2024 Fall IAIA President’s Convocation

On Thursday, August 29, the 2024 Fall IAIA President’s Convocation and Campus Blessing welcomed new and returning students to the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) campus. Students, faculty, and staff gathered at the Dance Circle for a Four-Directions campus blessing.

Following the campus blessing, attendees headed to the Performing Arts and Fitness Center (PAFC) Gym for the convocation. Former IAIA Associated Student Government (ASG) President Laura Ten Fingers (Oglala Sioux Tribe) introduced IAIA President Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation). Dr. Martin gave the welcome address to set the tone for success in the coming year. Dr. Martin called on students to celebrate their vision and stories and to equally celebrate the vision of their ancestors. IAIA Board of Trustees Chair Beverly Morris (Aluet) then took the podium, preparing students for a life-changing experience. “In 30 years, you’ll recognize your colleagues at Indian Market,” she said.

Keynote speaker DezBaa’ (Diné and Basque, Spanish, and Mexican descent) ’21 spoke from her lived experience as an actor and a writer. DezBaa’ was featured as both and actor and worked as a writer on AMC’s Dark Winds series. She holds two MFAs from IAIA, one in screenwriting and one in creative nonfiction.

“You are the agent of your navigation, your future, and where you are,” DezBaa’ told the assembly. She went on to recount the experience of reclaiming her name and of “going into my elder stage,” saying, “I’m now a matriarch.” She explained that she feels she is now “a vessel for stories that want to be told” and exhorted students to “help others amplify their stories, help your elders amplify their stories.”

DezBaa’ went on to recount her battle with her own creative fears and limitations, discussing perfectionism as something that can make “the journey out my front door feel like a 1,000-mile trek.” “Take a breath,” she said. “The kind that is fully committed to the experience you are having now.” Then, she says, “take that first step, write that first word, make that first brush stroke.”

DezBaa’ concluded by welcoming students to what she said would be a “life-shaping experience.” “You are capable of being your own inspiration,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to create your own world.”