Rudolph C. Rÿser, PhD.
A visionary founder of CWIS

Dr. Rudolph C. Rÿser grew to maturity in the Cowlitz Indian culture on the US Pacific Northwest coast. He is of Cree/Oneida descent on his mother’s side and Swiss descent on his father’s. His mother taught him much about traditional foods and medicine history, techniques and practices about which he teaches his students. He founded the Center for World Indigenous Studies in 1979 and is widely recognized around the world as the principle architect of theories and principles of Fourth World Geopolitics. He is the author of the seminal book Indigenous Nations and Modern States: The Political Emergence of Nations Challenging State Power (2012) and the Fourth World Geopolitical Reader. He has for more than forty-five-years worked in the field of Indian Affairs as a writer/researcher and as Indian Rights advocate.

Dr. Rÿser has contributed to policies and laws affecting American Indians and indigenous peoples internationally, contributing for more than 25 years to the development of the UN declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UN World Conference on Indigenous Peoples and continuing international developments concerning the participation of indigenous nations in international forums. He is among the leading spokesperson for Fourth World political development and governance, tribal/state conflict resolution and international cooperation between indigenous nations.

Dr. Rÿser (Rudy) has taught at a variety of universities and colleges and is known as the teacher’s teacher. He also wears a “hat” as a indigenous foods chef specializing in authentic cultural cuisines. He is known for his eloquent speaking and his commitment to mentoring students as future leaders and activist scholars. His PhD is in International Relations.