To UCLA Faculty and Staff:
As we celebrate Indigenous People’s Day, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Mishuana R. Goeman as Special Advisor to the Chancellor on Native American and Indigenous Affairs.
As UCLA approaches our centennial year, it is important that we prioritize respect for both the historic culture and the contemporary presence of American Indians throughout California, and especially in the Los Angeles area. The fact that many Native communities are legally sovereign states raises complex issues relating to tribal sovereignty and the government-to-government relationships and protocols that sovereignty entails. The special advisor will be key to raising awareness and understanding of tribal governance, enterprises and practice and to helping UCLA adopt standards and strategies appropriate for Native tribal and Indigenous community engagement.
Professor Goeman’s wide-ranging intellect, insightful scholarship and administrative experience make her exceptionally well-qualified to take on this vital role. Her expertise includes Indigenous governance, gender theory, the relationships among colonialism, geography, ethnic identity and cultural production, and numerous other subjects.
Recently, along with her co-PI’s Maylei Blackwell and Wendy Teeter, she has helped lead UCLA’s cutting-edge Mapping Indigenous L.A. project, which is working toward creating self-represented storytelling, archival and community-oriented maps to unveil multilayered Indigenous Los Angeles landscapes.
An award-winning writer and sought-after speaker, Professor Goeman joined the UCLA faculty in 2009 and has since served as an associate professor ofGender Studies, chair of the American Indian Studies Interdepartmental Program and associate director of the American Indian Studies Research Center.
Her intellectual energy and deep commitment to American Indian communities will be invaluable to me, our office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, our Government and Community Relations office, our American Indian Studies Center and others as we seek to engage with tribal communities and learn how UCLA can best serve the Indigenous population of our state.
We are very fortunate to have her joining our leadership team.
Sincerely,
Gene D. Block
Chancellor