PART 2 – The University of California Land Grab: A Legacy of Profit from Indigenous Land

Friday, Oct 23, 2020 | 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

VIRTUAL EVENT - ZOOM WEBINAR
Location is ADA accessible

The University of California Land Grab: A Legacy of Profit from Indigenous Land

Part 1: Unearthing Indigenous Land Dispossession in the Founding of the University of California
Friday, September 25
9:00am – 12:00pm PT

Part 2: From Land-grab to Land Acknowledgement and Beyond
Friday, October 23
9:00am–12:30pm PT

Both events will also be livestreamed here. Preliminary schedules are below. The complete schedules with all speakers and additional resources will be posted on the series website.

Wide-scale U.S. higher education began in 1862 when the Morrill Act provided each state with “public” lands to sell for the establishment of university endowments. The public land-grant university movement is lauded as the first major federal funding for higher education and for making liberal and practical education accessible to Americans of average means. However hidden beneath the oft-told land-grant narrative is the land itself: the nearly 11 million acres of land sold through the Morrill Act was expropriated from tribal nations. This two-part forum examines the 150,000 acres of Indigenous land that funded the University of California is intricately tied to California’s unique history of Native dispossession and genocide, and how UC continues to benefit from this wealth accumulation today. We will then explore current university initiatives with tribes and engage in a community dialogue on actions the University of California can take to address their responsibility to California Indigenous communities.

Co-sponsored by:

UC Berkeley: Native American Student Development; Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues; Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology; College of Natural Resources; Berkeley Food Institute; Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management; American Cultures Engaged Scholarship Program; Native American Studies; American Indian Graduate Program; Center for Race and Gender
UC Davis: Department of Native American Studies
UC Riverside: Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian Affairs; California Center for Native Nations; Native American Student Programs
Community Partners: Riverside-San Bernardino Native American Community Council

Part 1: Unearthing Indigenous Land Dispossession in the Founding of the University of California

Friday, September 25, 9:00am – 12:00pm PT

Preliminary Schedule

Moderator: Phenocia Bauerle (Apsaálooke) Director, Native American Student Development, UC Berkeley

Land-Grab Universities and the Morrill Act

Robert Lee, University Lecturer in American History, University of Cambridge
Tristan Ahtone (Kiowa), Editor-in-Chief, Texas Observer

The University of California as a Land-Grab Institution

Brittani R. Orona (Hupa), PhD Candidate, UC Davis
Kat Whiteley (Wiyot): Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley
Beth Rose Middleton, Professor and Chair of Native American Studies, UC Davis

Part 2: From Land-grab to Land Acknowledgement and Beyond

Friday, October 23, 9am–12:30pm

Preliminary Schedule

Moderator: Rosalie Z. Fanshel, PhD Student, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and Program Manager, Berkeley Food Institute, UC Berkeley

Current initiatives between UC system and California Indigenous communities

Moderator: Clifford Trafzer (Wyandot/German), Distinguished Professor of History and Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian Affairs, UC Riverside
Valentin Lopez (Amah Mutsun), Chairman, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band
Jennifer Sowerwine, Associate Cooperative Extension Specialist, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, UC Berkeley
Beth Rose Middleton, Professor and Chair of Native American Studies, UC Davis

Inspirations for accountability from land-grant university siblings

Moderator: Christina Snider, Tribal Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom and Executive Secretary of the Native American Heritage Commission
Christie M. Poitra, Interim Director, Native American Institute, Michigan State University

Breakout sessions: Calls to action

Teaching/pedagogy
Student experience/development
Research
Land acknowledgements
Field stations/UC land
Cooperative Extension

Closing remarks:

Margaret Nash, Professor Emerita of Education, UC Riverside

For more information contact Rosalie Z. Fanshel at rzfanshel@berkeley.edu.
CART captioning will be provided. If you require any other accommodation for effective communication in order to fully participate in this virtual event, please contact Rosalie Z. Fanshel with as much advance notice as possible.