Native Bruin: Past, Present & Future – Lydia Yellow Hawk (Sicangu Lakota)

Lydia YellowHawk

Burin Highlight: Past, Present & Future  This June 2024 we are highlighting Native Bruin, Lydia Yellow Hawk (Sicangu Lakota) class of 2023, MA in American Indian Studies. Lydia YellowHawk Lydia Yellow Hawk is Sicangu Lakota from the Rosebud Reservation, He Dog community in South Dakota. Lydia is a 2023 UCLA alum and received her M.A. … Read more

Native Bruin: Past, Present, & Future – Arlene Bowman (Diné)

Arlene Bowman

Bruin Highlight: Past, Present & Future This May 2024 we are highlighting Native Bruin, Arlene Bowman (Diné), class of 1986, MA in Film & Television. Arlene Bowman discovered her passion for art at a young age, drawing faces and bodies in elementary school before transitioning to still photography at fourteen. She earned her Bachelor of … Read more

Native Bruin: Past, Present, & Future – Makela Yepez (Pomo)

Makela Yepez (Pomo)

Bruin Highlight: Past, Present & Future This April 2024 we are highlighting Native Bruin, Makela Yepez (Pomo), class of 2021 Makela Yepez, a member of the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians located in rural Northern California, aspired of becoming an artist in Los Angeles from a young age. Upon gaining acceptance to the UCLA School … Read more

Native Bruin: Past, Present, & Future – Vivian C. Garcia

  This March 2024 we are highlighting Native Bruin, Vivian C. Garcia (Cherokee), class of 2011. Vivian C. Garcia, a proud member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is a dedicated advocate for the Native American community in Los Angeles. With ties to both Los Angeles and Oklahoma, she has devoted her career to promoting … Read more

Native Bruin: Past, Present, & Future – Lorenzo Baca

Bruin Highlight: Past, Present & Future This February 2024 we are highlighting Native Bruin Lorenzo Baca, class of 1986. Lorenzo Baca describes himself as a “story-making visual, literary and performing CIMOC (creative Indigenous man of color) artist, of an endangered species along with Puebloan and Spanish origins,” which is his primary cultural identity. Although raised … Read more

Native Bruin: Past, Present & Future – Avory Wyatt

Bruin Highlight: Avory Wyatt

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. … Read more

Native Bruin: Pat, Present & Emerging -David Montoya

David Montoya

This December we are highlighting Native Bruin David Montoya (Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo), Class of 2009 – Juris Doctorate, Masters American Indian Studies.  David Montoya is an enrolled member of the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo and has been serving Indian Country as an attorney and consultant for over 10 years. David graduated from UCLA School of Law’s … Read more

Native Bruin: Past, Present & Emerging – Angelo Isaac Sandoval

Angelo Isaac Sandoval

This November we are highlighting Native Bruin, Angelo Isaac Sandoval  (Apache/Dine) Class of 2009. Angelo Isaac Sandoval is a staff attorney and clinical supervisor with the Clean Slate Practice at the East Bay Community Law Center through UC Berkeley’s School of Law. He leads the work to end the criminalization of poverty, advocates for the … Read more

Native Bruin: Past, Present & Future – Matthew de Lira

This October we are highlighting Native Bruin Matthew de Lira Class of 2007 and Class of 2011. Matt started college at Chapman University in Orange, California. There he took American Indian history, anthropology, film, and sociology classes under Professor Paul Apodaca (a Native Bruin, UCLA Ph.D.) Matt then transferred to UCLA and graduated with the … Read more

Native Bruin: Past, Present & Future – Jennifer R. Leal

Jennifer R. Leal

This September we are highlighting Native Bruin Jennifer R. Leal from the Washoe and Paiute tribal community, Class of 2005. Jennifer R. Leal is a descendant of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California and Mono Lake Paiute tribal communities. She graduated from UCLA in 2005 with a bachelor of arts degree in American Indian … Read more