|| Aoki Center Updates ||

In Solidarity With Armenians In Nagorno-Karabakh

The Aoki Center acknowledges that violence here and abroad is deeply impacting members of our King Hall community. We are especially concerned over the indifference faced by victims of invisible wars or the hostility refugees encounter when they try to flee. This week the Aoki Center stands in solidarity with the plight of Armenians fleeing from and those who remain in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Please read Dean Kevin R. Johnson's statement on the Dean's Blog.

To learn more about this conflict, please read our Aoki Blog post: "A Quiet Descent into Atrocity". 

Please also consider virtually attending the following panel this Wednesday, October 10th from 7:00 to 8:30 PM :

The Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA and The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law Host Panel Discussion

Register Here. Looking at the attacks against ethnic Armenians as a result of the Lachin Corridor blockade, and recent active military attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh and in Armenia generally, this panel will explore the following key questions: 

• What conditions trigger the duty to prevent atrocities, including genocide? 
• Once triggered, what is the scope of that duty, and what tools, both national and international, can help to identify these obligations as well as lawful steps for addressing a genocidal situation?

ABA Honors Aoki Center Co-Director and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law Raquel Aldana as an Influential Hispanic Activist and Legal Trailblazer

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Professor Raquel Aldana has been honored in the American Bar Association's list of Influential Hispanic Activists and Legal Trailblazers.

She dedicates this award to "the ones who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of social justice, and especially on behalf of immigrants and Latinos/as/es."

Professor Aldana is an immigrant from Central America, a first generation college and law school graduate who paved her way into the profession to further the rights of immigrants, undocumented students, women and Latina lawyers. She uses her voice to fight for diversity in the field of law for both Latino students and women lawyers. For academic excellence and her devotion to the rights of immigrants and refugees, she received the 2019 Margaret Brent Award. She also served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Diversity at UC Davis from 2017-2020.

Books Break Chains

We thank Professor John P. Hunt for reaching out to the Aoki Center to donate several legal guides and case books to incarcerated individuals who could use them. Legal books and dictionaries are among the most requested genres by those inside. Professor Hunt's contribution will help individuals who are advancing their journeys towards self-education and empowerment, as well as grow prison libraries in need of a boost.

The Aoki Center is happy to collaborate with UC Davis Books to Prisons in collecting book donations to distribute to incarcerated people in facilities across the country. If you would like to donate, check out their wishlist or please reach out to our legal fellow, Giselle Garcia, at gigarcia@ucdavis.edu to schedule a collection!

Growing a Strong Community

Thank you to all of our faculty, administration and staff members, students, and community members who joined the Aoki Center and Director of Diversity and Student Life to learn about the DEI and racial justice work we are advancing at King Hall and beyond! Your support and being a part of this community is at the heart of this movement and we are honored to work alongside all of you.

|| King Hall & UCD Campus Updates ||

The King Hall Native American Law Student Association Hosts Culture Week

Make sure to support NALSA's culture week starting today! They have a powerful program of educational and celebratory events.

TODAY: UCD Native American Studies Department Unveils Campus Kūkulu Exhibit

For more than a decade, Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) activists have fought the proposed construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea on the Big Island. While astronomers and funders, including the University of California, proclaim the telescope will reveal unprecedented discoveries about the star worlds above, Kanaka Maoli people have condemned and resisted the construction on the sacred mountain because the cultural, spiritual and ecological harms would be too great.

Since 2018, Mauna Kea Education and Awareness has organized Kūkulu traveling exhibitions to raise awareness about the movement to stop the TMT and to pay tribute to the pillars or protectors who stand for Mauna Kea. With the steady guidance of Kumu Pua Case and other Mauna Kea organizers, the UC-Davis Native American Studies department is honored to announce the unveiling of a campus Kūkulu exhibit, which will focus on solidarity among movements to protect Indigenous sacred sites and ways of life across California and Hawaii.

Wile bo! (a Patwin Wintun word that translates to '''blessings") is the 11th Kūkulu exhibit that is committed to uplift and inspire, to educate and bring awareness and to acknowledge, recognize and honor those who gather together for Mauna Kea and for all sacred, special and storied places in and beyond Hawai'i. t will be open to the public to view in the glass cases on the first floor of Hart Hall and at the Native Nest in the University House. In addition to art and photos depicting Mauna Kea activism, there will also be displays about the Winnemem Wintu Tribe’s Run4Salmon prayer journey, and the sacred mountain range of Onolai in Patwin Wintun homelands.

Monday, October 9 | 4 to 6 PM | Hart Hall Atrium

NALSA at UCD to Host National NALSA Writing Competition

We congratulate UCD NALSA for being selected to host the National NALSA 2023-24 Writing Competition!

UCD NALSA President JoAnne "Jo-Joe" Lee shared in a statement, "It allows the school to show their support for small Native and Indigenous communities within the law school, something that UCD NALSA has been working tirelessly to promote and support."

Visit the Gorman Museum of Native American Art

The Gorman Museum of Native American Art has re-opened in its new space. Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie, director of the Gorman Museum as well as professor of Native American studies and multimedia artist, shares: "When we tell these stories, especially Native histories of colonization, we are constantly opening our chest. It’s painful [....] Sometimes you need to see a piece that will give you empowerment; sometimes you need a piece that reminds you of beauty [....] The artist reclaims a space where visual sovereignty empowers.” Read more.

SAVE-THE-DATE - #BlockCopCity is Coming to UCD

Next Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 4 PM, join the organizers defending the Atlanta forest as they tour to mobilize the country in support of this movement.

