Tribal leadership will join CSUSM leadership to celebrate this landmark investment while honoring graduating Native students. This momentous gift from the tribe to the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center (CICSC) strengthens a vital partnership dedicated to cultivating tomorrow's leaders, advancing transformative research, honoring tribal sovereignty and cultural heritage, and creating new educational opportunities for generations to come.

The partnership between Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation and CSUSM began more than a decade ago when the tribe contributed nearly $1 million to help launch the university’s CICSC. Since then, the CICSC has become a nationally recognized hub for Native student success, research and community engagement – serving as a vital resource for California tribal communities and a model for indigenous-led initiatives in higher education.

By adding to the original endowment, the newly named California Indigenous Futures Fund will continue to grow, providing long-term sustainability for the CICSC and ensuring that the center’s work serves as a lasting cornerstone for tribal sovereignty and education.

All media are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Jerry McCormick at JMcCormick@csusm.edu or 619-549-9438.

About Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation  

Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation is a federally recognized Indian tribe located on the San Manuel Indian Reservation near Highland, California. The Tribe, formerly known as the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, proudly reclaims their ancestral name – Yuhaaviatam (pronounced "Yu-HAA-vee-ah-tahm") – honoring the deep-rooted heritage and enduring legacy of their people. Exercising their inherent sovereign right to self-governance, Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation is committed to providing essential services to their citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services and promoting social, economic and cultural development. As the Indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys, mountains and high deserts, the Yuhaaviatam have called this region home since time immemorial and are committed to remaining a productive partner in the San Bernardino region. For more information, visit sanmanuel-nsn.gov 

About the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center (CICSC)

The California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at California State University San Marcos fosters collaborative research and community service relationships between the university's faculty, staff and students and tribal communities. The Center's mission focuses on developing and conducting research projects that support the maintenance of sovereignty and culture within those communities. Founded on principles of respect and reciprocity, the CICSC serves as a vital bridge between academia and Native American communities in the state, ensuring that Indigenous knowledge and priorities are centered in all collaborative work. The Center's distinctive programs simultaneously strengthen tribal sovereignty and drive student success by creating unique opportunities for hands-on research experience through meaningful engagement with California's tribal nations. For more information: www.csusm.edu/cicsc

Tippeconnic, an artist and American Indian studies professor at Cal State San Marcos, had spoken to the audience about one of his specialties: the use of murals to portray land acknowledgements visually. And having been inspired by the talk, the teacher, Domingo Anguiano, wanted Tippeconnic to bring a visual land acknowledgement to his school, Sullivan Middle in Bonsall.

Two years later, the vision that was born that day has become a reality. On April 23, Tippeconnic was among a crowd of about 250 people who watched the unveiling of his mural – which doubles as a land acknowledgment – in the courtyard between Sullivan Middle and Bonsall High School.

Among the others in attendance were two CSUSM administrators, Provost Carl Kemnitz and Chief Community Engagement Officer Patricia Prado-Olmos; Joely Proudfit, chair of the American Indian studies department and director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center; Brandon Johnson, vice chair of the Pala Band of Mission Indians; Heather Golly, superintendent of Bonsall Unified School District; Joseph Clevenger, assistant superintendent of the San Diego County Office of Education; and guests from various Native communities in Southern California.

“This mural represents a school district making a significant step by centering the first peoples of this land,” Tippeconnic said. “A visual land acknowledgment is a more tangible and permanent step to include the original peoples of this land in the historical narrative.”

After Anguiano met Tippeconnic at the conference, he invited him to Bonsall to talk to school officials and teachers about the project. Once it had been approved, Anguiano introduced Tippeconnic to Native students from the district who had expressed a desire to be involved in the mural.

Last May, 10 students (five boys and five girls) participated in a photo shoot during which they sang Native bird songs and danced. Tippeconnic took those photos and rendered a composite drawing, which he then used as a guide for the mural.

During the unveiling event, those same students depicted in the mural danced in front of their own images on the wall.

“That was the absolute highlight for me,” Tippeconnic said. “It truly captured the spirit of the day. The positive feelings and vibrations were palpable.”

Since the partnership with Bonsall began, Tippeconnic said, more than 30 Native students from the district who are considering college have visited CSUSM to tour campus and the CICSC.

An enrolled member of the Comanche Nation, Tippeconnic is no stranger to visual land acknowledgements. Three years ago, he created an exhibit titled “Our Existence Is Our Resistance” in the CSUSM library that was entirely dedicated to the subject.

“Native peoples, including those indigenous to California, have been systematically erased from U.S. history and are conspicuously absent from mainstream educational curriculum,” said Tippeconnic, who has been a tenure-track professor at CSUSM since 2020. “The Bonsall mural is a significant gesture to convey that inclusion and representation matter.”

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Now commonly referred to as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, the celebration has origins that date back more than 100 years. By 1990, President George H.W. Bush officially designated November as Native American Heritage Month. 

For CSUSM, the month holds special significance. 

