Coming October 23: Healing Our Salish Sea

How the Lummi Nation is Leading the Way in Protecting Our Vital Resources

Advance ticket sales end Monday, October 21, at 11:50 a.m.

The Lummi Nation is leading the way in protecting and revitalizing the Salish Sea through their establishment of the Salish Sea Campaign. Ellie Kinley will provide us an update on the various fronts of the Campaign.

Ellie (Tah Mahs) Kinley is a Lummi Nation tribal member. As a life-long fisher from a family in which every generation has fished since time immemorial, she is dedicated to the traditional Lummi way of life and to exercising Treaty rights. Together with her two sons, Luke and Kyle, she is the co-owner of a reef-net boat, Spirit of Sxwo’le and a purse seiner, The Salish Sea.

Ellie currently serves on the Lummi Natural Resource and Fish Commission. She was awarded the 2017 Environmental Heroes Award through RESources for Sustainable Communities for her profound and abiding work to protect the natural, cultural, and historical importance of the Salish Sea, specifically at Cherry Point (Xwe’chi’eXen).

“Our qwe ‘lhol ‘mechen (resident orcas) face extinction, our salmon runs are endangered, and the Salish Sea is increasingly threatened by unchecked human development. Climate change, ramped up marine vessel traffic, and other stressors on the Salish Sea ecosystems necessitate immediate action, rather than endless deliberation.”

Lummi Nation Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office

Coming November 20: Speed of Deceit

Are conspiracy theories the new normal in American discourse? Why are lies so compelling, and why and how do they spread so quickly? What are the ways disinformation can be used as a political weapon, and how might our democracy be affected? How do we curb disinformation while balancing free speech?

Disinformation has always been part of human culture, but now it travels at fiber-optic speed. Join us for a conversation with experts at the front lines of the information wars.

Panelists

Michael Artime has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and has done extensive research on incivility in online political discourse. Specifically, his work has focused on the comment sections attached to online news articles. He is a visiting assistant professor of Political Science at Pacific Lutheran University.

Katya Drozdova is an associate professor of political science in the School of Business, Government, and Economics at Seattle Pacific University. Katya’s current research focuses on problems of cybersecurity, cyberpower and international relations, particularly involving American-Russian relations and information strategies. She is the author of Quantifying the Qualitative: Information Theory for Comparative Case Analysis (SAGE, 2016) among other scientific and policy publications. Prof. Drozdova has earned a PhD and an MPhil in Information Systems from New York University. Her MA in International Policy Studies and BA in International Relations are from Stanford University.

Ira Hyman, a Professor of Psychology at Western Washington University, has conducted research on how people create false memories. Much of his research has investigated how people adopt misinformation. He is a regularly contributor to the Psychology Today website, writing about the application of basic cognitive research to everyday situations.

Moderator:  Johann Neem is a professor of history at Western Washington University. His written works include Democracy’s Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America, and pieces published in the Washington Post, USA Today, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Seattle Times, and Inside Higher Education. Neem has also been interviewed on education for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and in a feature for PBS Newshour.

This event is part of Humanities Washington’s statewide series, “Moment of Truth: Journalism and Democracy in an Age of Misinformation.”  Humanities Washington is a Seattle based non-profit organization that aims to spark conversation and critical thinking to nurture thoughtful and engaged communities across the state. Humanities Washington is funded in part by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Pulitzer Prizes.