The Rumsey Indian Rancheria tribal council has given $1 million to UC Davis to aid construction of the Center for the Arts and to fund an endowed chair and student internships in the Department of Native American Studies.

The gift, announced at the Center for the Arts’ May 19 groundbreaking, provides $600,000 toward the performance hall’s construction and $25,000 to support the UC Davis Presents school matinee program; $350,000 to endow a faculty chair in California Indian studies; and $25,000 to fund a student internship in support of the campus’s annual Native American Culture Days and PowWow.

The gift is the largest private donation received to date in the Center for the Arts campaign and funds the first endowed chair for the Department of Native American Studies.

The arts center’s grand lobby will bear the rancheria name.

"Through its generous gift, the Rumsey Indian Rancheria is partnering with the campus to create a lasting cultural and educational legacy for this region that is of shared historical significance," said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. "This partnership will touch the lives of students from kindergarten through doctoral study in very meaningful ways and expand opportunities for cultural enrichment and diversity in the broader community. We are most grateful for the tribe’s support."

Said Tribal Chair Paula Lorenzo: "The time was right to strike a true partnership between the only federally recognized tribe in Yolo County and UC Davis. Helping to ensure that cultural and performing arts remain an integral part of the fabric of this region is only one part of the equation. Being involved in an effort to further enhance the university’s distinguished Native American studies department with emphasis on California Indian studies is a great honor for the tribe."

The Rumsey tribe operates Cache Creek Indian Bingo and Casino in western Yolo County and has become the county’s largest private employer. Its past gifts to UC Davis have benefited the medical center’s pediatrics department and the campus’s Native American Cultural Days and PowWow.

"We are very honored by the offer of this gift," said Martha Macri, chair of the Department of Native American Studies. "The Rumsey Rancheria Endowed Chair in California Indian Studies will enhance our ability to contribute to the vitality of Native American cultural life and will assist us in educating the students of California about the lives of Indian people, both in the past and in the present. The tribe’s investment, as well, in internships will help train students in planning and leadership and expand efforts to educate the campus community about our Native American heritage."

The Department of Native American Studies is the only such program to have gained departmental status within the UC. Founded 30 years ago as a program, the department now offers doctoral and master’s degrees and plays a leadership role, not only in the United States but throughout the Western Hemisphere, in the theoretical and practical framing of this evolving discipline. Its seven faculty members teach Native American literature and history, visual arts, performance, languages, social sciences, religion and philosophy.