Three new faculty books from the 91探花 cover wide-ranging topics: oysters, the moral contradictions of religion, and Cherokee creature names and environmental relationships. 91探花News talked with the authors to learn more.

Updated 鈥楬eaven on the Half Shell鈥� a 鈥榣ove letter鈥� to oysters

Oysters are a beloved food in the Pacific Northwest, but many people don鈥檛 realize what it鈥檚 taken to bring this bivalve from tide to table. 鈥溾�� dives into this very topic, providing readers with insight into the diverse history and communities involved with all things oysters

The book was written by and of the along with author . Originally published in 2001, 鈥淗eaven on the Half Shell鈥� has been updated and republished two decades later by 91探花Press.聽 Double the length of the original, the new version includes an additional chapter as well as more photos and text.

鈥淥ver the course of 20 years, it needed a lot of updating,鈥� said Gordon. 鈥淭here was originally no mention, for example, of ocean acidification in the book. That is probably the biggest confrontational point nowadays, but it wasn’t on the radar then. I felt it badly needed some updating, and I’m glad that the Sea Grant people agreed with me.鈥�

The story of the oyster 鈥渋ncludes a lot of social history, environmental history and the development of what we know as the Pacific Northwest,鈥� Larson said.

鈥淥ne big focus that we had on this new edition was really elevating our treatment of the tribal history and carrying that history up to date with how important many tribes are in terms of owning and operating their own shellfish farms today,鈥� Larson said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 another slice of history that can be told and looked at through this kind of unique perspective.鈥�

Apart from oyster history, the book also provides readers with a behind-the-scenes look at modern-day oyster farming and recipes for how to enjoy oysters after the harvest.

鈥淭he ways that we’ve been eating them in the past and the ways that we鈥檙e eating them now are different,鈥� Wagner said. 鈥淚 personally wanted to document that and show how it changed over time and the different faces that have contributed to those recipes.鈥�

The oyster farming industry has evolved since the book鈥檚 initial publication, with environmental changes like ocean acidification and rising temperatures causing new issues for farmers. But the underlying theme of the book and the main requirement for a thriving oyster industry remains clean water, Gordon said. The Pacific Northwest still has pristine waters in many places and a growing population that understands its role in the industry.

鈥淭his book is basically a love letter to the oyster,鈥� Gordon said. 鈥淎nd it’s great, because I’ve always felt that in order to get people motivated to protect the natural resources, you have to get them to love the environment.鈥�

For more information, contact Wagner at maryannb@uw.edu, Larson at larsonsa@uw.edu, and Gordon at david@davidgeorgegordon.com.

Mark Smith鈥檚 鈥楻ight from Wrong鈥� reveals moral contradictions of religion

It seems harder and harder in today鈥檚 world for people to come together to respectfully debate an issue, consider alternative viewpoints and reach a consensus. But such a process is vital to determining how we will function and progress as a society, argues in his new book.

In 鈥�,鈥� published by Prometheus Books, Smith tackles religious and secular approaches to establishing a moral code. He underscores contradictions in the texts and challenges the defenses of Christianity 鈥� a form of theology known as apologetics.

鈥淥ne major part of my book explores how pious members of book-based religions grapple with scriptures that any modern person would have difficulty swallowing,鈥� said Smith, a 91探花professor of political science. 鈥淚f the text justifies genocide, or defends patriarchy, or requires capital punishment for minor offenses, how can the believer respond?

鈥淚f you鈥檙e absolutely convinced that God is good, and that a set of scriptures captures his speech either through inspiration, as in Christianity or directly as in Islam, you鈥檝e got to reconcile any challenges you face.鈥�

Smith proposes that a process of inclusive deliberation is a more thoughtful, rational basis for establishing objective morality and the means of working together in community. He points to what is today a practice widely recognized as immoral 鈥� slavery 鈥� and prohibited around the world. But it took centuries of heated debate (and a civil war in the United States), as well as the spreading of abolitionist views through the printing press, and the stories and speeches of formerly enslaved people.

Today, Smith said, the shrinking of traditional media and the rise of social media often keep people from engaging in meaningful discussion.

鈥淵ou can curate what you read, watch, and listen such that you never have to hear from people with contrary views. Social media, for its part, rewards those who preach to the choir.聽 By doing so, you attract likes and followers. Anyone who tries to engage with the 鈥榦ther side鈥� gets quickly dismissed as a traitor to the cause,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭he result is that we have many siloed conversations that rely on distortion and straw man tactics rather than true deliberation across lines of political difference.鈥�

But it鈥檚 still possible, Smith said, among people of all faiths, or no faith.聽 He writes in the book鈥檚 conclusion: 鈥淣o person has all the answers, but if we put our minds together, we can make progress on even the most difficult moral questions.鈥�

For more information, contact Smith at masmith@uw.edu.

