News from the Intertribal Resource Center at UC San Diego

Issue #68 Fall 2023 - November

UC San Diego Intertribal Resource Center

Fall Hours: Mon-Fri. 9:00am - 4:00pm

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

itrc@ucsd.edu | itrc.ucsd.edu

Happy Native American Heritage Month, Native Tritons!

NAISA board and members decorating the first-floor display in Price Center for Native American Heritage Month! Stop by and see the display before the end of November.

Ask A Native Triton

The ITRC is proud to introduce...

Stephanie Contreras Perezgil

Tribal Affiliation: Lipan Apache, Mexican

Major: Sociology

Year: 1st Year Transfer Student

Hometown: Indio, California - (Cahuilla Territory)

1. Why did you choose UC San Diego?

I've only lived in the California Desert and Texas. Living and learning by the ocean has always been my dream. That's what brought me to UC San Diego.

2. What advice do you have for incoming Native college students?

Share your wisdom and live out your dreams today, don't wait.

3. What do you like to do in your free time?

I love to swim in the ocean and dance salsa.

Each month, we profile one of our amazing Native American students at UC San Diego. In addition, this year we are expanding to include Native American staff and faculty! If you would like to nominate a Native American student, staff, or faculty at UC San Diego for us to feature, you can email us at itrc@ucsd.edu.

What We've Been Up To

Native American Heritage Month Luncheon

On Thursday, November 9th, we celebrated Native American Heritage Month with a university-wide luncheon. This event brought together over 500 staff, students, and faculty from across UC San Diego.

The program was emceed by ITRC Coordinator and NAHM Co-Chair, Michaela Allen-Sanchez (Lipan Apache) and began with bird songs led by Blue Eagle Vigil. The luncheon featured Soaring Eagles Powwow Dancers with accompaniment by Green River Singers. Finally, the event wrapped up with a heartfelt and humorous talk from Keynote Speaker, Ryan Redcorn (Osage), and words from UCSD's Inaugural Culture Bearer-In-Residence, Ethan L. Banegas (Kumeyaay, Payómkawichum and Kuupangaxwichem).

Thank you to the NAHM Planning Committee for their dedicated work in making this celebration a huge success. And congratulations to our Outstanding Native Tritons for 2023, Melanie Estrella (Pascua Yaqui) and Christine Frazier (Cheyenne River Sioux).

We hope you'll join us for next year's Native American Heritage Luncheon!

Midterm Refuel & Costume Contest Recap

On Tuesday, October 31st, the Intertribal Resource Center hosted our quarterly Midterm Refuel! With Week 5 marking the halfway point of the quarter (which is scary enough on its own), this year the event fell on Halloween. We hosted a costume contest with two categories for winners: Best D.I.Y. Costume and Scariest Costume. We are pleased to announce that the winner of the Best D.I.Y Costume went to Jill, and the winner of the Scariest Costume went to Izzy. In addition, Kal was awarded honorable mention for their costume. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Storytelling as Healing Symposium

On Saturday, October 18th, the ITRC helped host the Storytelling as Healing Symposium in the Cross Cultural Center. This event, done in collaboration with Native faculty from the Department of Public Health and Literature, featured California Native poets and artists such as Johnny Bear Contreras, Christy Gomez, Alexis Dyer, Nichole Vasquez, Weshoyot Alvitre, Terria Smith, and more. Juan Reynoso, a UCSD alum from the San Pasqual Band of Kumeyaay Indians, was our event emcee. The poets and artists shared their work with over 20 members of the Native community at and around UC San Diego. This event was a memorable experience for all who attended!