Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues

Thank YOU! Your support made Big Give a big success for us. We raised $3,280 yesterday, which was doubled by an anonymous donor, resulting in $6,560. If you missed it, your support of Native American research is always appreciated: https://give.berkeley.edu/fund/FU1015000

We want to see your photos of you or your friends and family in Berkeley gear! Include and bit.ly/CRNAIBigGive to enter us in a contest to win $350! Share away, friends!

Photo: CRNAI grad student Marlena Robbins

is here! Thanks to an anonymous donor, every gift you make today to the Myers Center will be doubled, up to $5K! Your support will help us host free public events, fund student research, and expand programs that connect UC Berkeley with Native communities: bit.ly/CRNAIBigGive

Catch our alum Caitlin Keliiaa talking about her excellent book "Refusing Settler Domesticity: Native Women's Labor and Resistance in the Bay Area Outing Program" - Sat March 21, from 1-2 at the Berkeley Public Library North Branch, 1170 The Alameda, Berkeley CA. Free!

Where We Gather, We Are Home: A West Coast Indigenous Gathering

🗓 Friday, March 13 | 9 AM - 5:30 PM
📍 Alumni House and 245 Li Ka Shing Center, UC Berkeley

Register today! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd7BNU9gOJaGCd0QmFqGHZ3f7Cy4-3kyWMsFGkoBiRE2LIF0Q/viewform

Sponsored by: Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues
Co-sponsored by: Department of Anthropology, Native American Thriving Initiatives

Native American Student Development at Cal

The Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues awarded grants to four UC Berkeley doctoral students: Emma Ward-Griffin, UC Berkeley Psychology; and three Environmental Science, Policy, & Management (ESPM) - UC Berkeley students: Michelle Katuna, Sydney Moss, and Royale Williams.

Whether using survey research methods or collaborative approaches, their projects address current issues affecting Native American communities in the U.S. Learn more about their work: https://issi.berkeley.edu/crnai/research/student

UC Berkeley is hiring a new Director of Tribal Affairs!

If you or someone you know is passionate about being part of institutional transformation and bridging tribal interests and higher education, please consider applying. If the link doesn't work, go to jobs.berkeley.edu and put 83347 in the search box

https://careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psp/ucb/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM_FL.HRS_CG_SEARCH_FL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST_FL&Action=U&FOCUS=Applicant&SiteId=21&JobOpeningId=83347

As the Myers Center wraps up another exciting year, we're grateful for the community that made our work possible.

A recent letter from Peter Nelson—Coast Miwok and Tribal Citizen of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, and Myers Center Chair—reflects on both the challenges and opportunities shaping Native communities, plus what they mean for the year ahead.

Read the full message below and get a glimpse into what we have been up to this fall. Happy Holidays from all of us at the Myers Center!

Inside an Exciting Year at CRNAI Supporting UC Berkeley student research remains central to our work. In partnership with the Rausser College of Natural Resources, we supported even more student projects in the 2024-25 cycle and hosted a colloquium for awardees to share their work in the spring. Early in 2026, we will announce the....

Merri Lopez-Keifer, affiliate of the Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues, is featured in this Thriving Community Snapshots interview. Lopez-Keifer is a dedicated advocate for tribal sovereignty and Indigenous self-determination and the founding leader of the Center for Indigenous Law & Justice at Berkeley Law. A member of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians, her work bridges law, education, and community.

Thriving Community Snapshot: Merri Lopez-Keifer of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians | Thriving November 17, 2025Merri shares how culture, connection, and community guide her work at UC Berkeley in building belonging for Indigenous communities at Berkeley Law We are honored to feature Merri, a dedicated advocate for tribal sovereignty and Indigenous self-determination, and the founding leader....

Marlena Robbins, a Graduate Fellow at the Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues, was a guest on KQED Forum. She commented that the intersection of psychedelic medicine with Indigenous knowledge frameworks creates a legacy of biopiracy and bioprospecting: "Going into Indigenous communities and extracting ceremony, medicine, knowledge systems, stories, songs and then bringing it back to the market for mass consumption." Robbins believes science from Indigenous and Western worldviews should work in tandem, actively learning from and teaching each other.

What RFK Jr.’s Support for Psychedelic Therapy Means for Its Future | KQED We check in with long-time researchers about how state and federal governments can influence the momentum of their field, how they’re reconciling the new right wing support, and what it all means for the future of psychedelic research and therapy.