Featured Resources
 The core goals and objectives of the American Indian Studies Center (AISC) are to facilitate research and research collaborations; disseminate research results through research conferences, meetings and other activities; strengthen graduate and undergraduate education by providing students enrolled in the American Indian Studies program with training opportunities and access to facilities; to seek extramural research funds; and carry out university and public service programs related to the Center's research expertise. In addition, the AISC maintains a reference library, publishes books as well as the American Indian Culture and Research Journal, provides academic counseling and support to students, actively promotes student recruitment and retention, supports academic programs in American Indian Studies (AIS) and administers postdoctoral and predoctoral fellowships and research awards through the Institute of American Cultures. The Center acts as a focal point for scholars, staff, students and community members who are interested in research, education, and issues about Native Americans. Our research focus is broad and encompasses topics ranging from the contemporary urban Indian experience to issues within tribal communities. We also attempt to balance a national focus with attention to underserved and often overlooked California tribes. Underlying our mission is an acknowledgment that the indigenous peoples of North America are generally poorly understood and have distinct social, cultural, economical, political, and legal needs by virtue of their status as indigenous nations colonized by a major world power.
The American Indian Studies Center is an Organized Research Unit (ORU), and as such, its mission is to promote research, education, and community service within an academic framework. As an ORU, the Center is headed by a Director who is a tenured member of the UCLA faculty. The Center's goals are accomplished by assisting campus departments with recruiting American Indian faculty and supporting research by faculty and students. The Center acts as a focal point for faculty, pre and post doctoral fellows, and students to conduct research on issues about Native Americans. Institute of American Cultures (IAC) grants, external grants, committees, and teaching bring faculty and students to the Center from a variety of departments.
 Welcome to the Center for American Indian-Indigenous Research and Education (CAIRE) located in the School of Nursing at the University of California at Los Angeles. The mission of CAIRE is to improve the status of Native peoples by promoting, developing, and evaluating culturally appropriate health, education, and social programs. CAIRE's priorities are: 1) the identification of barriers impeding optimal health care utilization, 2) the development and testing of culturally sensitive health and social service intervention models, and 3) the recruitment and retention of Native students into institutions of higher learning.
The Center provides research opportunities for students, in both graduate and undergraduate level. Current research includes areas of Cancer Control (the cultural constructs of pain); Diabetes; Environmental Health, and Obesity.
Student Organizations
American Indian Graduate Students Association (AIGSA)
As an official campus-based student organization, AIGSA seeks to enhance the academic environment and experiences of American Indian and other interested and involved graduate students. Cultural and social interaction and learning among students are fostered through lectures and presentations involving UCLA and other college and university faculty, students, and community members. AIGSA also facilitates interdepartmental communication and camaraderie among all UCLA graduate students interested in American Indian studies.
Native American Law Students Association (NALSA)
The UCLA chapter of NALSA provides a gathering place for Native and non-Native students who want to promote the study of Indian Law, to secure academic support, to arrange lectures on Indian Law by prominent speakers, to organize relevant conferences, and to mount student events such as powwows. NALSA typically helps students arrange to attend the annual Federal Bar Association Indian Law Conference or other outside educational programs.
American Indian Student Association (AISA)
AISA (http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/americanindian/) is an inclusive association open to all UCLA students, which strives to established a strong relationship with graduate students in order to support all students in their efforts to receive an education at UCLA. Our community is a place where students come together and work collectively in an effort to promote education and interest in their culture, as well as to dispel any misconceptions regarding the art, language, history and lives of American Indians. AISA has a rich and extensive history of welcoming graduate students’ participation in their many activities, events and projects, some of which are the New Student Welcome Reception, Pow Wow, Youth Conference, forums, retreats, workshops, American Indian Recruitment, Retention of American Indians Now, Women of Indian Decent, etc. It is the diverse backgrounds that strengthens our group as each student brings with them talent or perspective that benefits the America Indian community. We are not just a club, but a community that you are a part of. We invite you to join us and strive for education. |
