May 25, 2025
To President Suresh Garimella, Provost Patricia Prelock, the Board of Regents, Levi Esquerra, Tessa Dysart, and whoever else may be concerned,
We write with deep concern and unwavering resolve. The University of Arizona stands at a crossroads: one path leads toward continued partnership with the Indigenous peoples whose lands it occupies, and the other toward a betrayal of the commitments enshrined in its public promises and acknowledgment. As a land-grant institution, the University of Arizona was built on lands taken from Tribal Nations and funded by the sale of those lands, creating a lasting obligation to not only recognize but serve Indigenous communities. The University of Arizona’s land acknowledgment reads as follows:
“We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples. Today, Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes, with Tucson being home to the O’odham and the Yaqui. The university strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships, and community service.”
This statement implies that the University of Arizona, by adopting such intentional language, will work with Tribal Nations and their students to create a more welcoming space for Native American students who both attend now and in the future.
The history of this university, as well as the greater state of Arizona university system, has long failed our Native communities and Tribal Nations. To name a few of these failures, they include but are not limited to, the theft of data, low scholarship support, failure to hire Native faculty, and failure to provide a space for Native students to learn to be strong citizens of their respective Tribal Nations.
Despite these failures, we remain—not only are we still here, but we are here in larger numbers than at any point in the recorded history of the university. Our numbers have swelled in the last 5 years, and according to the Office of the President, we have over two thousand Native American students currently enrolled. With such progress, with such achievements of our students, undergraduate and graduate, and world-renowned brilliance of our Native faculty, the expectation for changes in support for us, the student body, would be for even more resources.
This is not the case.
Under the orders of the Board of Regents and the State Senate Majority Leader, the new President is set to slash our support. In a fit of blind rage, the President and Provost are going to eliminate the Native American Student Affairs (NASA) and all other Cultural Resource Centers to appease the unappeasable.
Under the leadership of Julian Juan, director of NASA, we have seen an explosion in the number of Native American student organizations at the University of Arizona. NASA continues to be the center of campus life for all Native American and Indigenous students and allies. To name a few of these pivotal events, Julian has engineered two series that showcase our resilience and pride, the Indigenous Peoples Day celebration and the Spring Social Pow Wow. Under Julian’s leadership, there are more large- and small-scale events at the university to support our Native students and ensure our retention and graduation in the degrees we seek. Any attempt to eliminate NASA is a direct assault on the Native American student population as well as the Tribal Nations, which this university was founded to serve as part of its land-grant mission. It seems that the current executive branch of the Federal Government and this University, by its current actions, are attempting to eliminate its treaty responsibilities to Native communities after confiscation of Native lands and place Native communities in a permanent subservient role as appendaged workers, not original Peoples, as the Indian Boarding School system designed it.
We, the supporters of the undersigned Native American students at the University of Arizona, call on President Garimella, Provost Prelock, the Board of Regents, Levi Esquerra, Tessa Dysart, and others not listed, to reverse course and preserve the Cultural Resource Centers, including NASA, and stay true to the mission of this university. The CRCs support our diverse student body, strengthen our identities, aid in retention, and create lasting bonds between peers and as soon-to-be alumni.
Strengthen NASA and empower the current director, Julian Juan.
Signed,
William Oyenque Carson
Ohkay Owingeh
4th Year Doctoral Candidate, Health Behavior Health Promotion
Program Coordinator, IndigiWellbeing
Representative, University of Arizona Native Graduate Students Collective
Pow Wow Planning Committee
Samantha Enos, MPH
Diné
UArizona Alumni
Community Member
Kendrick Begay Jr.
Navajo
3rd Year Undergrad Student
AISES Vice President
Jacquelyn R. Francisco
Navajo (Diné) & Jicarilla Apache
3L Law Student, James E. Rogers College of Law
Native & Indigenous Law Students Association President, 2024 - 2025
National Native American Law Students Association 2L of the Year, 2024 - 2025
Aiden Tsingine
Navajo
4th-Year Undergraduate
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Mathematics Minor
Accelerated Master’s Student
UArizona AISES Chapter President
Kailey Curley
Navajo (Diné)
3rd year Undergraduate
Neuroscience
UArizona AISES Secretary
Trin Šutalo
Siletz
4th year Undergraduate
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Ashlyn Adakai
Navajo (Diné)
4th Year Undergraduate transfer student Systems Engineering | Thematic Minor BME
24-25 UArizona AISES VP
Blake Gentry, MPPM
Cherokee
Campus associate, Department Mexican American Studies
Kaitlyn E. Haskie
Navajo (Diné)
3rd year Ph.D Student
Medical Pharmacology
Leo Bia
Navajo (Diné)
3rd year Ph.D Student
Optical Sciences
Miss Native University of Arizona Club Secretary
Kaylee Sharp Bauer, Esq.
