November marks National Native American Heritage Month, celebrating the significant contributions of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, First Nations, and other Indigenous communities.
‘Be the Change’: Nazune Menka on creating the course, Decolonizing UC Berkeley
Berkeley Law lecturer Nazune Menka designed and taught an American Cultures undergraduate course called Decolonizing UC Berkeley.
Why Indigenous ‘Spirit medicine’ principles must be a priority in psychedelic research
Yuria Celidwen, a UC Berkeley Othering and Belonging Institute senior fellow, sheds light on how Western institutions can ethically approach the use of psychedelics.
How can America get Native health right?
A conversation with Berkeley Public Health alumnus Michael E. Bird, MSW, MPH
Welcome Dr. Carolyn Smith
Dr. Carolyn Smith is a new assistant professor in UC Berkeley's Department of Anthropology. Dr. Smith is an enrolled descendant of the Karuk Tribe. Through interviews, museum collection and archival research, she looks at the broader social and historical contexts in which basket weaving has remained a resilient practice, despite changing attitudes, economies and resources.
Welcome Tedde Simon
Native voices and needs in university priorities, the campus completed the search for a Tribal Liaison, the first position of its kind at UC Berkeley. Tedde Simon (Diné/Navajo) joined UC Berkeley in October and will serve as a campus ambassador to all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples, including both federally recognized and non-federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes as well as Native Hawaiian Organizations. In the position, Tedde will identify, promote and foster better relationships and partnerships between campus and Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples while making visible and honoring the history and celebrate the continued existence and flourishing of Native Nations in California. She will also serve as an advisor to senior leaders on campus and liaise with various campus departments to support alignment with the values of Native Nations and the University.
Events
- November 2, 2023: Sarah Deer speaking on the Indian Child Welfare Act
- November 4-10, 2023: American Indian Film Festival
Land Acknowledgement
The Division of Equity & Inclusion acknowledges that UC Berkeley sits on the territory of xučyun (Huichin), the ancestral and unceded land of the Chochenyo speaking Ohlone people, the successors of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County.
We recognize that every member of the Berkeley community has, and continues to benefit from, the use and occupation of this land, since the institution’s founding in 1868. Consistent with our values of community, inclusion, and diversity, we have a responsibility to acknowledge and make visible the university’s relationship to Native peoples. As members of the Berkeley community, it is vitally important that we not only recognize the history of the land on which we stand but also, we recognize that the Muwekma Ohlone people are alive and flourishing members of the Berkeley and broader Bay Area communities today. This acknowledgment was co-created with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and Native American Student Development and is a living document.
Students, Staff, and Faculty Resources
- Native American Student Development
- American Indian Graduate Program
- Native & Indigenous Council
- Native American Legal Assistance Project
- Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues
- Native American Studies library
- Native American Studies Library Guides, developed by NAS Librarian Melissa Stoner
- Classes offered by UC Berkeley's Native American Studies Department