Created in 1969, Native American Studies at UC Davis began as a program, originally attached to the College of Agriculture and Encrionmental Sciences through the Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences. Gorman (Navajo), and Sarah Hutchison (Cherokee). In Fall 1973, George Longfish (Senca/Tuscarora) was added to the faculty. Also in 1973, the C. Gorman Museum was established in honor of Carl Nels
on Gorman, artist, WWII code talker, cultural historian, and advocate for Native peoples. By 1975, the NAS major had been established (the NAS minor went into effect in the 1980s). In 1989, Native American Studies moved from the Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences (and the College of Agriculture) into the College of Letters and Science, as an interdepartmental program. That same year, Inés Hernández-Ávila (Nez Perce/Chicana) joined the faculty. Additional faculty were hired in 1991: Steve Crum (Western Shoshone) and Stefano Varese. In 1991, Martha Macri (Cherokee) began teaching in Native American Studies. Native American Studies received departmental status in 1993, becoming the only Department of Native American Studies in the country. The Designated Emphasis (DE) in Native American Studies was also established that same year. The DE in Native American Studies is affiliated with the graduate programs in Anthropology, Comparative Literature, History, Performance Studies, Psychology, Sociology, and Spanish. In Spring 1993, Native American Studies offered its first graduate seminar. The Department welcomed Victor Montejo (Jakaltek Maya) in 1995, as a new addition to its faculty. The Graduate Program in Native American Studies was approved in 1998, making UC Davis only the second university in the nation to offer a Ph.D. in Native American Studies. In Fall 1999, the Department welcomed its first group of students enrolled in the M.A. Programs in Native American Studies. Native American Studies increased its faculty by two in the 2000s: Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie (Seminole/Muskogee/Diné) in 2003; and Julia Coates (Cherokee) in 2006.
