Although Ivan Dozier is an enrolled member of the Southern Cherokee tribe (whose headquarters are in Webbers Falls, OK), he was born and raised in Illinois. He received a B.A. in Agriculture from the University of Illinois and is currently the Assistant Director of the Natural Resources Conservation Service for the State of Illinois. Dozier is also one of the leaders of Midwest SOARRING.

During the Fall of 2004, Mr. Dozier spoke to a class on Native Americans in Illinois. Some excerpts of his presentation are below:

Questions for Ivan Dozier:

Click to see a video clip

Q:	Would you please introduce yourself to the class? (1:19—2:16)
Q:	We usually think of the Cherokees as being a southeastern tribe. What connections do they have to Illinois? (10:53—12:00)
Q:	How does being Cherokee affect your work for the Natural Resources Conservation Service? (36:28—39:02)
Q:	A lot of your work involves the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Can you tell us something about that? (15:51—17:35)
Q:	What other legislation is important to Native American groups associated with Illinois? (18:20—19:21)
Q:	What Native groups today have legal claims to land in Illinois? (19:56—22:58)
Q:	You were the Vice-President of Midwest SOARRING Foundation. What does that organization do? (23:00—24:50)
Q:	What makes these ancestors’ remains so vitally important to Native people? (24:51—26:57)
Q:	What else does Midwest SOARRING do? (26:58—31:37)
Q:	What connection to people from other Native American groups have to land in Illinois (31:38—36:27)
Q:	What relationship does SOARRING have to state agencies and officials? (39:34—40:53)
Q:	Do contract archeologists work with SOARRING as well? How do they interact with state officials? (41:06—42:31)
Q:	Do Indians always see archeologists as the “bad guys”? Is it just because they display artifacts made by Native people? (43:28—44:16)
Q:	What should private individuals do if they find (or know about) a Native American burial site that might be threatened? (47:52—48:39)