Cherokee Nation
J.D. Class of 2025
Native & Indigenous Law Students Association, President 2023–2024
Jasmine D. Lopez
Tohono O’odham
4th Year Undergraduate transfer student, Management Information Systems
Vice President of Tohono O’odham Student Association
Director of Recruitment and Outreach for American Indigenous Business Leaders
Miss Native American University of Arizona 2024-2025
Mazey Ortega
Tohono O’odham & Shoshone Paiute
3rd Year Undergraduate transfer student
Medical Science
President of Tohono O’odham Student Association
Miss Native American University of Arizona 1st Attendant 2025-2026
Chloe Bevenue
Cherokee Nation
J.D. Class of 2025
Native & Indigenous Law Students Association, Public Relations Chair 2023–2024
Daelyn Mary Nez
Navajo (Diné)
4th-Year Undergraduate Student, B.S. Animal Science
Miss Native American University of Arizona 2025–2026
President, Miss Native American University of Arizona Club
Public Relations Officer, Native American University of Arizona Club
Janelle Etsitty
Navajo (Diné)
2rd year Undergraduate
UArizona AISES Treasurer
Sara L. Fowler
Navajo (Diné) & Gros-Ventre (Aaniiih)
Public Health Undergraduate Student
American Indian and Indigenous Health Alliance (AIIHA) President, 2025-2026
Jade Pablo
Tohono O'odham
B.S Criminal Justice Studies - Cum Laude
M.A Public Administration - Accelerated
PhD Student - Higher Education
University of Arizona Fellow
Member, Pi Alpha Alpha – National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration
Shandiin Benally
Diné (Navajo)
3rd Year Undergraduate, B.A. Law & American Indian Studies
2024-2026 Miss Native University of Arizona Ambassador
2025-2026 Diné Club President
2025- 2026 Indigenous Undergraduate Law Student Association President
Kyra Johnson
Navajo, (Diné)
3rd year Undergraduate- Pre-Nursing
Student
Sander Bird Bear
MHA (Three affiliated tribes)
2nd year undergraduate
ISAPD treasurer
Lescilia Panzarella
Pascua Yaqui
3rd year Bachelors of Landscape Architecture
Indigenous Society of Architecture Planning and Design (ISAPD) Chapter President 2025-2026
Charley Dejolie
Diné
MS, Information Resources and Library Science
Hannah Williams
Navajo (Diné)
3rd year undergraduate
Neuroscience & Pre-Med and Minor in Biochemistry
Miss Native American University of Arizona Ambassador 2024-2026
Miss Native American University of Arizona Vice President 2025-2026
American Indian Indigenous Health Alliance (AIIHA) Vice President 2025-2026
Avielle John
Diné
Second Year Undergraduate
Business Management
Indigicat Student Association (ISA)
Tohono O’odham Student Association (TOSA)
Kyra Long
Diné (Navajo)
3rd Year Undergraduate Student, Public Health
Thrive Peer Mentor
Mason Talayumptewa
Quechan & Hopi
3rd year Undergraduate student
Physiology
Minor: American Indian Studies
American Indian Indigenous Health Alliance
(AIIHA) Secretary 2025-2026
Tohono O’odham Student Association
(TOSA) Secretary 2025-2026
Nevaeh Haven
Navajo (Diné)
3rd year undergraduate
Pre Law Major and Minor in Communications/Political Science
Miss Native American University of Arizona Ambassador 2025-2026
(ISULA) Indigenous Student Undergraduate Law Association
External Affairs / Social Media Chair 2025-2026
Breanne Harvey
Diné, Salish & Kootenai
Rising 2L, James E. Rogers College of Law
Native & Indigenous Law Students Association, Vice President 2025-2026
Tommey Jodie
Diné
5th Year Undergraduate
Nutrition and Food Systems, Food Studies, and Creative Writing
Glittering Horizons, Co-Founder
Nathan Becenti
Diné
2025 Master of Architecture Graduate
Indigenous Society of Architecture Planning and Design - 2024-2025 Founding Chapter President
Laela Desbah Devore Bitahey
Navajo (Diné)
2nd year Undergraduate, B.S. Engineering
Undergraduate Researcher
AISES Historian
Jackie Yabeny-Bahe
Navajo (Diné)
BA Computer Science, Fort Lewis College
IT Support Analyst II, University of Arizona Libraries
Caleigh Curley
Diné & Hopi
Doctoral Candidate, Public Health Policy & Management
Mel & Enid College of Public Health, University of Arizona
Jordania Livingston
Navajo (Diné)
UofA Alumni
Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center
Aracely Rodriguez
UA Alumni
Community Member
Dolores Restrepo Macias
UA Alumni
Community Supporter, Community Member, FPSS
Suzie Garrett
Community supporter, Native.
