Editor’s Commentary

This issue marks a landmark achievement in American Indian studies (AIS). Wicazo Sa Review (WSR) is now thirty years old! Since its inaugural issue in 1985, WSR has positioned itself to be central to the objective of publishing quality research. Its founders—Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Beatrice Medicine, William Willard, and Roger Buffalohead—envisioned a scholarly journal devoted to the dissemination of relevant, transformative, and meaningful research that would play a prominent role in the movement to create AIS as a stand-alone academic discipline. Because of their foresight, WSR has published a vast array of studies that enrich and deepen our understanding of the complexities and nuances of American Indians in past, present, and future settings.

WSR is proud of its record of offering its readers innovative, critical, and dynamic articles that conform to the standards of academic excellence. This scholarship has helped define who Indians are as distinct peoples and nations whose pasts and presents are deeply rooted in differing environments, cultures, and histories. Yet, our scholarship has only touched the tip of the diversity of Indian experiences. As WSR continues to mature, our bright and committed scholars will revel in their capacities to explore the realities of Indian life in a complex world.

WSR extends its most heartfelt thanks to the authors who have gone through the rigors of the peer-review process and the scholars who have devoted substantial amounts of their time and energy to improving the quality of this literature. Without you, WSR could not fulfill its mission.

The four articles in this issue make important contributions to the American Indian studies literature. They address matters of Dakota resistance to U.S. domination after the 1862 war, Indigenous research methodologies, female leadership, and the subjugation of Alaskan Natives. This issue also contains another installment of the “State of Indigenous America Series,” which argues that it is time for Indian governments to consider extending legal rights to trees and other plants.

A recent development at WSR is the addition of a second assistant editor, Nicole Blalock. In 2003, Nicole received her PhD from the University of California, Davis, from the Graduate Group in Education with an emphasis on school organization and educational policy. She is now a postdoctoral fellow in educational equity in diverse schools with the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on contemporary society and how its policies and practices influence not only access to education for Indigenous peoples, but also student experiences and attainment in those settings. As a mixed-heritage scholar, Nicole is also interested in issues of representation, identity, and the tensions of tribal memberships, sovereign nation-to-nation politics, and decolonization.

Happy birthday Wicazo Sa Review!