Exploring nature through Cherokee creature names

In 鈥�,鈥� , professor and chair of American Indian Studies at the UW, explores nature and the world through Cherokee creature names, environmental relationships, traditional stories and philosophical discussions with fluent Cherokee speakers and knowledge keepers.

Published by 91探花Press, the book provides a unique perspective of the world we live in by bringing together decades of oral history. The creature names 鈥� Cherokee words for the natural world, including birds, animals, edible plants, reptiles, amphibians, trees, insects, plants and fish 鈥� were collected orally from elders over a 30-year span by , the late Cherokee cultural leader.

Loretta Shade, Hastings鈥� wife, and their son, Larry, shared the collection with Teuton and said they wanted to publish. Written in collaboration with the Shades, 鈥淐herokee Earth Dwellers鈥� documents more than 600 creature names.

鈥淎s we went over the collection and looked through all these different names, and all the stories that are attached to the creature names, we realized this is more than just something like a dictionary,鈥� Teuton said. 鈥淚t’s actually a Cherokee ecology through words and relationships. And so, we began to work together and reached out to other elders to get their input on the project and to reflect on the collection created by Hasting Shade.鈥�

This community-driven collaboration was written 鈥渨ith the goal of creating a work of art and a work of language, revitalization and cultural revitalization that would be valued by all Cherokee people.鈥� Teuton hopes it can be used as a resource by people studying the Cherokee language as it includes spellings, pronunciations, meanings for various names and stories told by traditional storytellers in the community.

鈥淭his book can teach about the natural world and about traditional ways of understanding oneself in relation to the relatives that we have among us 鈥攑lant relatives, animal relatives, fish relatives,鈥� Teuton said. 鈥淎ll the different creatures of the natural world with whom we have relationships, dependencies and reciprocal engagements with.鈥�

For more information, contact Teuton at teuton@uw.edu.

On the 91探花 campus, the study of American Indian and Indigenous issues isn鈥檛 confined to a single department. Or, for that matter, to any one 91探花building, research institute or museum that explicitly focuses on various aspects of Native communities.

While each of these campus units is thriving on its own, what鈥檚 missing is a link to bring together the diverse faculty and students involved in American Indian and Indigenous studies, an interdisciplinary field of research that intersects the social sciences, arts and humanities, education and natural sciences.

Now, as the discipline of American Indian Studies approaches its 50^th year at the UW, a new research center is in the works: the Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies, which is supported by multiple colleges and schools. Led by , associate professor of both American Indian Studies and anthropology, and , professor of English and associate vice provost for faculty advancement, the center aims to support research in American Indian and Indigenous Studies across the three 91探花campuses, as well as with surrounding Native communities.

In its first year the center will solicit input from interested individuals not only on the three 91探花campuses, but also from surrounding Native communities. In committing to support American Indian and Indigenous faculty, students, staff and communities, Dennison said, the center must first determine what kinds of support are most needed.

鈥淢y goal with the center is to facilitate conversations around what it means to do American Indian and Indigenous studies well,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have amazing programming and resources, but we鈥檙e not all connected. We鈥檙e doing this work in silos. We鈥檙e hoping that the center can build bridges across silos, connect folks doing this work, and foster relationships across campuses and with local Native communities and nations.鈥�

Approved in late spring under former Provost Jerry Baldasty, the center was officially organized in September through a governance committee of four deans from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, the College of the Environment and the Information School. The Department of American Indian Studies will serve as the center鈥檚 academic home, and an advisory board recently formed to start planning programs and outreach activities.

Nearly a dozen units, including the Provost鈥檚 Office, the Graduate School, 91探花Tacoma and 91探花Bothell, have contributed to fund the center and related activities, a total of more than $1 million over five years.

Discussion of a research center had been circulating for years, but it intensified this past year as a potential means of retaining faculty, particularly in the Department of American Indian Studies, professor and chair said. When it comes to the discipline, few other universities have the academic infrastructure the 91探花has, he added, but several have been promoting additional resources and recruiting faculty.

Through the new center, Teuton said, the 91探花can build on its strengths, from its geographic location to ongoing scholarship and community outreach, like that driven by the College of the Environment, the College of Education and the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute in the School of Social Work. By bringing people from different units together, offering more research opportunities to graduate students and collaborating with Native communities, he said, the Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies is better positioned to elevate scholarship and create impact. The issues that often come up among Native communities 鈥� language revitalization, food sovereignty, environmental stewardship, governance and Indigenous education 鈥� are also areas of interest among current faculty and students.

Researchers around campus have asked about working with Native communities, but they鈥檙e often not sure how to approach the work as a partnership, Teuton said, and the center could facilitate that.

While leaders say the precise name of the center may change 鈥� to something in the native Coast Salish language of Southern Lushootseed, for example 鈥� the idea of building stronger partnerships with both American Indian and Indigenous peoples is central.

