ITRC Newsletter Spring 2023

News from the Intertribal Resource Center at UC San Diego

Issue #65 Spring 2023 - June

UC San Diego Intertribal Resource Center

We are celebrating our Native Grads this month and winding down another academic year full of programs and events. We're busy planning summer projects and preparing for big announcements in Fall. We can't wait to share what is in store for the future of the Intertribal Resource Center! Stay tuned!

As always, we invite you to follow us on social media to stay up to date.

Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions, concerns, or just to say hi!

itrc@ucsd.edu | itrc.ucsd.edu

Honored Community Member, Jules Jackson, given an Eighth Generation blanket by ITRC staff at the Native American Graduates Honoring Ceremony on June 16th, 2023.

Congratulations, Class of 2023!

We celebrate Native American and Alaska Native graduates from all over Indian Country and their achievements in a wide variety of academic fields. This year’s graduates represent incredible leaders in our communities both on and off-campus. They are change-makers, risk-takers, and culture-keepers and UC San Diego is a better place because they were here.

We are incredibly proud of all our graduates! Their contributions, their stories, and their very presence has left a meaningful and important mark on the university and on us.

Tencha Maria Chavez

Navajo Nation - Halt'sooí Diné e and Naakaii

Bachelor of Arts - Political Science/Public Policy

Annastacia Espinoza

Apache - Nde' Chishi people and Shoshone

Bachelor of Science - Psychology

Minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies

Lilyan Garside

Choctaw Nation

Bachelor of Arts - Literatures in English

Veronica Gloria Pallan

Yaqui and Apache

Bachelor of Science in Anthropology - Concetration in Archeology

Minor in Theatre & Dance

Dr. Melissa Powless

Oneida Nation - Turtle Clan, Haudenosaunee Confederacy

Doctorate in Education (Ed.D) Educational Leadership

Alexis Ah-hih-debah Saez

Navajo

Bachelor of Arts - Psychology

Gwendalynn Stilson

Chickasaw

Bachelor of Science - Human Biology

Bachelor of Science - Human Health Psychology

Autumn Zaragoza

Cahuilla and Gabrielino Tongva

Bachelor of Arts - Art History

What We've Been Up To

On Wednesday, June 7th, the ITRC hosted a Native American Campus Community Engangement Series in which students attended an escape room. After strategizing with each other in the escape room, students were treated to dinner to continue fostering community. We thank and shoutout Cheron Laughing, the ITRC's Graduate Student Assistant, for all of her hard work in making this event happen.

On Friday, June 16th, the ITRC hosted our annual Native American Graduates Honoring Ceremony. The Ceremony celebrated eight Native American undergraduate and graduate students completing their degrees at UC San Diego. Each graduate had a chance to speak about their journey at UCSD and were given a custom stole. Selected Native Triton leaders were presented with custom beaded medallions. In addition to presenting our Native graduates, the ITRC honored local community member Jules Jackson with an Eighth Generation blanket and highlighted keynote speaker Devon Lomayeseva, Chief Judge of the Intertribal Court of Southern California. Frybread from Kumeyaay Frybread was served and Green River Singers closed out the Ceremony with an honor song. This heartfelt event culminated a busy, yet fruitful, academic year.

Campus News

Community News

Upcoming Scholarship Deadline!

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR)

UC Scholarship application is due August 1st!

What is the FIGR Scholarship?

The FIGR UC Scholarship covers in-state systemwide Tuition and Student Services Fees and Campus Fees for eligible applicants at any UC Campus.

Who is eligible for the FIGR Scholarship?

FIGR’s UC Scholarship provides in-state systemwide Tuition and Student Services Fees and Campus Fees for students who are California Native Americans but not members of a federally recognized tribe.
This scholarship applies to undergraduate and graduate students for professional and non-professional degrees who have been admitted at a UC campus.

More Information can be found on the FIGR website.

2023 AISES National Conference

The Annual AISES National Conference is a unique, three-day event focusing on educational, professional, and workforce development for Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies and careers. This year, it will be in Spokane, Washington from October 19 to October 21st! If you are interested in registering for the conference or learning more, please visit the AISES website.

AISES Website