Today, we at the University of California acknowledge Indigenous Peoples’ Day. We celebrate with gratitude and joy the Indigenous peoples who have endured and thrived over generations of attempted erasure and harm to their cultural, individual, and collective wellbeing. We join Governor Gavin Newsom and other state and local leaders in recognizing and reckoning with California’s history of violence and oppression perpetrated against Indigenous people.
From its founding, the University of California has served as a home for discovery and knowledge in our state, lighting a path forward. I am resolved to see that we work with our Native American partners toward policies and practices that help advance the highest good of Indigenous students, families, faculty, staff, and their communities. Let us all pause today in deep appreciation of the unbreakable resilience of Indigenous peoples and recognize their contributions to our state and country. May we all work together toward healing and repair.
Fiat Lux,
Michael V. Drake, M.D.
President, University of California