Dr. Dalee Dorough elected to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Political Science Assistant Professor Dr. Dalee Sambo Dorough was recently appointed by the United Nations Secretary General to two posts. She is a member and vice chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). She is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations. The UNPFII is supported by the General Assembly's Division for Social Policy and Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Her appointment is from January 2011 to December 2013.

The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council, with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.

Dr. Dorough's colleague Dr. Raymond Anthony, associate professor in the UAA Philosophy Department, said, "Dalee's accomplishments extend UAA's core mission to Alaska's diverse and vulnerable communities. She also reflects what is possible and best in terms of UAA's internationalization initiative. Her scholarship in the area of indigenous rights is inspiring."

She holds a Ph.D. in Law from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She specializes in the development and evolution of international indigenous human rights standards, human rights law, public international law, the political and legal relations between nation-states and Aboriginal peoples, international relations and Alaska Native self-determination. Read more about Dr. Dorough's work and accomplishments here.

Dr. Dorough recently returned from a meeting in Ottawa with Kimberly Teehee, President Obama's Senior Policy Advisory for Native American Affairs.