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Native Bruin: Past, Present & Future Deniale Urbina, Acoma Pueblo, Class of 2012
Native Bruin: Past, Present & Future Deniale Urbina, Acoma Pueblo, Class of 2012

Bruin Highlight: Past, Present & FutureThis October 2024 we are highlighting Native Bruin Deniale Urbina from the Acoma Pueblo tribe with a major in International Development Studies class of 2012.Raised in a military household, Deniale experienced a childhood marked by frequent relocations across the United States and Europe. She completed her high school education in Heidelberg, Germany, before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue her college studies. Her roommates were taken aback when they anticipated a German international student, only to find a Native American woman as their new housemate. Deniale attended UCLA on an Army ROTC scholarship and, upon ... Read more

UCLA Native Welcome Event
UCLA Native Welcome Event

The UCLA American Indian Studies Center and Department extend a warm invitation to all American Indian/Native American and Pacific Islander individuals to connect with fellow native professors, staff, and students involved in various native student organizations. This event also provides an opportunity to interact with current students and alumni, as well as to gain deeper insights into the native community at UCLA. please RSVP

Sharing cultures: Wahanaungatanga
Sharing cultures: Wahanaungatanga

Derived from the word ‘whānau’, or family, Whanaungatanga is about building relationships and making connections. Join us for an afternoon featuring a haka performance and presentation by a delegation of Māori warriors and performers from Te Reikura and Te Rōpū Kahurere visiting Los Angeles to share and connect us with their culture. Te Reikura and Te Rōpū Kahurere are a passionate group of women who want to positively share their love of Māori music (waiata), joy of kapa haka as a social group, and cultural knowledge with their own communities and the wider world. Members of both groups reside in ... Read more

Indigenous Peoples day Celebration
Indigenous Peoples day Celebration

Indigenous Peoples day Celebration Come join the students of the American Indian Student Association’s celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day, where complimentary frybread will be provided by the AISA and AISC at UCLA. Students will engage in discussions regarding the challenges faced by Native communities, as well as partake in vending and fundraising activities. Location: UCLA Bruin Walk  

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UC Native American Opportunity PlanUC’s Native American Opportunity Plan ensures that in-state systemwide Tuition and Student Services Fees are fully covered for California students who are also enrolled in federally recognized Native American, American Indian, and Alaska Native tribes. This plan applies to undergraduate and graduate students.

Click on the bold links below to hear the audio files for the pronunciation for the Tongva-language words.

AIS and AISC at UCLA acknowledge the Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands) and are grateful to have the opportunity to work for the taraaxatom (indigenous peoples) in this place. As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders), and ‘eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.

 

Welcome to the UCLA American Indian Studies Center

The UCLA American Indian Studies Center (AISC) was founded in 1969 as a research institute dedicated to addressing American Indian issues and supporting Native communities. The AISC serves as a hub of activities for Indigenous students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community, as well as serving as a bridge between the academy and indigenous peoples locally, nationally, and internationally. We foster innovative academic research by students and faculty, publish leading scholarship in the field of American Indian Studies, and support events and programming focused on indigenous issues.

The Center also works in collaboration with some of the country’s most influential and respected scholars writing and teaching in American Indian Studies today, who have made UCLA one of the highest ranked and most respected universities in the field. We invite you to explore our website to learn more about us.

Dr. Shannon Speed

Dr. Shannon Speed
Director, American Indian Studies Center
Professor, Department of Gender Studies and Anthropology