Mission Statement
The AIICRC strives to assist in the holistic development of American Indian & Indigenous (AI&I) students by hosting and supporting programming that focus on several areas: academic excellence, cultural awareness, leadership development, social involvement, and proactive civic engagement. In turn, the AIICRC aids in the overall retention and graduation rates of our AI&I students at UCSB.
The AIICRC is a space for students, staff, faculty and community members to develop an understanding of and appreciation for their Indigenous identities. AIICRC staff strives to create and maintain a welcoming atmosphere for all to celebrate, embrace, and learn more about Native culture and local, state, national, and global issues that affect the community.
Our Story
The creation of the EOP Cultural Resource Centers came as a direct result of student activism in the late 1990’s, during which time students from various historically excluded groups petitioned the University for dedicated safe spaces on campus. On October 22, 1998, students occupied Cheadle Hall and impressed upon the campus administration the need to support the lives of marginalized students. One of the student “demands” called for the construction of a new building to “house student resource centers designed to meet the specific needs of non-traditional students and student parents (to include childcare), the Queer student community, the Native American student community, the Chicano/a Student community, the Asian American student community, the African American student community, and the Middle Eastern student community.”
Following the completion of the Student Resource Building and the opening of the new Cultural Resource Centers in February 2007, the CRCs have served an invaluable role in our community as spaces that facilitate cultural-based programming and strives to foster safe environments for both individual students and culturally affiliated campus organizations. The CRCs serve as a hub for students and are foundational for the events and meetings necessary to sustain cultural organizations at UCSB.
Center Goals
- To educate the UCSB community about the diversity that encompasses the American Indian & Indigenous cultures.
- To honor and care for the Chumash land on which the university is located.
- To provide a physical space that welcomes and reflects the perspectives and cultures of American Indian & Indigenous students.
- To provide educational, cultural and social programming that affirms and celebrates American Indian & Indigenous identity and values, as well as the awareness of the social, political, historical and cultural realities of Native people.
- To broaden and facilitate the channels of communication between American Indian & Indigenous students and the greater UCSB student community.
- To support the identity development of American Indian & Indigenous students.
- To participate in the university’s effort to provide multicultural education to the greater UCSB student community.
- To provide information to enhance cultural awareness at UCSB.