Native & Indigenous Law Students Association (NILSA)l
University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law
Damon Clark (Diné)
J.D. Candidate 2027
Native & Indigenous Law Students Association President, 2025 - 2026
National Native American Law Students Association 1L of the Year, 2024 - 2025
Jennifer N. Daw, M.S., Ph.D
Enrolled member of the Navajo Nation
UA Alumni
Nicholas D. Tapia
Akimel O’odham & Nakota
Masters of Science, Finance 2025 Graduate
2x UA Alumni
Community Circle Host
Abigail Cox
University of Arizona
Masters in Legal Studies, 2025 Graduate
President of Pima County Young Democrats
Vice President of Young Democrats of Arizona
Colten Fredericks
Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation
J.D. Candidate 2026, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
National Native American Law Student Association Area 1 Representative
Maelene Z. Rosales
Lipan
James E. Rogers College of Law Alumni
Outgoing Student Bar Association President
Native & Indigenous Law Students Association Member for 3 years
Dominique Tsosie-Smith
Navajo (Diné)
Marine Corps Veteran
3rd year Junior
Maj. Nursing, Min. Sports Recreation Leadership.
Vice President UA Wrestling, club sports
Mackenzie Lynette Schurz
San Carlos Apache (N’déé) & Gila River Indian Community (Akimel O’odham)
3nd Year Undergraduate Student
Maj. Elementary Education
Min. American Indian Studies
Kylo Blanco-Soto
CHamoru & Yaqui
4th Year Undergraduate Student
Maj. Environmental Science
Min. American Indian Studies
Denise Andreotti-Phillips
Navajo (Diné)
MPH candidate 2026, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
Danitza Michelle Molina
MPH Candidate 2026, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
Community Supporter, GSC Member
Abrian Redwine
Blackfeet Nation (Aamskapi Piikuni)
2L at the University of Washington - Community Member
Native American Students Association, Chapter President 2024
Daja Torres
Tlingit & Lakota Sioux
Community Member
Kierstyn Tsosie
Navajo (Diné)
2nd year PhD student, Higher Education
2015-2016, NASA student representative, Marginalized Students of the University of Arizona
Community Member
Julia N. Chavez
Tohono O’odham/Pascua Yaqui
B.S. Family Studies/Interpersonal Relationships
David J. Aberle
Navajo (Diné)
Hataałii | High Council Guardian Diné (Western Mtn) | Chief Silver Eagle | Knowledge Keeper
BFA Film & TV | Business Admin Minor
Cultural Liaison TFTV Coalition
Bernice Rodriguez
Pascua Yaqui Tribe
4th year undergraduate, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
Agnes Attakai. MPA
Diné (Navajo)
1st Year PhD student
Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies
College of Education
Hannah Naljahih
Navajo, Kiowa
Master of Professional Studies in Indigenous Governance, 2025 Graduate
Native American and Indigenous Law Student Association member
Katie Holtsoi
Diné
Indigenous Resilience Center
Ruth Pannill
Indigenous Resilience Center
Marissa McKool, MPH
Alumni ‘12
Christina Bell
UArizona Alumna ‘07
Maricopa Community College Faculty
Dawnae Yazzie
Diné (Navajo)
2nd year undergraduate
Pre-med & Microbiology Major
American Indian Indigenous Health Alliance (AIIHA) Treasurer 2025-2026
Tasha LaBahe
Diné (Navajo)/Hopi
4th Year Undergraduate student
Maj. American Indian Studies
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
William Broussard, Ph.D. (‘02, ‘07)
University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
Aretha Matt, Ph.D (UA Alumna 2011)
Associate Professor of English
