In 1992, Kā Lāhui Hawai‘i, a Native Hawaiian sovereignty group, ratified a treaty of friendship and mutual recognition with the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation. Drawing from oral history interviews with members of Kā Lāhui Hawai‘i and the Acjachemen Nation, Dr. Vaughn’s research illuminates how the treaty functions as a sovereign relationship outside of colonial governance and delivers an alternative to federal recognition policies and political structures. In this talk, Dr. Vaughn utilizes a Native feminist lens to discuss how the treaty process is foundational in the fight against settler colonialism and how these trans-Indigenous recognitions actively work to regenerate social and political futures for local and diasporic Indigenous communities. In her talk, Dr. Vaughn highlights how her research and methodology are the outgrowth of over a decade of involvement with Indigenous communities, including a commitment to creating pathways for Indigenous students to higher education.

Speaker Bio:
Kēhaulani Vaughn (Kanaka Maoli) is an Assistant Professor in Education, Culture & Society and Pacific Island Studies at the University of Utah. Her book manuscript, Trans Indigeneity: The Politics of California Indian and Pacific Islander Relations, is about the trans-Indigenous recognitions between Pacific Islanders living in the U.S. and California Indian tribes. An interdisciplinary ethnographic project, Trans Indigeneity utilizes a Native feminist praxis to forge new methodological, theoretical, and political directions for Indigenous recognition- based politics. Her teaching and research interests include Oceanic and Indigenous feminisms, Indigenous epistemologies and education, and decolonial practices and pedagogies. As a community engaged scholar, she is involved in national and local community organizations and is a co-founder of Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC), an organization that empowers Pacific Islanders through education, research, and\ advocacy.