Native American Honoring Project

In October 1999, an excavation crew working on the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts uncovered a Patwin Indian village site and 13 burials on the UC Davis campus. Several faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students in the UC Davis Department of Native American Studies wrote to then-Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, sharing their concerns and emphasizing the importance of proper and respectful actions in the excavation of this (or any) sacred site. 

At the request of the faculty, Chancellor Vanderhoef agreed with forming a committee composed of professors from the Department of Native American Studies, students, staff, and key administrators, as well as Bill Wright, prominent Patwin tribal elder from the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation of the Cortina Rancheria. Elder Wright, a recognized Indian doctor, healer, and sweat lodge leader, was deeply respected among the Patwin and other Native American communities throughout California. 

The Native American Honoring Project Committee began its work in 2000 with the goal to honor the Patwin heritage and spiritual connection to the land, Patwin ancestors, and all Native Americans at UC Davis and in the region. In 2006, the campus began implementing the Plan for the UC Davis Project to Honor Native Americans, which calls for the installation of 11 public monuments at meaningful locations across the campus. Two of the 11 monuments have been installed – the Native American Contemplative Garden and the Prayer Stone at the Mondavi Center – and the committee is working with campus leadership on future installations.