University of New Mexico Gallup
Bianca (Nieves) I. Vázquez
Master’s Student in Water, Society, and Policy
College of Agriculture, Life, & Environmental Sciences
University of Arizona
Clay O’Brien Begay
Diné
Senior Undergraduate
Agricultural Resource & Economics
WA Franke Honors College, University of Arizona
Christopher B. Yazzie
Diné (Navajo Nation)
PhD Candidate
Environmental Engineering
Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department
College Of Engineering
University of Arizona
Martha R. Webb
MSW
UNC Charlotte Alumni
High Point, NC
Ryan Dodson
Monument Valley High School Principal
Kayenta, AZ
University of Arizona Alumni 2008
B.A. Secondary Education
Monique Harvey
Diné (Navajo)
University of Arizona Alumni 2018
B.S. Public Health
Breanna Lameman, MPH
Diné
3rd year PhD student, Public Health & Indigenous Food, Water, & Energy Systems
Mel & Enid College of Public Health, University of Arizona
Carol Seanez
Doctoral student
Kayle Krieg, PhD
White Earth Ojibwe
BS Environmental Science (2014)
MS Natural Resources (2017)
AISES LTP Cohort 2
Anonymous (due to fear of retaliation) Graduate Student
Winsten Dan
Diné
University of Arizona Alum 2016
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Pueblo of Isleta Grants & Contracts Coordinator
Reva Mariah S. ShieldChief (Gover), PhD
Tohono O’odham & Skidi-Pawnee
University of Arizona Alum,
BA General Studies 1995,
MA AIS 1997,
PhD AIS 2024
Tohono O’odham Studies Director, TOCC
Carmella Kahn, DrPH, MPH
Diné
Class of 2018
University of Arizona Mel & Enid College of Public Health
Allison R. Madia, Ph.D.
Tohono O’odham
University of Arizona Alumni 2015
Laura E Sujo-Montes, Ph.D.
Tohono O’odham Community College.
Nicole Vann
Navajo (Diné)
San Carlos Apache (N’déé)
3rd Year Undergraduate Student
Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan, Ph.D.
Tohono O’odham
3x University of Arizona Alumni
Tohono O’odham Student Association Founding Member
American Indian Studies Graduate Student Council Officer (2014-2018)
Gwen Woods, Ph.D., P.E.
Adjunct Lecturer
UA Alumna ‘12, ‘18
Kelli Lycke
Assistant Professor, New Mexico State University
UArizona Alum, 2025
UArizona Graduate Student Council Representative, 2020–2024
Rebecca Caro Cohen
JD, University of Arizona College of Law 2023
Lola Rosario Aponte
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (DB campus) 1991
Elizabeth Kyle Meehan, MD
Assistant Professor
University of Arizona Family and Community Medicine
Associate Residency Program Director
Anonymous Undergraduate Student
University of Arizona (and ashamed of it!)
Sheryl Nelson
1st year Phd Student
Health Promotion Health Sciences
University of Arizona
RAEchel Running
Trinidadian/ American
Photographer Educator Artivist
John Running & Sue Bennett photo archives at NAU Special collections
Native Cultures of the Greater Southwest tribal advocates
Bisbee, AZ
Karletta Chief (Diné)
Ph.D. Class of 2007, Department of Hydrology & Water Resources, UArizona
UArizona Distinguished Outreach Faculty 2021
Director of the Indigenous Resilience Center
Professor & Extension Specialist, Dept. of Environmental Science,
Member, UArizona Native Faculty Group
University of Arizona
Brian Billy, PE
ME graduate; Class of 2013, Dept of Civil Engineering
Supervisory Civil Engineer, Bureau of Reclamation
Sloan Fellow
Jovon Boling
Diné
Alumni, Class of 2024
University of Arizona Mel & Enid College of Public Health
Christie Kelly (Navajo, Yakima, Tulalip)
PhD Candidate
Higher Education
University of Arizona