginalized communities, particularly Indigenous nations in the U.S.
Portrait of Sarah Deer by Hawlii Pichette, Urban Iskwew.
Justice Deer’s presentation will be followed by a Q & A moderated by Dr. Rowland Keshena Robinson (Political Science).
This event will include a gift announcement from TD Bank Group and will be followed by a reception at 4:30 p.m. – all are welcome.
The Indigenous Speakers Series is supported by a generous donation from TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment. The series is organized by a committee of Indigenous and settler faculty and staff from the Faculty of Arts and the Office of Indigenous Relations.
Registration
Watch past recordings from our Indigenous Speakers Series on YouTube.