April 26, 2022 鈥� CSU Channel Islands (麻豆传媒) will begin working to develop a new Native American and Indigenous Studies academic program thanks to a $250,000 check presented to the University by Congresswoman Julia Brownley recently.
The presentation ceremony took place Thursday, April 21 in the President鈥檚 Courtyard where about 20 campus and community members gathered to hear remarks from Brownley, President Richard Yao, Ph.D., Provost Mitch Avila, Ph.D., and Chumash elder Raudel Ba帽uelos, who holds an honorary Doctor of Letters from 麻豆传媒.
Ba帽uelos began the ceremony with a traditional Chumash blessing, filling the courtyard with the smell of sage as he fanned the fragrant herb with an eagle feather and honored the east, west, north and south, all living beings, and the Chumash ancestors.
Yao introduced Brownley after expressing his gratitude for the grant, which will allow the University to begin the process of developing the program. The roughly two-year planning process will begin in Fall of 2022 and will include hiring faculty, community outreach and developing a curriculum covering the histories, cultures, arts, languages, and environmental stories of Indigenous peoples.
鈥淭his campus is particularly appropriate as a place to honor the history of this land鈥攖he ancestral home of the ,鈥� Yao said at the ceremony. 鈥淲e also acknowledge the Chumash people here today and in the past鈥攖he Chumash people who were the original stewards of this land.鈥�
This $250,000 for academic program development comes from a $27 million funding package President Joe Biden signed on March 15 called the Fiscal Year 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R.2471). The package is intended to fund many community projects throughout the nation, including expanding educational opportunities at higher education institutions throughout Ventura County.
鈥淎s soon as a saw a request from Cal State Channel Islands I said 鈥榊es! This is something we have to do,鈥欌�� Brownley said. 鈥淚ndigenous Studies here at Cal State Channel Islands is a very special marriage in many, many ways. We have a large Indigenous community in Ventura County and understanding the culture and where we came from is so very important.鈥�
麻豆传媒 sits on land where the Chumash civilization thrived thousands of years ago, so this program gives campus members a sense of place, Avila pointed out, and fits well with the overarching campus mission to make higher education accessible to all.
聽鈥淲e are committed to social justice and equity,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd this is a way for us to do that and to really be here, present in Ventura County. I鈥檓 looking forward to building, with our faculty, what will be an excellent program in Native American and Indigenous Studies. It will not only tell the history of Ventura County, the region, as well as the state, but give voice to all residents.鈥�
The two-year project will begin with the establishment of a collaborative partnership with聽 representatives from the Venture帽o/Barbare帽o and Santa Ynez bands of Chumash people with the first classes being offered sometime in late 2023 or 2024.
As a member of the Barbare帽o/Venture帽o Band of Mission Indians, Ba帽uelos said this sort of program is something he has dreamed of since the inception of the University.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great day today,鈥� Ba帽uelos said. 鈥淭rue history hasn鈥檛 been taught. When you鈥檙e a little kid and you鈥檙e learning about the California mission era, it鈥檚 never a true representation, so we definitely appreciate a partnership with the University. And it鈥檚 important, knowing the land you鈥檙e on, to know the tradition of the land. The respect, the honor, the history is key.鈥