Native American and Indigenous Community
Led by a mission focused on social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism, LMU is committed to the success of students, staff, and faculty from historically marginalized communities. One step in this mission is to increase access to the resources and programs that our BIPOC community members may connect with the most, in order to enhance their LMU experience.
Here you will find specialized programs, student and employee affinity and networking groups, events, and resources that center the Native American and Indigenous community. Each focused initiative offers a space to build community connections, to advance career and educational opportunities, and to thrive at LMU.
Photo: Robert Dorame, tribal chair of the Gabrielino-Tongva Indians of California, and his niece, poet Megan Dorame, at the LMU osprey nesting pole dedication ceremony, 2019.
Land Acknowledgement
As part of Loyola Marymount University's recognition of our history, location, and relationship to the indigenous communities in Los Angeles, we acknowledge the Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and southern Channel Islands) and the presence of LMU on this traditional, ancestral, and unceded land. We are grateful to have the opportunity to live, study, create, and be in this place.
Read "The Importance of Land Acknowledgments as Preludes to Transformed Relations" by By Ernesto Colín and Brenda Nicolás
LMU's Tongva Memorial
LMU’s Tongva Memorial, established in 2000, is found on the bluff overlooking Playa Vista where Tongva artifacts were discovered during the construction of the Leavey residence halls. The site was rededicated in 2004 after the remains of several hundred Native Americans were found in a burial ground on the Playa Vista property below the bluff. These were reburied in an earthen mound within the Ballona Discovery Park. About 3,000 Tongva archaeological sites exist within what is now Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
