AISES congratulates Council Elder, Steven A. Darden, as a 2021 Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow. Launched in 2019, the fellowship is a 12-month, self-directed enrichment program designed to support the growth, development, knowledge and networks of Indigenous knowledge holders and knowledge makers. The fellowship comes with a $50,000 award.

Darden is one of 13 fellows in the second cohort who was awarded the Fellowship. Darden is an artist, human rights advocate, business owner, and traditional practitioner. Through the Fellowship, Steven will prepare protocols to engage traditional practitioners who have Diné perspectives on the life cycle. He will develop and disseminate a curriculum on traditional knowledge and network with educational institutions to facilitate a return to traditional knowledge and practices. His work will facilitate a widespread movement to reclaim ancestor knowledge and practices around the end of life.

Steven, Navajo and Cheyenne, earned a BS in creative arts management and business administration, and is a business owner and traditional practitioner. Steven and his wife, Rose, Navajo and Ute, were inducted to the Council of Elders at the 2017 National Conference. The Dardens have a long affiliation with AISES, dating back to their college days.

To learn more about the AISES Council of Elders, read the feature story from the Winds of Change Spring 2018 issue spotlighting our elders.