NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma is implementing a structural change designed to enhance the scope and impact of the OU Native Nations Center.
Since its formal establishment in 2015, the Native Nations Center has helped to advance OU’s longstanding excellence in Indigenous teaching and research and has strengthened the university’s collaboration with Tribal Nations. To elevate the center’s impact and in partnership with Tribal Nations, the Native Nations Center is transitioning from the Provost’s Office to the Office of the President, within the Office of Tribal Relations.
The move fulfills a multi-year effort by the OU community and by Tribal Nations to grow the Native Nations Center from an idea to an endowed physical space with staff – a process that includes its operational evolution from originating at the department level, expanding to the Provost’s Office and now being placed within the President’s Office. The center and its existing staff will remain physically located in Copeland Hall to ensure consistency in how the OU community is served and supported.
“Elevating the Native Nations Center into the Office of the President affords the center even more opportunity to grow, to serve all three of our campuses and to deepen the respectful relationships between OU and Tribal Nations,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “This move ensures the Native Nations Center is even better positioned to fortify these efforts today and for many years to come.”
A major emphasis of the Native Nations Center is research, primarily concentrated in areas of great importance to Tribal Nations, such as tribal sovereignty and governance, tribal economic development, health, energy and the environment, and Indigenous arts and cultural resources. The focus on innovative research can be further supported and grown within the Office of Tribal Relations. The center’s mission for tribally engaged research will be realized through the appointment of an associate director of research – a position that will work in collaboration with the Native Nations Center to respond to needs articulated by Tribal Nations by developing new initiatives and connecting tribes with the appropriate faculty, programs and resources at OU.
“I am excited about the ways in which the Native Nations Center can continue to invest in the work of our Indigenous colleagues and amplify its impact,” said Alisa Hicklin Fryar, chair of the Department of Political Science. “The opportunity to bring together research support and facilitation will continue to strengthen OU’s ability to support everyone who seeks to learn from and partner with Tribal Nations to conduct research that is more responsible, engaged, informed, authentic and valuable to Indigenous communities.”
In 2018, the Chickasaw Nation endowed the Native Nations Center to ensure its future. Part of this gift helped to renovate and refurbish areas in Copeland Hall for the Department of Native American Studies, including the Hall of Native Nations, which features the 39 flags of the tribes of Oklahoma, and the Native Nations event space.
“Witnessing the rapid and significant growth in the scope and influence of the Native Nations Center inspires great confidence in its future,” said Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby.
“We believe this center is on the path toward making an even greater contribution to Indigenous scholarship and research in Oklahoma and globally. Its focus on sovereignty, intergovernmental relationships, preservation of cultural knowledge and community engagement helps provide the foundation to build a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.”
Under this new structure, the university also announced the appointment of Tana Fitzpatrick as director of the Native Nations Center, pending approval by the OU Board of Regents.
A member of the Crow Tribe of Montana and a Sioux, Ponca and Chickasaw descendent, Fitzpatrick will also continue in her position as OU’s associate vice president of tribal relations. In this role, she serves as a strategic adviser to the Office of the President on university relationships with Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities. In both capacities, Fitzpatrick reports to Sean Burrage, vice president of executive affairs and member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
“Tana has been integral to the university’s efforts to foster meaningful partnerships between OU and our Tribal Nations,” Harroz said. “In her capacity as the Native Nations Center director, she will thoughtfully steward these relationships to an even deeper level, benefiting communities and people worldwide.”
Fitzpatrick joined OU in 2022 after serving as a specialist in natural resources policy for the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress. She has also held a variety of positions in the executive branch of the United States government, including as senior counselor to the assistant secretary-Indian affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, program examiner for the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President and staff attorney for the National Indian Gaming Commission.
“We are very thankful for the recognition that Tana’s appointment gives to the Native community and for the opportunity it will present to deepen the relationship between our Tribal Nations and OU,” said Kiowa Tribe Vice Chairman Jacob Tsotigh. “There is so much to be done to strengthen that relationship, and I believe that she is the right person to help in that regard.”
To learn more about the Native Nations Center, visit ou.edu/nativenationscenter.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information visit ou.edu.