The university has long-standing partnerships with local tribal communities and continues to lead the way in advocacy and educational equity efforts. CSUSM has the largest per capita number of American Indian students in the 23-campus CSU system, and is the only one to experience consistent growth. CSUSM was the first to establish a Native Advisory Council, the first to hire a full-time tribal liaison, the first to create a guaranteed admission pathway for American Indian students, and in 2009 established the first-of-its-kind California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center (CICSC), which is focused on collaborative research and cultural preservation.  

In 2019, the CICSC and American Indian studies department, in partnership with Palomar College and the Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association, established a comprehensive Land Acknowledgement toolkit to encourage academic communities to recognize the original nations on whose land we live, learn and work. 

CSUSM invites the campus community to honor Native American Heritage Month through the following events. 

Tukwut Coloring Contest  

Nov. 1-30 

Pick up a coloring page at any of the student life centers in the USU. Coloring will take place from Nov. 1-15, with pages being dropped off at the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center. From Nov. 16-30, people can vote for their favorites on the Instagram page of the American Indian Student Alliance. The winner, announced by Dec. 1, will receive a CSUSM pin that has been beaded by an AISA student.  

Community Beading Workshop 

Nov. 8, noon, USU Plaza 

Join us as we guide you through a beaded tutorial project step by step. 

Rock Your Mocs 

Nov. 13-19 

During Spirit Week, we’re offering a positive opportunity to be united and celebrate tribal individuality and diversity by wearing moccasins. 

Storytelling with Dr. Stan Rodriguez, American Indian Studies Lecturer

Nov. 15, 6 p.m., Serenity Circle (outside of SBSB) 

Bring your lawn chair and blanket and enjoy traditional Kumeyaay stories.

‘Blood Quantum’ Movie Night 

Nov. 18, 5 p.m., USU Ballroom 

We will be screening “Blood Quantum,” a 2019 Canadian film about a zombie uprising on a First Nations reserve whose residents are immune to contracting the plague because of their indigenous heritage. The movie was written and directed by the late Jeff Barnaby. Snacks will be provided. 

Native Dance Exhibition 

Nov. 29, noon, Kellogg Plaza 

Meet us outside Kellogg Library where hoop dancers are invited to perform during U-hour.  

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Established as a state agency in 1965, the commission identifies and works to eliminate inequities in state laws, practices and conditions that affects California’s women and girls.  

Proudfit was appointed to the commission on June 25, and her four-year term begins immediately. She joins 13 other commissioners in the body and is one of only two from San Diego County.  

Proudfit, who has served as chair of American Indian studies and director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at CSUSM since 2008, said she is excited to bring to the commission an increased awareness of issues impacting Native women and girls, such as health and wellness, media representation, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), economic security, and educational equity. 

“As a mother of a 9-year-old daughter, this appointment means a tremendous amount – not only to me, but to the many Native American women and girls in our state,” Proudfit said. “Visibility and understanding of Native American women are critical to our wellness and futures. I stand on the shoulders of the many women who came before me, and I honor them with my service in this appointment.”   

In addition to her academic work at CSUSM, Proudfit is the founder of two companies: Naqmayam Communications (NaqCom), a public relations agency that acts as a liaison between American Indian and non-American Indian organizations and agencies; and Native Media Strategies, which provides resources that help foster more authentic representation of Native American and indigenous peoples in Hollywood. 

The Commission on the Status of Women and Girls promotes equality and justice for all women and girls by advocating on their behalf with the governor, the legislature and other public policymakers, and by educating the public in the areas of economic equity, including educational equity, access to health care including reproductive choice, violence against women and other key issue areas identified by the commission as significantly affecting women and girls. 

Tippeconnic was born in Nome, Alaska. He spent his formative years on the Hoopa reservation in Northern California. His family then moved to Arizona, where they lived on the San Carlos Apache reservation. He attended high school in New Mexico and later lived near the Cochiti tribe.  

And though he never has resided in Oklahoma, he’s an enrolled member of that state’s Comanche Nation and has dozens of family members who live there. 

If there’s anyone who’s intimately familiar with and can testify to the rich tapestry of American Indian life in the United States, it’s Tippeconnic. 

“All you have to do is travel Native America to see the diversity,” Tippeconnic said. “We’re not all cookie-cutter. We are all distinct people with our own goals. I think highlighting the diversity of Native America really is effective when we’re trying to open up our students’ eyes.” 

It’s that lived experience and perspective that Tippeconnic brought to Cal State San Marcos in the past two years as a lecturer in the American Indian Studies (AIS) department. Now he’s doing the same thing at a more engaged level.  

After being hired over the summer, Tippeconnic is in his first year as a full-time, tenure-track professor in AIS. He’s only the second such professor in the department, joining Joely Proudfit, who came to the CSUSM faculty in 2008 and worked almost as long to bring the department into existence (the major was launched three years ago).  

Besides being a scholar, Tippeconnic is also an artist of wide renown in the American Indian community. During his time as a lecturer at CSUSM, he taught a course in American Indian art, as well as others in Native film, television and media, and contemporary Native communities, with a focus on Southern California tribes.  

