Yesterday was Indigenous Peoples' Day, a holiday which recognizes indigenous, aboriginal and native people. The holiday officially replaced Columbus Day in the city of Los Angeles in 2017. Since then, UCLA has also taken steps to better acknowledge native peoples at UCLA. Practices like the land acknowledgement recognize that our campus resides on what was historically the homeland of indigenous peoples who were dispossessed of their land.
Not only is it important to recognize indigenous peoples as the original caretakers of the land, but we must also acknowledge that indigenous peoples continue to exist in these places today. To disrupt narratives that place indigenous peoples as concepts of the past, UCLA's Mapping Indigenous LA project uses digital storytelling to map out the consistent Gabrielino/Tongva occupation of the region. We encourage you to explore the project website and learn more about Los Angeles and the indigenous peoples who reside here.
ENGAGE
Join UCLA Connections for
How to Increase Voter Turnout and Civic Engagement. Discussion will include the importance of civic engagement, protecting the right to vote and turning out as many voters as possible despite historic obstacles affecting communities of color.
READ
The UCLA César E. Chávez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies officially added
Central American Studies to its name, recognizing students and faculty from a region often overlooked.
LEARN
Join the UCLA American Indian Studies Center for an afternoon discussion with American Indian author Tommy Orange, author of New York Times bestseller "There There."
LISTEN
Alumna Kaelyn Grace Apple '19 interviews UCLA professor Kyle Mays on the
Lift as We Climb podcast to discuss Dr. Mays' path to academia and how academics can and should play a role in the Black Lives Matter movement.
UNDERSTAND
Learn how COVID-19 has impacted UCLA and how the university is moving forward at our first UCLA Alumni Town Hall.
As always, we thank you for your love and support. Feel free to forward this to a friend and visit our social media companion to the Diversity Digest on Instagram at @ucladiversealum. Most importantly, please let us know if there is a topic you are interested in by submitting ideas to diversity@alumni.ucla.edu.
