Glenn T. Morris
Encyclopedia
Glenn T. Morris is an American
academic and Native American
activist.
. He was the seventh of eight children. Morris grew up primarily in Denver, Colorado
and Phoenix, Arizona
and is a 1973 graduate of East High School
in Denver. Morris claims to be of Shawnee
descent through his father.
at the University of Colorado at Denver where he directs the Fourth World Center for the Study of Indigenous Law and Politics.http://carbon.cudenver.edu/fwc/fwbabout.html
Morris has also served as a delegate to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (now the United Nations Human Rights Council
), and the U.N. Working Group on Indigenous Populations, where he provided contributions to the drafting of the U.N.Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
.
protests with the American Indian Movement of Colorado
, of which he formerly served as Co-Director and is now a member of the Leadership Council. In 1991 he was arrested, then acquitted, for his participation in the first such protest. He was subsequently arrested and acquitted in 2000 and 2004 with hundreds of other indigenous people. In 2007, he was arrested with 82 others, and was convicted of a municipal code violation of disrupting a public assembly. That conviction is on appeal as of December 2008. Morris has said that the purpose of the protests is to expose the racism inherent to the Discovery Doctrine
and the celebration of Christopher Columbus
as a state and national hero. He has worked closely with Ward Churchill, and the two have written articles together.
The American Indian Movement
, which is not associated with the American Indian Movement of Colorado, has called Morris "another Caucasian American masquerading as an Indian".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
academic and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
activist.
Background
Morris was born c. 1955 http://www.aimovement.org/moipr/onrussellmeans.html at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, where his father was stationed in the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. He was the seventh of eight children. Morris grew up primarily in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
and is a 1973 graduate of East High School
East High School (Denver, Colorado)
East High School is a public high school located in the City Park neighborhood on the east side of Denver, Colorado. It is part of the Denver Public Schools System.-History:...
in Denver. Morris claims to be of Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
descent through his father.
Work
He is an associate professor of political sciencePolitical science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at the University of Colorado at Denver where he directs the Fourth World Center for the Study of Indigenous Law and Politics.http://carbon.cudenver.edu/fwc/fwbabout.html
Morris has also served as a delegate to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (now the United Nations Human Rights Council
United Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
), and the U.N. Working Group on Indigenous Populations, where he provided contributions to the drafting of the U.N.Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly during its 62nd session at UN Headquarters in New York City on 13 September 2007....
.
Activism
He came to national attention in the early 1990s for his anti-Columbus DayColumbus Day
Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday...
protests with the American Indian Movement of Colorado
American Indian Movement of Colorado
The American Indian Movement of Colorado , also called AIM-International Confederation of Autonomous Chapters, split by 1993-1994 from the Minneapolis-based, national organization of the American Indian Movement, since then known as the AIM Grand Governing Council, which claims the right to the name...
, of which he formerly served as Co-Director and is now a member of the Leadership Council. In 1991 he was arrested, then acquitted, for his participation in the first such protest. He was subsequently arrested and acquitted in 2000 and 2004 with hundreds of other indigenous people. In 2007, he was arrested with 82 others, and was convicted of a municipal code violation of disrupting a public assembly. That conviction is on appeal as of December 2008. Morris has said that the purpose of the protests is to expose the racism inherent to the Discovery Doctrine
Discovery Doctrine
The Discovery doctrine is a concept of public international law expounded by the United States Supreme Court in a series of decisions, most notably Johnson v. M'Intosh in 1823. Chief Justice John Marshall justified the way in which colonial powers laid claim to lands belonging to sovereign...
and the celebration of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
as a state and national hero. He has worked closely with Ward Churchill, and the two have written articles together.
The American Indian Movement
American Indian Movement
The American Indian Movement is a Native American activist organization in the United States, founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by urban Native Americans. The national AIM agenda focuses on spirituality, leadership, and sovereignty...
, which is not associated with the American Indian Movement of Colorado, has called Morris "another Caucasian American masquerading as an Indian".
External links
Video
- Glenn T. Morris interview from Democracy Now! program