Nov. 3, 1970: 53 years ago, Nov 3 1970, indigenous UC Davis students and organizers [...]

53 years ago, Nov 3 1970, indigenous UC Davis students and organizers linked to the American Indian Movement began a several month occupation of a decommissioned army communications camp near Davis, leading to the creation of California’s only indigenous college: D-Q University

The occupation of Alcatraz and the recently established Navajo Community College in Arizona created an urgent desire for an indigenous college in California. As debate ensued about where it might be built, a 647-acre army comms. facility was decommissioned 7-miles from UC Davis

Once it became army surplus land, David Risling, Jack Forbes, Carl Gorman and others from the Native American Studies Program at UC Davis established a board of trustees and filed an application to use the land for the construction of Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl (D-Q) University

UC Davis filed a competing application, though never properly submitted it. While applications were under review, Senator George Murphy eagerly and prematurely announced that the land would be granted to UC Davis for a primate research center and rice farming

Inspired by the ongoing occupation of Alcatraz and citing the 1868 Treaty of Laramie, native and chicano UC Davis students and AIM organizers occupied the land and demanded that it be turned over to the board of trustees for the construction of D-QU. In April, 1971 they succeeded

D-QU opened its doors in Sep 1971 and became the only indigenous college in California. Lasting decades, it remained a two-year accredited college until 2005, when it became largely inoperable. It’s still used as a site for various community events and annual pow wow celebrations