photo by: University of Kansas

Alex Red Corn

The University of Kansas has created a new office that will work to develop partnerships with Native American tribes and other indigenous groups across the country.

The Office of Sovereign Partnerships & Indigenous Initiatives will work to build off of Lawrence and KU’s reputation of having a unique place in Indian Country.

“With our proximity to Haskell Indian Nations University, the city of Lawrence has a vibrant intertribal community that is well known throughout Indian Country, so the university serves tribal citizens from all over the country,” said Alex Red Corn, who has been hired to lead the office. “Because of this, we have a responsibility to be in good relations with Native nations so we can be good partners with respect to their sovereign rights to be involved in the education of their own citizens. There is so much potential, and I’m excited to get started doing the good work that KU is committed to doing.”

Red Corn, a member of the Osage Nation, also serves as KU’s vice chancellor for sovereign partnerships and indigenous initiatives. He also serves as director and associate professor in Indigenous Studies. Red Corn came to KU after an academic career at Kansas State University, where his work focused on tribal nations taking a more prominent role in the education of their citizens.

The Office of Sovereign Partnerships & Indigenous Initiatives is an outgrowth of prior KU programs, including the Haskell/KU Exchange Program, which allows for some students to take classes at both universities. Many of those programs will move out of the Office of Academic Success and into the new office.