In early 2021, at the urging of the Native American Advisory Committee (NAAC), Chancellor Christ accepted the recommendation to create a Steering Committee for development of a Native American Initiative.
This recommendation grew from an ongoing discussion as to the best way to advance the goals of NAAC and UC Berkeley and also to ensure that any initiative would be aligned with and directly informed by the goals of Tribal Nations and Native peoples. In a memo outlying Chancellor Christ’s strategic plan to support and implement a Native American Initiative for UC Berkeley (last updated October 26, 2020), she wrote:
“My vision for the Native American Initiative is for the University of California, Berkeley, as a public land-grant institution on unceded Ohlone land, to uphold its responsibility to acknowledge past wrongs, work to build lasting, positive relationships with Native Peoples, and to provide educational and professional opportunities so that Native students, staff, and faculty members can thrive within our community.”
Similarly, within the section of that memo entitled, “Proactively communicate with Native Nations and Tribal communities,” the Chancellor shared:
"I fundamentally believe that this campus must recognize its placement on Ohlone land. To acknowledge this truth, we must proactively reach out to the descendants of the people who once lived and thrived on the land now enjoyed by the UC Berkeley community. It is important for UC Berkeley to recognize the history of the land and to acknowledge the impact of occupying and developing this land."
Chancellor Christ went on to add:
"I firmly believe that UC Berkeley must acknowledge, advance, and support the needs of Native Nations and Tribal communities throughout California. We must take proactive and concrete steps to acknowledge the wrongs of the past and build trust-based relationships with Native Peoples. As an important step toward building trust and acknowledging the past injustices and present conditions faced by the Native American Peoples, I would like to share my initial vision for a Native American Initiative at UC Berkeley."
NAAC welcomed this more fulsome statement of intention, and we note that some of the plans have already been put in place. NAAC also determined that further development of the Initiative would need to re-center Indigenous voices, needs, goals, and priorities.
In 2021 a steering committee for the initiative was created to develop a comprehensive framework. Composed of faculty and staff with knowledge and experience working on climate for Native and Indigenous people at UC Berkeley, the committee created a set of guidelines for the creation of the framework.
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Embrace honesty.
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Take responsibility for past actions.
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Listen actively.
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Think creatively.
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Have clear and concrete goals.
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Prioritize the achievable.
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Remain accountable.
A new initiative, the NATI, will develop in consultation with stakeholder groups, both internal and external under the stewardship of the Director of Organizational Transformation for the NATI.
NAAC Steering Committee Membership
Professor Beth Piatote (Comparative Literature), Professor Seth Davis (Berkeley Law), Dean Kristin A Theis-Alvarez (Berkeley Law), Phenocia Bauerle (Native American Student Development)