Council of Leadership
Vanessa EsquividoDr. Esquivido is an enrolled member of the Nor Rel Muk Wintu Nation; she is also Hupa and Xicana. She has a Ph.D. in Native American Studies from the University of California, Davis. She focuses on non-federally recognized California Indian Tribes and their struggle to obtain Federal Recognition by the United States government. Dr. Esquivido also works closely with Native communities and conducts oral interviews to record Native experiences on a variety of topics. She also works on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), specifically supporting the repatriation of Native remains, items of cultural patrimony, and sacred and funerary objects. Dr. Esquivido's research includes California Native women, labor, visual sovereignty, Native Education, and California Native basketry.
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Caitlin KeliiaaDr. Keliiaa is an Assistant Professor of Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz. She is an Indigenous feminist historian, and her scholarship engages Indian labor exploitation, dispossession, and surveillance of Native bodies especially in Native Californian contexts. Her book project Unsettling Domesticity centers Native women’s voices uncovered from federal archives. She is Yerington Paiute and Washoe, and her tribal communities inform her scholarship.
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Melissa LealDr. Leal is an enrolled member of the Ohlone/Costanoan Esselen Nation. She earned her Ph.D. in Native American Studies from the University of California, Davis. Her research includes the reciprocal relationship between Hip Hop Culture and Indigenous Communities with an emphasis on performance, activism, and visual sovereignty. She teaches culture, language, and dance for various tribal communities in Northern California. Currently she is the Chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at Sierra College. She also serves as the District’s Tribal Liaison and Wonoti Program Coordinator for Native American and Pacific Islander students. She considers herself a community academic, a lightweight linguist, a lifetime educator, and a passionate dancer who strives to assist young people in finding their voice in their community through activism, art, and scholarship.
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Mark Minch-de LeonDr. Minch-de Leon is a scholar of Indigenous Studies in the Department of English at the University of California, Riverside and an enrolled member of the Susanville Indian Rancheria. His research concerns the history of collecting practices and archive-formation in relation to California Indians and the use of these archives and collections by California Indian peoples in revitalization projects and for anticolonial work. Working at the intersections of Indigenous Studies, Rhetorical Theory, and Narrative and Visual Studies, Minch-de Leon's current book project looks at the anticolonial, nonvitalist dimensions of California Indian intellectual and cultural resurgence.
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Cutcha Risling BaldyDr. Risling Baldy is an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Native American Studies at Humboldt State. She is the Co-Director of the NAS Food Sovereignty Lab & Cultural Workshop Space. Her book: We Are Dancing For You: Native feminisms and the revitalization of women's coming-of-age ceremonies received "Best First Book in Native American and Indigenous Studies" at the 2019 Native American Indigenous Studies Association Conference. She is also the volunteer Executive Director of the Native Women's Collective, a nonprofit organization that supports the continued revitalization of Native American arts and culture. She is Hupa, Karuk, and Yurok and enrolled in the Hoopa Valley Tribe.
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Active members of the General Assembly can self-nominate to serve on the primary leadership council of CISSA, which consists of three (3) seats reserved for active members who have been affiliated with the organization for 3-4 years and two (2) seats available as “at-large” seats that can be filled by any active member of CISSA. Together, with the assistance of the committees and branches, these volunteer officials oversee the interests of the association.
The duties of the Leadership Council, include:
The duties of the Leadership Council, include:
- Serve a three (3) year term.
- The Leadership Council is responsible for advocating on behalf of the organization, empowering California Indian voices and scholarship, and representing the interests of the organization through outreach, policy, and events.
- Organize two (2) all membership meetings; one meeting will be held in the Fall and one additional meeting held in the spring. Support the planning and implementation of a yearly CISSA conference.
- Provide a semi-annual report to the General Assembly at each of the General Assembly meetings.
- Complete a yearly newsletter or report.
- Leadership Council members will also serve as part of at least one Branch or Commitment. Leadership Council members can serve on more than one Branch or Commitment so long as there are no more than two Leadership Council members on any particular branch of commitment. At least one council member should be present at all branch/commitment meetings.
- Actively participate in the recruitment and mentorship of new members.
- Report to the membership regarding the functioning of the organization and collaborate with the General Assembly on organizational priorities.
- Gather consensus on policy and program implementation with the General Assembly either through General Assembly meetings or through polling and outreach.
- Administrative duties, which include but not limited to: Collaborating with the fundraising and development branch to manage funding streams, field emails, respond to requests on behalf of the organization, oversee organization management, process and create an expenditure report and identify fiscal year.