This January 2024 we are highlighting Native Bruin Avory Wyatt (Wašiw & Nümu) class of 2023.
Avory Wyatt is Wašiw (Washo) and Numu (Northern Paiute) and a member of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. Before entering higher education, Avory grew up on the Hungry Valley Reservation which is located about thirty minutes outside of Reno, Nevada. After earning two degrees in Political Science and Public Health with a minor in Addiction Treatment Services from the University of Nevada, Reno, Avory moved to Los Angeles in 2021 to pursue a Masters Degree in American Indian Studies at UCLA.
Avory is now in the final year of his Master’s program and is researching student perspectives of the University of California’s Native American tuition waiver as it relates to Indigenous cultural and racial identities. Avory’s other research interests include tribal critical race theory, climate justice & resource extraction, Indigenous resistance movements, and Native Film. At UCLA Avory also works as the Project Coordinator for the Retention of American Indians Now! (RAIN!) and is the former President of the American Indian Graduate Student Association (AIGSA).
Prior to attending UCLA, Avory co-founded a college outreach program in partnership with the Nevada Department of Indian Education and he served as an assistant producer for the award winning, Native Nevada Podcast – a series featured on Nevada’s NPR affiliate station on the culture, issues, and perseverance of Nevada’s Indigenous Peoples. Outside of academia, Avory is a land defender, water protector, and social justice activist who has worked closely with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous movements alike. In his free time, he loves watching football, going on walks, and eating good food around LA.
“I gained a new sense of confidence, tenacity, and courage as a Native student at UCLA. Academically, Indigenous professors taught me to embrace my creativity and, most importantly, the knowledge and support from my fellow Native students truly shaped my academic experience. I am beyond grateful for everyone in my cohort, mentors, all my amazing friends and my partner who I had the privilege to meet as a graduate student at UCLA.”
#ucla #uclaaisc #uclaNativebruin #Washoe #northernpaiute
