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Interview with Alan Parker

Recent Teaching History
Director, Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies; 1999 to present
The Quickening of the Nations: Indigenous People Yesteryear, AToday and Tomorrow; 1999-2000
Regeneration: Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast; 1998-99
Images: Physical Speculations on Unknown Conditions; 1997-98

Recent and Current Areas of Interest

"My most recent work has focused on economic development in Indian country and looking at the opportunity for investment by Tribes who have generated capital in excess of their own investment needs. Not just where to invest but to examine how that capital might be invested back into the Indian economy in ways that generate a competitive return on that capital to the tribal investor and at the same time puts the money to work in ways that will be positive and constructive in terms of the whole economic picture."
Alan has found that the issues of Tribal Sovereignty, culture, economic development, education, child welfare, and natural resource management do not work in isolation of one another but must be understood as inter-dependent and inter-related. However, there are very few published works available dealing with the whole picture. His interest is to collaborate with students and Tribes to create a reference and resource center here at Evergreen that organizes information and makes it accessible for Indian students and communities.

Key Qualities of Student Work:

"Projects that students will be working on this year with me in the workshop portion of the Images program will be related to current issues to be considered by the state legislature in the 1998 legislative session. Students will be able to see first-hand in this process the practical "real world" context of these issues. It will be project work that is interactive with Tribes and the legislative process. Because of the nature of these projects, assessment will be self-evident; the student and I will jointly understand the criteria for evaluation."

Teaching Style:

"I try to model a Socratic teaching approach; I lay out a conceptual framework and at the same time be responsive to questions. I draw in and engage students in examining a whole range of issues involved and how they interact within a "real world" context. My ideal student is someone who is stimulated by but sensitive to the impact of the issues we are working on - eg. Tribal communities impacted by the issues. If a student is not sensitive to these considerations they will not do well. On the other hand, the student I am most looking for is one who wants to achieve results by working with people in that context and who are aware and open to learning. A sincere sense of humility on the part of students is desired."

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Last Updated: March 15, 2007