“Sovereignty and Democracy in Indian Country” is a Mellon Foundation-funded research, teaching, and public humanities initiative running from 2025-2028. The $500,000 grant, led by the former director and founder of the University of Tulsa’s Oklahoma Center for the Humanities, Dr. Sean Latham, engages with the challenges raised by McGirt v. Oklahoma. This landmark Supreme Court decision made Tulsa the largest American city situated on sovereign Indigenous land. Positioned at the confluence of Mvskoke, Cherokee, and Osage nations, the University of Tulsa has become a hub for exploring changing concepts of democracy, identity, and citizenship where we engage the past and imagine inclusive and thriving new possibilities for the future.
In its first year, the initiative has already sponsored gallery exhibits and public events while supporting the scholarly and creative work of a cohort of scholars, students, and public fellows. Key events in the future encompass a range of additional exhibits and exhibitions, including “Art as Sovereignty” on September 10-12, 2026. All events are free and open to all.
