Educator Denny Hurtado to kick off sixth annual Robert A. Harvie Social Justice Lecture Series

September 22, 2011

Lacey, Washington — Denny Hurtado, Indian education program supervisor for the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), has been selected to launch the sixth season of the Saint Martin's University Robert A. Harvie Social Justice Lecture Series. In the inaugural lecture of the 2011-12 series, guest speaker Hurtado will discuss new tools for teaching about the tribes indigenous to Washington state. The lecture, “Since Time Immemorial: 21st-Century Teaching Tools for Ancient Truths,” begins at 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 30, in Harned Hall, room 110, on the Saint Martin’s University campus, 5000 Abbey Way, Lacey, Washington, 98503. The free event is open to the public.

Hurtado, an enrolled member of the Skokomish Indian Tribe, holds a master’s degree in school administration from the California State University in Humboldt. The published author and curriculum developer also serves on the Skokomish Tribal Council and is co-chair of the Native Nations Institute International Advisory Council at the University of Arizona.

The focus of Hurtado’s presentation will be “Since Time Immemorial,” a web-based curriculum initiative created through a partnership of private and public agencies, and endorsed by all 29 federally recognized tribes in Washington. The site houses resources, materials, lessons and entire units to support the teaching of tribal sovereignty, tribal history and current tribal issues. This tool works within the context of OSPI-recommended units for all students of Washington and U.S. history in the elementary and middle school levels, and all students of U.S. history and contemporary world issues in the high school level. The “Since Time Immemorial” curriculum menu aims to include perspectives that have been missing from state history education.

The Robert A. Harvie Social Justice Lecture Series was created by Saint Martin’s University Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Robert Hauhart, Ph.D., J.D., chair of the University’s Department of Society and Social Justice, to raise awareness of social justice issues within the community and to honor the work of Robert A. Harvie, J.D., former professor and chair of the Department of Criminal Justice at Saint Martin’s.

“Native American education and history is a neglected topic in our state,” Professor Hauhart says. “We hope that by inviting Denny to speak on the issue, Saint Martin’s University can contribute to the conversation on this vital issue.”

Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year, coeducational university located on a 380-acre wooded campus in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 14 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through its 21 majors and six graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes 1,250 students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its main campus, and 650 more to its extension campuses located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Everett College, Centralia College and Tacoma Community College. Visit the Saint Martin’s University website at www.stmartin.edu.

For more information:

Robert Hauhart Ph.D., J.D.
Chair, Department of Society and Social Justice
Associate professor of criminal justice and legal studies
360-438-4525
rhauhart@stmartin.edu

Jennifer Fellinger
Vice president for marketing and communications
Saint Martin’s University
360-438-4332
jfellinger@stmartine.edu