Gift Giving Opportunities at the American Indian Studies Center

For many years, the American Indian Studies Center has been involved in the American Indian communities and the issues that affect them. While writing academic and political analyses on American Indian issues, the Center has also supported a series of conferences on repatriation, non-recognized tribes, California tribes, the Indian Welfare Act, gaming, Project Peacemaker, and Project Hoop.

The Center is also the place on the UCLA campus where American Indian graduate and undergraduate student organizations gather, study, and socialize.

You can help support these activities of the Center through your financial support:

The American Indian Studies Center at UCLA invites your contribution to a fellowship fund for outstanding graduate and undergraduate students in American Indian Studies. In 1982, the Center established the first interdisciplinary master of arts program in American Indian Studies in the nation, and in 1995, UCLA approved American Indian Studies as a Minor program. Since then, the growth of the programs has made it increasingly difficult for the department to provide support for its students. Many students in American Indian Studies have difficulty obtaining financial aid from established resources. Your generous gift to the Yellowthunder Scholarship Fund will help to provide greater support for these students and enable them to fulfill their educational goals. The Yellowthunder Scholarship Gala Dinner is the Center's current major effort to increase scholarship funds for students in Native American Studies, and contributions are accepted year round.

Contributions made to Recruitment and Retention efforts will help student-run organizations and the AISC promote American Indian presence at UCLA by recruiting Native students. In addition, your gift will aid in the retention of these students once they enter the university. Retention of American Indians Now! (RAIN!) organizes a mentor program for American Indian undergraduates, which offers ongoing support for students through graduation. American Indian Recruitment (AIR) creates innovative ways to draw Native students to UCLA.

Monies donated to the Center's Research Unit will help fund a variety of research on issues affecting American Indian communities. Some current research includes Project HOOP, the Gabrieleno/Tongva Recognition Project, and Project Peacemaker.

Contributions made to AISC Publications will help the unit publish books in a wide variety of disciplines, from poetry to politics to history to law. Recent titles include A Sacred Path: The Way of the Muscogee Creeks; Cedar Smoke on Abalone Mountain (poetry); Indian Gaming: Who Wins?; Stories of Our Way: An Anthology of American Indian Plays; and American Indian Theater in Performance: A Reader.

Help develop the Center's Library. Donations of financial support can assist the American Indian Studies Center Library to deepen and diversify its holdings. The annual budget allocation from the university is not sufficient for the library to be able to acquire all of the newly published materials we would choose to place into the collection. From time to time we find we would like to be able to acquire some key older materials, or more expensive video recordings, but lack the resources to do so. Donations of library materials focusing on American Indian cultures, such as books, magazines, and tribal newspapers are welcomed. Since physical space in the library is very limited, only those relevant items not presently owned by the American Indian Studies Center Library can be candidates for possible acceptance and inclusion into the collection. Please contact the library at (310) 206-7510 for further information.

For further information, please contact the American Indian Studies Center at (310) 825-7315.