Native American Center to celebrate and support indigenous students

By Mark Muckenfuss

Nizhoni Chow-Garcia recalls what it was like, as Diné and a member of the Navajo Nation, to feel out of place as she entered college some 25 years ago. She wants to make sure indigenous students at Cal State Monterey Bay don’t face that same experience.

Chow-Garcia, CSUMB’s associate vice president for Community and Belonging, is the campus tribal liaison and one of the organizers behind a new Native American Center. The center’s grand opening will be  Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. at Redwood Hall. She recalls the impact such centers had on her undergraduate and graduate years. 

Native Americans represent just 1% or less of university student populations. 

“Sometimes you can feel forgotten,” Chow-Garcia said, recalling her own experience. “Having a place where students can be supported and a place where they feel supported is so essential.” 

Thursday’s ceremony represents several years of work that began in earnest when Chow-Garcia became the lead of the former Office of Inclusive Excellence in 2024. She said it is especially important for CSUMB to have such a center. 

“I think it's long overdue on our campus,” she said, “especially given that our campus is located on the ancestral lands of Indigenous people.”

Victoria Gomez, associate director of the Otter Cross Cultural Center, is the lead for the Native American Center and a descendant of the Pueblo Nation. She said the need for the new space is clear.

"Having worked with Indigenous students these past five years at CSUMB, I recognize that students who see themselves and their culture respected and represented in programming, art, and space, find success in navigating higher education,” Gomez said. “It's been an honor to work alongside so many Indigenous student leaders in programming.”  

The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. with a cultural performance outside the entrance of Redwood Hall, formerly the Student Center. In addition to the CSUMB community, local tribal leaders and community officials are expected to attend. A program in the building’s central lounge is planned for 1:30 and includes brief speeches by Louise Ramirez, chairwoman of the Ohlone/Costanoan Esselen Nation, and CSUMB President Carlos Vargas. Students Lily Meyers and Juan Barkley will also speak. The ribbon-cutting follows. 

Chow-Garcia said the celebration is a reflection of CSUMB’s mission.

"Higher education is beginning to recognize that the best way we can help students is by finding ways to support their unique needs,” Chow-Garcia said. “This is one way that we as an institution can do better and work toward that. 

“I’m looking forward to nurturing and supporting relationships with students,” she added. “This is a way we can better connect them with  tribal elders and tribal communities, and ultimately connect them to meaningful pathways beyond the university.”