Native Bruin- Past, Present, & Emerging – Jack M. Tome, Jr.

This July we are highlighting Native Bruin Jack M. Tome, Jr. (Diné), class of 2021. Yá’át’ééh shí éí Jack M. Tome, Jr. yíníshyé’. Táchii’nii nishłį́, Hooghan łáni báshíshchíín, Tó’aheedlíinii dashicheii, Táchii’nii dashinálí. Jack M. Tome, Jr is Diné who was born and raised in Shiprock, New Mexico, where he currently resides. In 2019, Jack received … Read more

Native Bruin – Past Present and Emerging – James Riding In

Native Bruin - James Riding In.

Native bruin – Past Present and Emerging This May we are highlighting Native Bruin James Riding In (Pawnee), class of 1985 and 1991. James Riding In retired from Arizona State University in May 2021. He received an A.A. degree in general education from Haskell Indian Junior College (now Haskell Indian Nations University, (1974), a baccalaureate … Read more

Native Bruin- Past, Present, & Emerging – Megan Baker

Native Bruin - Megan Baker

???????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????: ????????????????, ???????????????????????????? & ???????????????????????????????? This April we are highlighting Native Bruin Megan Baker (Choctaw), who received her MA in AIS and will receive her PhD in Anthropology in 2023. Megan Baker is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma who received her MA in American Indian Studies in 2017. Based in Calera, … Read more

Native Bruin- Past, Present, & Emerging – Drew Preston

UCLA Native Bruin

???????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????: ????????????????, ???????????????????????????? & ???????????????????????????????????? This March we are highlighting Native Bruin Drew Alan Preston (Navajo), from the class of 2010. Doctor Preston is a Dentist Anesthesiologist who serves the Central and Southern California areas. Dr. Preston graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University … Read more

Native Bruin- Past, Present, & Emerging – Mattie Kamahana Bassey

Mattie Kamahana Bassey Native Bruin - February 2022

This February we are highlighting Native Bruin Mattie Kamahana Bassey.  Mattie Kamahana Bassey graduated from UCLA in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in American Indian Studies. She is Kanaka Maoli and Japanese on her mother’s side and Cherokee, German, Irish, and Scottish on her father’s side. During her time at UCLA, … Read more

Native Bruins: Past, Present & Emerging – Jesse Johnson

Happy New Year! This January we are highlighting Native Bruin Jesse Johnson (Kumeyaay) from the San Pasqual Reservation. Jesse Meswiir Johnson is Kumeyaay from the San Pasqual Reservation and currently a fourth-year student at UCLA majoring in human biology and society. During his time at UCLA, he has served as one of the chairpersons for … Read more

Native Bruins: Past, Present & Emerging – Jessica Fremland

Jessica Fremland

This December we are highlighting Native Bruin Jessica Fremland, from the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Nation. Jessica Fremland (she/her/hers) is Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota currently living on Kumeyaay land in what is often referred to as San Diego, California. She obtained her BA from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in American Indian Studies and a Master’s Degree in Sociology from … Read more

Native Bruins: Past, Present & Emerging – Viki Eagle

This November we are highlighting Native Bruin Viki Eagle, a third-year PhD student in the  Department of Anthropology, from the Sicangu Lakota Nation.  Viki Eagle identifies as Sicangu Lakota and half Japanese, from the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute lands known as Denver, CO. Her current sub-fields are in Sociocultural Anthropology and in the American Indian … Read more

Native Bruins: Past, Present & Emerging – Caitlin “Katie” Kaliiaa

Caitlin “Katie” Kaliiaa

This October we are highlighting Native Bruin Caitlin “Katie” Kaliiaa, from the Yerington Paiute and Washoe Nation. , M.A. in American Indian Studies, UCLA – 2012. Caitlin “Katie” Keliiaa is an Assistant Professor of Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz. She is an interdisciplinary historian specializing in 20th-century Native experiences in the West. Her scholarship … Read more