Trevor Reed, Hopi scholar and Assistant Professor of Law at Arizona State University, gives a talk at UBC on March 7th, 2023.
“Indigenous musical composition and performance are deeply intertwined with Hopi political philosophy and governance, resulting in a form of sovereignty that is inherently sonic rather than strictly literary or textual in nature.”
On March 7th, 2023, UBC’s Sound and the Humanities Research Cluster—an intellectual and collaborative space for UBC scholars and creators working in the field of humanistic sound studies—hosted two successful events centered around the theme of “Indigenous Knowledge, Law & Sound”. Co-convened by Professors Julen Etxabe (Allard School of Law), Tamara Mitchell (Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies), and Dylan Robinson (School of Music), the events featured invited speaker Trevor Reed, a Hopi scholar and Associate Professor of Law at Arizona State University, who works at the intersection of the arts, intellectual property, and Indigenous rights.
1) Reading Group on “Sonic Sovereignty: Performing Hopi Authority in Öngtupqa”
Graduate students from across UBC enjoyed breakfast and conversation with Trevor Reed, discussing his article titled “Sonic Sovereignty: Performing Hopi Authority in Öngtupqa“, which explores how, despite the appropriation of Hopi traditional lands by the American settler-state, Indigenous musical composition and performance are deeply intertwined with Hopi political philosophy and governance, resulting in a form of sovereignty that is inherently sonic rather than strictly literary or textual in nature.
2) Lecture on “Restorative Justice for Indigenous Voices”
Trevor Reed then gave a talk on “Restorative Justice for Indigenous Voices”, followed by a Q&A session. Within the context of the continued mass expropriation of Indigenous peoples’ voices, identities, knowledges, and performances to European-settler institutions and their publics—and the exploitation of Indigenous creativity and violation of Indigenous peoples’ laws, protocols, and standards of care—Reed’s talk advocated for the infusion of restorative justice theory into archival practice and intellectual property management as a way to further conversations regarding repair and redress for institutionalized cultural abuses and fulfill the mission to make knowledge resources available and accessible to the public, to the extent allowed by law.
About the Cluster
Launched in 2022 by three collaborators from UBC’s Hispanic Studies, Film Studies, and the School of Music, with generous support from the Public Humanities Hub, the Sound and the Humanities Research Cluster is an interdisciplinary group of scholars, creators, and educators working at the intersection of sound and humanistic inquiry. With a shared interest in attuning to the role of sound and listening in knowledge systems, political subjectivities, aesthetic practices, and human relations, among other topics, the Cluster aims to provide opportunities for collaboration, conversation, training, and knowledge acquisition and production, exploring the myriad potentialities of sound in social and cultural analysis.
The Cluster maintains a website where you can learn more about their research and upcoming events.
