Joint Statement – NALSA, AIGSA, AISA, AIA

June 5, 2020

As leaders of Native and Indigenous student and alumni organizations at UCLA, we condemn the state and police violence against our Black relatives. We write to affirm our commitment to social justice and stand in solidarity with our Black community in UCLA, Tovaangar and all unceded territories.

We acknowledge the pain and anger Black communities are experiencing due to the policing and systemic racism that has led to the abuse and murder of Black people. We denounce the lack of accountability within the U.S. justice system and the violent rhetoric coming from local and national elected officials and recognize that it is a product of settler colonialism and white supremacy.

We condemn UCLA for allowing the Los Angeles Police Department to use the Jackie Robinson stadium to process arrested protestors. By allowing this, UCLA is exploiting Robinson’s legacy, which was dedicated to achieving civil rights for Black Americans. We support the UCLA faculty letter asking Chancellor Block and Executive Vice-Chancellor Carter, for accountability and transparency on the events of Monday, June 1, 2020. Our university campus should never be utilized as a “field jail” under any circumstances. We do not support the criminalization of peaceful protestors and community activists.

We have a responsibility to fight for the wellbeing of our Black relatives. Black people, as displaced Indigenous peoples themselves, share a complex historical relationship with the Indignous peoples of this continent. We also acknowledge the traumas of anti-Blackness in Indigenous communities throughout North, Central and South America. We are committed to holding ourselves, our relatives and our communities accountable when we perperate anti-Blackness.

We are here to listen, support and commit to concrete actions that contribute to the safety and well-being of all Black students on and off UCLA campus. We support the Black Graduate Student Association and the Afrikan Student Union in demanding UCLA to fully fund the development of a Black Resource Center, divest from UCPD due to their history of violence against Black students and postponing current finals for Spring 2020. In addition, we support and uplift the demands of the Black Law Students Association presented to the UCLA Law School administration in April 2020. These demands can be found at http://uclalawprotectblackstudents.com.

As we fight for Indigenous sovereignty, we also fight for Black liberation. We will continue to support and uphold Black student voices in our communities.

Black Lives Matter.

All power to the people,

Native American Law Students Association
American Indian Graduate Students Association
American Indian Students Association
American Indian Alumni Association

Grace Carson, NALSA Co-President
UCLA Law, J.D. 2022

Ryann Garcia, NALSA Co-President
UCLA Law, J.D. 2021
UCLA, B.A. 2013

Alexis Ixtlahuac, NALSA Recruitment Chair
UCLA Law, J.D. 2021

Carlie Domingues, AIGSA Co-President
UCLA American Indian Studies, M.A. 2020

Marina Perez, AIGSA Digital Storyteller
UCLA American Indian Studies, M.A. 2021

Kokonow Kinney, AISA Co-Chair
UCLA, B.S. 2022

Jesse Johnson, AISA Co-Chair
UCLA, B.S. 2022

Ellen Harju, AIA of UCLA Co-President
UCLA, M.S. ‘12, Ph.C. ‘14, Ph.D. ‘15

Nóra Pulskamp, AIA of UCLA Co-President
UCLA, B.A. 2003