At the dawn of this century, social scientists were convinced that the traditional cultures of Native nations were about to disappear entirely, forever. It did not happen of course, but survival has not been without cost. Today, on the eve of a new century, many Native leaders are thinking hard about the future, and working for the continued survival, application, growth, and extension of traditional knowledge. Whether in practical or spiritual matters- in politics, economics, social relations or health- these leaders represent communities where traditional sources are still consulted not only for relevant answers, but for new, Indigenous ways to frame the questions.

This symposium featured a gathering of a small group of leaders from different regions of Indian country who discussed the experiences, aspirations, plans, and resources of their nations and communities with regard to traditional knowledge, in the company of and in conversation with, Dartmouth faculty and students.

The past twenty-five years have witnessed an explosion in research, publications, and popular interest in Native American Studies. Native American Studies programs and courses have proliferated around the country. In most colleges and universities, however, Native American Studies courses are restricted to a very few disciplines and Native American Studies programs sometimes remain "ghettoized" and feel marginalized. Non-Native students usually take courses in Native American Studies as a kind of special interest elective; they do not normally encounter Native American issues as recurrent features in their college curricula.

As Native American Studies has expanded in the last generation, we need to consider developing new areas and approaches in our programs and in the courses we offer. At the very least, we need to ask ourselves whether the courses we teach, the issues we raise, and the approaches we take are still the most relevant, appropiate and stimulating for Native and non-Native students. By bringing together directors of Native Studies programs from across the United States and Canada, this conference highlighted the multi-disciplinary basis of Native American Studies; assembled in one place a tremendous pool of talent and experience in initiating, running, and teaching NAS programs; and, offered a unique forum for the exchange of ideas and information from different regions and institutions throughout North America.

After years of being neglected and ignored, Native peoples in New England today are demanding attention, reasserting their rights, reviving their cultures, and rebuilding their economies. In this symposium speakers from Native communities across New England discussed the challenges and opportunities they confront as they work to build a future on the traditions of the past.

The fantasy of a German-Indian brotherhood, of a special affinity between the two cultural groups, dates back to the late 1700s and is addressed in a wide variety of fictional accounts, novels, plays, as well as, more recently, films. It has stimulated not just writer and artists, historians, ethnographers, and anthropologists, who like Franz Boas went abroad to explore tribal histories and traditions.

Furthermore, the fantasy is re enacted almost daily in the so-called Indianerclubs, social meetings in which Germans dress up in "authentic" Indian costume.Throughout the last three hundred years, fictional encounters, and real encounters have been transformed into fictions.

This three- day conference took a closer look at imaginary and real relations between Germans and Indians. We considered some of the mutual perceptions that have been entertained for centuries. We moved beyond fantasy to explore, from an interdisciplinary perspective, how Germans and Indians actually interacted in historical reality. We questioned long-held beliefs, challenged myths, and broke through confining national or ethnic boundaries by investigating areas of common interest and cultural or imaginary overlap.

The quotation in the title above is derived from an interview with a former black slave who had been owned by Creeks. The full quotation reads : "I was eating out of the same pot with the Indians, going anywhere in this country I wanted to, while they [Black slaves owned by whites] were still licking their master's boots in Texas". In many ways, this quotation captures the complexity of the topic which this conference explored the interwoven strands of African American and Native American histories, cultures, communities, and literature.

This gathering introduced participants to major themes and questions in the study of Black-Indian relations, with the explicit purpose of encouraging curricular development, fostering dialogue between faculty, students and independent researchers in the Native American and African -American Studies programs, as well as supporting research and creative work in this growing field.

Archaeologists have had a long and often troubled relationship with Native America. This conference examined that relationship from the perspective of American Indians immersed in the discipline and explored future directions for the new millennium. Rather than presenting archaeologists' viewpoints on Indian concerns, it was designed to facilitate an open discussion with and among American Indians engaged in the work of reconstructing and preserving their peoples' heritages.