University Faculty Lecture Series presents anthropologist Marica Mikulak

Marcia Mikulak, associate professor of anthropology, will present the second University Faculty Lecture in the 2010-11 series. Titled “Successful Activism: How the Xukuru Peoples of Brazil Countered Nation-State Violence to Regain Dignity and Constitutional Rights,” the lecture will address Mikulak’s fieldwork in Brazil.

The lecture will take place Wednesday, Nov. 10 at the North Dakota Museum of Art, with a reception at 4 p.m., and the lecture beginning at 4:30 p.m. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Recently returned from Brazil, Mikulak spent her time there on academic developmental leave working closely with Chief Marcos and his Xukuru (pronounced Shoo-koo-roo) tribe. The Xukuru – whose leadership in the reconstruction of indigenous identity movements in Brazil has assisted in bringing national attention to Brazil’s ongoing violence against indigenous peoples – are a case study of successful activism.

Mikulak’s fieldwork focused on identifying the types of violence used against the Xukuru in their fight to regain their ancestral lands, and identified various strategies used by them to successfully regain most of their territory. Her research sought to link current international human rights documents used to protect and support indigenous peoples to current on-the-ground social activism. Mikulak hoped that those documents could be used for support by other indigenous nations in their struggle for dignity and the assurance of their constitutional rights and international human rights. She also worked to develop innovative funding possibilities to support indigenous identity formations, nation building, and constitutional and human rights needs.

But Mikulak’s fieldwork crosses the border of Brazil to her home in Grand Forks. While she was making important progress in Brazil, she was simultaneously helping UND students make discoveries of their own. Mikulak recently taught a course through the Honors Program titled, “Indigenous Human Rights: Local to Global” (HON 392). As part of the course, students participated in Mikulak’s research blog and had regular Webcam conferences with indigenous leaders.

— Sandra Donaldson, Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, English, Leture Series coordinator, 777-4461, sandra.donaldson@und.edu.