The term 鈥淎merican Indian鈥� is itself a construct, Allen pointed out. How do you recognize First Nations peoples in Canada, who are separated from Native communities in the United States by only a line of latitude? What about other Indigenous peoples across the hemisphere and around the world, many of whom share similar histories of colonialism?

鈥淚ndigenous studies always starts with the local. Whose land are we on? What鈥檚 the history of this place?鈥� Allen said. 鈥淭he local is always the foundation, but set within the reality of the global. We don鈥檛 pretend that our communities here somehow exist within a bubble. So we need to ask, what kind of name will make people feel the center is doing the kind of responsible work we want to be doing?鈥�

The timing is right to raise the profile of the discipline at the UW, he said. A new graduate certificate in American Indian and Indigenous Studies is being developed for next year. Several support and advisory groups are in place, serving all levels of the university, and there is potential to expand on new partnerships between the Department of American Indian Studies and community colleges around the state, which enroll approximately 4,500 Native students.

As the center continues to develop, leaders say collaboration is the key, with various ways for the campus community to be involved. The structure of the leadership was intentional 鈥� Allen will serve as co-director for one year, Dennison for three 鈥� and members of the advisory board will have staggered terms to allow others to join. The leadership expects to reach out to the broader campus about the center鈥檚 mission and programs later this year.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very Indigenous way of doing things,鈥� Teuton said. 鈥淓veryone shares what they have to contribute, and together it creates something wonderful. Something bigger comes out of our collective effort.鈥�

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For more information, contact the center at caiis@uw.edu.

But 22 tribes across Washington state depend on tribal casino resorts to provide jobs, generate revenue to operate tribal governments and promote economic development. So for 91探花students who call those reservations home 鈥� or simply want a job in Indian Country 鈥� the gaming industry looms large.

That鈥檚 the thinking behind a professional program that, for the first time, will be open to 91探花students this summer: a 10-credit certificate in Tribal Gaming and Hospitality Management. A joint effort of the Foster School of Business and the 91探花Department of American Indian Studies, the program offers classes in marketing, management and accounting, both at the Seattle campus and at partnering tribal casinos and resorts.

The program, in partnership with the Washington Indian Gaming Association, launched in 2014 as a professional development course for casino employees. Offering it to current 91探花students allows students to apply their financial aid toward tuition, while expanding the pool of local candidates in this industry, program leaders said.

Washington’s tribal casinos often recruit from outside the state for management-track positions, explained Lynn Palmanteer-Holder, a part-time lecturer at the 91探花who helped launch the certificate program with help from an advisory board of tribal leaders and gaming executives. And while the gaming industry may not be top-of-mind in some circles, it’s an economic engine of Indian reservations, and one that relies on the same rigorous business and management skills that other industries do.

Since Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, more than have opened on tribal land in more than half the 50 states. The Washington Indian Gaming Association, in its most recent 2012 , estimated nearly 15,400 gaming industry jobs in the state, of which only 19 percent were held by Native Americans. The majority of the 29 federally recognized tribes in Washington state operate a gaming facility, whether a small casino or a full-service resort.

Other colleges and universities offer casino-management programs, often aimed at casino employees, while some target employees and undergraduates alike. The Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, for example, provides coursework for a gaming concentration that can be applied to an associate’s degree in public and tribal administration.

For students in the 91探花Department of American Indian Studies, the program presents another real-world career opportunity in Indian Country. Department alumni are employed in a variety of careers with tribal nations and with companies such as Microsoft, Tesla Motors and AT&T. But the Tribal Gaming and Hospitality Management Program is unique in that it prepares students to move into management positions, said department chair . The certificate is open to all students at UW鈥攁nyone interested in working in tribal gaming and hospitality management. But the need for more Native American employees in management positions is a key reason the certificate program was created.

“There is a need for tribal employees to rise through the management ranks of these casinos and hotels. For 91探花students, this is a way in,” Teuton said. “AIS is committed to creating programming that addresses tribal needs, and this is one of them.”

The certificate builds on business essentials while incorporating aspects specific to tribes, Palmanteer-Holder said. Marketing classes examine geography, demographics and culture; management classes focus on tribal governance, decision-making, communication and leadership styles that are pertinent to tribal organizations.

Involving the Department of American Indian Studies was a logical choice, she added; Native students, as well as those who simply have an interest in working with tribes, typically have some connection to the department, which has more Native American majors and minors than any other department at UW. The certificate makes clear another career path on Indian reservations, alongside law, health care, environment and technology.

“[Washington tribes] are not Las Vegas. We don’t look at individual casinos as a way to become rich. Our sovereign nations depend on this industry to operate our government, health, education, environmental, social and cultural programs,” said Palmanteer-Holder, whose home reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville, operates three casinos. “People don’t understand the gaming industry is creating jobs and generating revenue to operate tribal governments, an alternative to the already over-extraction of natural resources such as forests, minerals, land and waterways.”

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For more information on the program, contact Meileyani Moi at moim@uw.edu.