Name: Ulysses Tonga’onevai (He, Him, His)

Hometown: Ontario, CA & West Valley City, UT

Undergraduate: Sociology with an emphasis in Criminology & a Minor in Consumer & Community Studies, University of Utah 

Doctoral: Candidate (ABD) in Education, Culture, and Society, University of Utah

Position: Associate Director of Student Accountability with the Office of the Dean of Students

Hobbies: Hanging out with family, weight training, cooking/grilling, community service, watching movies, reading and learning new things

Thoughts on Conflict: Conflict, specifically managing and resolving conflict that involve students on campus, is something we in the Office of the Dean of Students help our campus with on a daily basis. As one of the staff members who works with conflicts on campus, my role is to assist with issues within and among individual students and student organizations. My approach, as well as the approach our office takes, to resolving conflicts is to provide a development approach, which we believe can offer a safe space for open dialogue and active listening. This helps students build the skills of resilience, critical thinking, and empathy. 

Moderator: 
Dr Angela Paker (Mandan Hidatsa)

Panelists: 
Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute)
Joey Montoya (Lipan Apache)
Viki Eagle (Sicangu Lakota/Japanse)

In mainstream media and art, Indigenous peoples are often misrepresented due to lack of historical context and research. On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the University of Utah Student Affairs' Student Development and Inclusion hosted a virtual panel where Indigenous artists and educators shared how they are challenging these stereotypes and changing the narrative by creating new spaces to represent themselves, take action, and raise awareness about contemporary Native communities and issues. Check out the recorded webinar below!