The presentation will contain a portion on the history of the land the city is attempting to build Cop City on, a history of the movement to Stop Cop City, an outline of the movement's next phase: Block Cop City, and a short workshop to help interested participants form affinity groups and plan next steps. There will also be a Q+A portion. 

They expect these presentations and discussions to feed into regional training days organized in hubs across the country, which will give people tools for affinity group organizing and decision-making, tactical and safety training, and the confidence to participate in mass direct action. Aside from bringing people to Atlanta, they hope to spread skills & creativity related to mass direct action and participatory, democratic mass organizing, strengthening the prospects for other, local struggles.

UndocuWelcome Event!

The AB540 & Undocumented Student Center in collaboration with S.P.E.A.K. will be hosting UndocuWelcome on Saturday, October 14, 2023 from 10:30 AM - 2:00 PM at Walker Hall 1330.

Stop by to meet the center's team, create connections with on campus partners, learn about the new resources (grants) the center has to offer you, and build your community! The event is open to incoming and returning undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students. Be sure to register here.

Book Launch - A Conversation with Dr. Benjamin Weber

Benjamin D. Weber is an interdisciplinary scholar of African American History, Critical Carceral Studies, and Black Social and Political Thought. Join Dr. Weber in conversation with activist Jalil Muntaqim and artist Ayi Scott a the celebratory launch of his new book, American Purgatory: Prison Imperialism and the Rise of Mass Incarceration.

Sunday, October 15 | 2 to 3 PM | Manetti Shrem Museum 

There will be a reception and book signing at The Snug in Sacramento from 4 to 6 PM.

#Opportunity4All Campaign Fights for Equal Access to UC Campus Job Opportunities

The Undocumented Student-Led Network has organized the Opportunity For All campaign to demand that the University of California provide equal access to campus job opportunities to all students, regardless of immigration status.

Read more about this movement here and for information on how to support this initiative visit here.

UC Imm Supports Aggies and Their Families

UC Immigrant Legal Services Center is committed to supporting and enhancing the well-being of the UC Community and to advancing equity and success in higher education through provision of free, high-quality immigration legal representation, outreach, and education.

Contact Attorney Chris Relos for free immigration legal services! You can stop-by during their in-person hours at our center and/or contact them at: UCDavisImm@law.ucdavis.edu.

You can also schedule an appointment at this link.

|| Community Updates ||

GHC Calls for Contributions to Queer Digital Zine

The Gender Health Center in Sacramento is an invaluable resource of support to our LGBTQ2S+ community! They are collecting contributions of art and writings for a digital zine celebrating queer and trans expression and joy.

UCD PhD students ask the community to send inquiries and contributions to thequeeredzine@gmail.com by December 31, 2023.

Wednesday: Sac IWOC Holds Virtual Letter Writing Night

Join the Sacramento Incarcerated Organizing Committee (IWOC) this Wednesday as they hold a virtual letter writing night! Those incarcerated are also our community members and we must build connection with them and center their experiences if our movement will succeed. Our Fellow, Giselle, will also be there!

Wednesday, October 11 | 7 to 8 PM | bit.ly/CalWrites

|| Podcast & Reading Recommendations ||

Listen: The Violence Against Indigenous Women Crisis

On this special episode of Our Body Politic, they highlight the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women’s (MMIW) crisis. Guest-host Andrea Ambam, speaks with Lorna Cuny, Co-Founder of the Medicine Wheel Ride and Darlene Gomez, who is General Counsel for Medicine Wheel Ride, a national group raising awareness about the MMIW crisis. Then Andrea speaks with Alecia Onzahwah, about her efforts to arm Indigenous women with tools to defend themselves. They round out the show with Andrea speaking with Prairie Rose Seminole, co-director of the documentary We Ride for Her.

Learn more about the MMIW movement here.

The Apache Stronghold Fights to Save Sacred Site of Oak Flat from Copper Mining

Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr. was born on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Arizona. He is currently living at the Apache sacred site of Oak Flat (Chi’chil Bildagoteel) to defend it from a land transfer to the mining company, Resolution Copper. Dr. Nosie says, "Where we live in Arizona we see copper mines that are de-watering the earth. They’re destroying aquifers, they’re destroying spring waters and the people in the Phoenix area don’t even realize that these mines are cutting off life. Sustainability is not being implemented."

Read his feature with the Poor People's Campaign here.

Learn more about the Apache Stronghold's mission to save Oak Flat from coppering mining and how we can support here.

Join the Movement for Tribal Peoples' Rights with Survival International

Survival International is a powerful organization dedicated to the protection and empowerment of global tribal peoples.

They work in partnership with tribal peoples to campaign, lobby and protest for their land rights.They investigate, expose and confront atrocities committed by governments and big business. They amplify the tribal voice and make sure it is heard.

Catch up on their latest news and support this organization.

Bill Watchlist: AB 226 Awaits Gov. Newsom - Re: The UC California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

This bill requires additional audits in 2024 and 2026 by the California State Auditor (CSA) regarding University of California's (UC) compliance with federal and state laws (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act relating to Native American remains and cultural items. NAGPRA requires all state agencies and museums that receive state funding and that have possession or control over collections of human remains or cultural items to provide a process for the identification and repatriation of these items to the appropriate tribes.

Further, this measure strongly urges, annually by June 30, 3024, and annually thereafter, on each UC campus' progress towards completing repatriation of Native American remains and cultural items. Additionally, this measure strongly urges the UC Office of the President to provide funding to support each UC Campus' efforts towards repatriation. Lastly, this bill strongly urges UC to prohibit use of any Native American human remains or cultural items for the purpose of teaching or research at UC.