EMILIE PEARCE / DAILY NEXUS
One day during my freshman year, I was eating my normal lunch at Portola Dining Commons: pasta, sushi and that awful cheeseburger pizza they have. Normally, I would sit next to a window to enjoy the view outside, but I had a lecture in 20 minutes, so I quickly bussed my table and barely made the bus. Native American guest speaker Spenser Jaimes was giving the lecture that day in the Interactive Learning Pavilion. The lecture began with a land acknowledgement that claims we honor the Chumash peoples and their elders, the Native American group whose land UC Santa Barbara sits on.
Right after Jaimes finished his lecture, I whispered to my friend about how much I thought the land acknowledgement was inadequate, since UCSB does not take any meaningful actions to support its statement.
In his lecture, Jaimes talked about the Portolá Expedition, the colonial expedition that colonized Santa Barbara and devastated Chumash society. I immediately thought back to the dining commons I had just rushed over from and made the connection. This was not something I was okay with.
The name Portola Dining Commons is representative of a larger problem at UCSB — the lasting impact of colonialism, which pervades everything from the names of our buildings and streets to refusing to repatriate Chumash items (returning sacred items to the Chumash). To combat this and promote environmental justice, UCSB needs to take action, building upon its land acknowledgment by working with the Chumash to adopt names and practices that support Indigenous justice.
The Portolá Expedition is part of a broader colonial legacy in which Native American histories were often erased through violence or forced assimilation into European cultural systems. This issue has never gone away. Native American perspectives remain lost, underrepresented or filtered through colonial perspectives. For instance, institutions like UCSB continue to hold onto sacred Chumash artifacts, denying the Chumash access to their own cultural heritage. The use of colonial names at UCSB, such as Portola Dining Commons, and the lack of Indigenous names are part of this problem.
Although I am not Native American, I, like many UCSB students, support efforts that promote diversity on campus. That is why I initiated a project to get Portola’s name changed. To ensure proper Native American representation, I worked with the Chumash to discuss renaming. Right now, very few Chumash names are used. Anisq’Oyo, the Chumash name for the mesa Isla Vista sits on, is one of them, as seen in Anisq’Oyo Park. Current efforts from Indigenous groups on campus, such as the American Indian & Indigenous Student Association (AIISA), are focusing on naming and taking ownership of Indigenous spaces on campus. One of these spaces is Room 107 of Building 434, which has recently been named the American Indian & Indigenous Center (AIIC). Some native plants in the wetland garden just north of this space also have signage that includes their Chumash names.
Names carry a lot of meaning, and colonial names imply the lingering presence of colonialism. Colonial systems persist today, and that is reflected in the continued suppression of Native Americans and other historically oppressed groups. People in power, such as managers or politicians, disproportionately come from backgrounds that historically benefited from under colonial structures. For instance, of the 535 members of the 119th United States Congress, 4 identify as Indigenous (0.75%), while according to the United States Census, 1.6% of people living in the United States are Indigenous (Native American, Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander), not counting people of mixed races. Meanwhile, in California agriculture, an industry that has been historically harmed by colonial systems, it’s estimated that 40% of workers are Indigenous (mostly from Indigenous communities in Mexico). Indigenous people also have access to fewer resources than other groups. In the United States, 18.7% of Indigenous people under 65 years old do not have health coverage, compared to the national average of 9.5%.
In contrast, Chumash food systems value food preparation, and a change to a Chumash name could encourage conversation about workers’ rights and Indigenous contributions. In most Native American naming systems, names are an important way to store knowledge about places, a practice known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). An example close to UCSB is ‘anyapax (Anacapa), a nearby island whose name translates to “mirage,” reflecting the island’s tendency to disappear in and out of the fog. Restoring TEK is invaluable in promoting Indigenous justice and cultural conservation.
In regards to Indigenous justice, renaming is a morally necessary step. Taking responsibility for the past is not just a personal value, but a collective moral obligation, and we as a UCSB community should apologize for the past injustices committed against the Chumash. Renaming buildings to have Chumash names is a meaningful way to start, and doing so would promote greater inclusivity on campus. Beyond that, UCSB is a community that claims to value inclusivity and acknowledgement, and it has a responsibility to properly recognize the Chumash and honor their knowledge and ongoing contributions.
Renamings have also been effective in the past. New Zealand universities have been leaders in acknowledging their Indigenous people, the Māori, through names. Te Kunenga ki Pūrehoroa, the Indigenous name for Massey University, is a name that translates to “from inception to infinity,”xf reflecting how universities build knowledge. When naming campus buildings, considering Māori names is an important part of the process. This university models what UCSB could be like.
Renaming efforts have worked in the United States too. Towson University successfully renamed two dorms that were previously named after historical figures who owned enslaved individuals. The names were changed to honor the University’s first Black graduates, the reasoning being that the University should avoid honoring those who caused significant harm. Although not directly involving Native Americans, this was still a decolonizing effort since the old names upheld colonialism’s harm to African Americans in the United States. This also raised a lot of awareness about the power of naming and has encouraged similar efforts elsewhere; UCSB should follow this movement.
The main pushback against renaming is that doing so erases the history behind the previous name. In my communication with the Chumash, I talked to MariaElena Lopez, a member and representative of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation (the group of Chumash people from the Santa Barbara area).
According to Lopez, colonization was a painful part of Chumash history, but it was important. When the expedition went through Chumash land, cultures mixed and some of the Spanish interbred with the Chumash. These mixed cultural and genetic lines continue today, and remain significant to the Chumash community. Lopez’s ancestry includes some of the Spanish who were on the expedition. Even if colonial names aren’t changed, it is important to provide this holistic perspective.
Actions like creating placards or memorials describing the name’s significance or having Native American student organizations still achieve the educational goal and transfer agency back to Indigenous communities. Although concrete decolonization efforts are still being solidified, the community should show their support for the broader decolonization movement, which goes well beyond Portola Dining Commons. It means supporting the decolonization of the entirety of UCSB and encouraging the University to take actions that reflect their land acknowledgement.
This movement is also not limited to supporting Native Americans. As shown by the Towson University example, many communities were affected by colonialism, and efforts supporting all marginalized groups should be promoted.
Ben Wollack believes UCSB cannot claim commitment to sustainability while perpetuating colonial values.
A version of this article appeared on p. 20 of the May 22, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.
