Winds of Change - 2017 National Conference Wrap-Up - 8

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Embracing Our Past, Celebrating Our Future
The much-anticipated Closing Anniversary Gala
began with an Honor Song and a moving blessing given
by Dr. Henrietta Mann (right), the sole remaining
founding member of the Council of Elders, with other
current Council of Elders members joining her on stage.
Emcees Rick Williams and Jennifer Wolf thanked the
conference sponsors and recognized the former board
chairs, executive directors, and other AISES dignitaries
in the audience. Special applause went to the two
founding members in attendance, Jerry Elliott
High Eagle and Al Qöyawayma.

Closing Anniversary Gala KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Board of Directors member Paul Kabotie
introduced the Closing Anniversary Gala
keynote speaker, Norbert Hill Jr. (above),
telling a story from his college days of helping
to form the New Mexico College Chapter and

meeting Hill at the first conference he
attended with that new group. "Norbert
spoke of how significant it is to be grounded
as Native people as we go out into the world
and of the value of giving back to our
communities, our people, our tribes, and to
AISES, the organization that brought us
together," recalled Kabotie.
In his keynote address Hill shared many
memories of his time as executive director of
AISES, an office he assumed in 1983 and
held for 15 years. "I accepted a job at an
organization with no money and 20
students," he said. "The first conference was
arranged by Al Qöyawayma and held in one
hotel conference room in Phoenix. No one
there would have dreamed that 40 years later
we would fill a ballroom in a big city
convention center."
For Hill, one explanation for the endurance
of AISES over the decades is the organization's
fundamental values. "AISES has a spiritual core
that is very different from other organizations," he pointed out. "The founders were

8 WINDS OF CHANGE * Denver » 2017 National Conference Wrap-Up

truly the dreamers, the visionaries. There was
no term 'STEM' then, but now I think in terms
of spiritual STEM warriors."
Hill told his stories with humor and
numerous explanations to illustrate the
special quality of "community" he believes
characterizes AISES. He recounted his efforts
to meet with organizations large and small
that were making an effort to diversify during
the 1980s and 1990s, traveling millions of
miles in the process to assure corporations
that "AISES is the red in the rainbow."
For AISES student members, Hill had a
special message. "In addition to your major
in school, you are majoring in who you are
as an Indian," he said. "You can't run away
from who you are. We want our students to
land on their moccasins, not their Guccis."
Hill spoke movingly of giving back, of
serving as "the rent you pay for living," and
urged members to stay involved with the
AISES community. "I got more from AISES
than I could ever give back," he said. "And
hope is the gift."
aises.org
http://www.aises.org
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