The Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) Award, sponsored by IRES, NAIS, and the Division of Undergraduate Education and Student Success, will recognize outstanding research and creative work in projects focused on interdisciplinary projects within Native American and Indigenous studies.
Eligibility Criteria: We encourage work from history, anthropology, law, literature, linguistics, education, ethnic studies, environmental studies, political science, philosophy, theater arts, journalism and communication, and other disciplines that seek to understand Native American history, culture, politics, and contemporary lives. Presentations may be delivered in any format – oral, poster, creative work, or data stories.
Award Amounts: Two (2) $200 Awards; One (1) $100 Honorable Mention Awards.
Current Recipients
Angela Noah '25
Majors: Native American and Indigenous Studies
Project: "Fabrics as Archives: Indigenous Fashion and Storytelling at UO"
2025 $250 Award
Olivia Knudsvig '25, Cole Siegler '26, Sadie Tresnit '25 & Skylar Volz '25
Majors: Philosophy (Knudsvig) | English (Tresnit) | Environmental Studies (Siegler & Volz)
Project: "From Co-Management to Land Back: (Re)Imagining Mesa Verde National Park"
2025 $150 Honorable Mention Award
Makenzie Litty '25
Majors: Psychology | Sociology
Project: "Sovereignty and Scarcity: Media Representations of the Navajo Nation’s Fight for Water Rights"
2025 $100 Honorable Mention Award
Prior Recipients
Lofanitani Aisea '21
Major: Asian Studies, IRES
Project: "lwelek honk sa (Let's Kill It): Revitalizing Indigenous language & Exploding Settler Cows"
2021 $200 Award
Adriann Bechtle '21 and Rheata Kumala '22
Majors: Architecture, Interior Architecture
Project: "Museum of Stolen Land: Problematizing American Colonialism Through Architectural Design"
2021 $200 Award
Yazzie Chee '24 & Christina Thomas '26
Majors: GSS, Human Physiology
Project: "Honoring Indigenous Perspectives: Reimagining Resources and Programs at the University of Oregon"
2024 $400 Award
Jess Gladis '23
Major: Environmental Studies
Project: "Value Pluralism & Environmental Justice in the Cascades: The Nisqually River Watershed"
2022 $250 Award
Emma Glaunert '21
Major: Human Physiology
Project: "The Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act: The Treatment of Alaskan Natives in Mental Health Policy"
2021 $100 Honorable Mention Award
Catelynn Henion '22
Major: Educational Foundations
Project: "The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde' Relationship with and Reclamation of Tumwata"
2022 $250 Award
Ava Minu-Sepehr '24
Major: Anthropology
Project: "Counter-mapping the Coos Bay Estuaries: knowing through being, making, and offering"
2024 $100 Honorable Mention Award