Media Highlights

“Allan Downey is an associate professor in the Department of History and the Indigenous Studies program. A citizen of the Dakelh Nation (Nak’azdli Whut’en, Lusilyoo Clan) in the central British Columbia interior, his current research focuses on the history of Indigenous ironworkers in New York City. Generations of Haudenosaunee ironworkers played – and continue to play – an integral role in the building of the city, including iconic landmarks like the Empire State Building, the George Washington Bridge and 30 Rock.

Recently, a short digital animation about Indigenous ironworkers, called Rotinonhsión:ni Ironworkers, which Downey co-directed with a former student, Carlee Loft, received the 2020 Best Animated Short award at the American Indian Film Festival, one of the largest and most prestigious Indigenous film festivals in the world.”

“The topic of Haudenosaunee ironworkers is a newish one for Downey, who is Dakelh (Nak’azdli Whut’en, Lusilyoo Clan), from a nation in the central British Columbia interior. Looking at contemporary Indigenous resurgence-based movements through the lens of history, though, certainly isn’t. His first book, The Creator’s Game: Lacrosse, Identity, and Indigenous Nationhood, which was released in paperback in August, is, on the surface, about the history of lacrosse in Indigenous communities from the 1860s to the 1990s – but it’s about much more than that.”

“When Allan Downey posted the syllabus for his new fourth-year history class online, he didn’t expect it to go viral – but that’s exactly what it did. “Well, it was viral for a tweet about a history class!” Downey, who is a citizen of the Dakelh Nation (Nak’azdli Whut’en, Lusilyoo Clan), laughs. “This one kind of blew up.” His Twitter thread, listing the books he would assign to his students in “Indigenous History in a Decolonizing World,” was seen more than 200,000 times, was retweeted more than 500 times and got more than 3,000 likes.”