It’s that kind of concentration on American Indian issues that Tippeconnic sought when he wrote his doctoral dissertation at the University of New Mexico on the history of the Comanche from 1852 to 1987 – and that he had been unable to find in academia until he arrived at CSUSM. For the past eight years, he had been a history lecturer at Cal State Fullerton, teaching general U.S., European and world history. 

“This is what I’ve been looking for,” Tippeconnic said. “The moment I came down to teach at Cal State San Marcos, I immediately fell in love with it because I was able to teach classes pertaining to my field. This is a godsend. I’m just so thankful and happy about the opportunity.” 

For Proudfit, the feeling is mutual. She met Tippeconnic several years ago at the Santa Fe Indian Market, an annual summer festival that witnesses hundreds of thousands of people descend on the New Mexico capital. Tippeconnic was there selling his paintings, and Proudfit already knew of his reputation as an artist. What she learned in their conversation was that he’s also a historian who holds a Ph.D. 

Tippeconnic, in fact, is the first Comanche ever to receive a doctorate in the field of history, and Proudfit’s department is now the beneficiary of that accumulated knowledge.  

“He is well-respected across Indian country and eager to engage fully with our students as a teacher and mentor,” Proudfit said. “In my 25 years as an AIS professor, this is the first chance I have had to hire a tenure-track faculty member. And doing so during a pandemic was nothing short of a miracle. Native representation on our campus is critical, and I know Eric will be of service and inspiration to others.” 

Tippeconnic has a fascinating backstory even beyond his family’s nomadic lifestyle. His great-grandfather fought against the U.S. Army in the Red River War, an 1874 military campaign launched to displace the Comanche and other tribes from the Great Plains and forcibly relocate them to reservations in Indian Territory. His grandfather, in the 1920s, became the first Comanche to earn a bachelor’s degree, and then he went on to earn a master’s as well – at a time when most Americans, let alone American Indians, didn’t even complete high school.  

“What he did was truly remarkable,” Tippeconnic said. “He set the standard, and several of his children went on to procure doctorates, so they took it even further. I’m the third generation, but I can confidently say that I wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in if it weren’t for the steps that my grandfather took.”  

Tippeconnic’s father, before working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, served in the U.S. Navy and met his future wife while on shore leave in Copenhagen after the Korean War. That makes Tippeconnic half-Native, half-Danish, and he alternated his childhood summers between Oklahoma and Denmark, seeing as much of Europe as he did of Indian country.

And before becoming an artist and historian, Tippeconnic was a football star. He played linebacker at Colorado State University and, as a senior, recorded 192 tackles, second all-time at the school. In 1992, he was named to the all-century team as one of the best players in the first 100 years of Colorado State football.

“It was a magical time, an incredible experience,” he said of his football days. “But that was a long time ago. My kids just laugh at me now.”

Tippeconnic, who lives on the border of Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga, has four children who are in seventh through 10th grades. He has a home studio where he paints almost every day of the week, but he plans to move it to the garage so he can enjoy more space and “get out of my wife’s kitchen area.”

He started creating art as a boy. He would attend Indian dances, ceremonies and celebrations, and try to reimagine them using markers on paper. He says he still has thousands of the drawings stored in boxes at his house. Gradually, he evolved from markers to paints and began selling art once he reached his 20s.

These days, Tippeconnic mostly uses canvas as his medium, but his profile has risen to the point that he’s often hired to paint giant murals on the sides of buildings. This summer, he did two of them – one in Medicine Lodge, Kan., the site of an infamous 1867 treaty between five Indian tribes and the U.S. government that led to forced relocation, and the other in Colony, Okla.

“We’re trying to reinforce to communities all around the country that really everywhere you step in this land, you’re on some ancestral homelands of the Native peoples,” Tippeconnic said. “This is my way of doing that, and the people there seem to be very receptive.”

Now, CSUSM students are Tippeconnic’s receptive audience, and he’s giddy about it.

“There’s no place I’d rather be,” he said.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

“The American Indian Studies Department, created in fall 2015, will be able to develop courses and curriculum models that are timely, research based and thoughtfully designed by allowing faculty to engage in guided academic discussions with the feedback of regional, tribal subject matter experts,” said Joely Proudfit, Associate Professor of Sociology and American Indian Studies.

Humanities Initiatives Grants strengthen and enrich humanities education and scholarship at Hispanic Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Tribal Colleges and Universities. Currently there are more than 110 federally recognized American Indian reservations in the state of California, 18 of which are in San Diego County making CSUSM ideally situated to serve the needs of tribal nations in the state.

“Faculty will be provided assistance from the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center in the integration of materials into current and new courses to strengthen and enrich the humanities courses currently offered,” said Proudfit. “The project will create a model for the development of an AIS Department in mainstream universities.”

For more information about the 21st Century American Indian Studies Program, contact Joely Proudfit at jproudfi@csusm.edu or visit the AIS Department website.

This project has been made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.