A place of kinship

Inside the Hunsaker Student Center, Nóra Pulskamp stepped to the podium with a quiet sense of anticipation, aware that years of work had led to this moment.

University of Redlands community and tribal members gathered in a space that existed, until recently, only as a shared idea between Pulskamp and a small group of advocates. Persistently, they had worked for more than a decade to bring the idea to life in what is now the Čañaam Center.

“This center represents years of advocacy, persistence, and vision,” Pulskamp said. “It represents the belief that Native students belong here — not in margins, not in borrowed spaces, but at the heart of campus life.”

Čañaam, the Serrano word for kinship, embodies exactly what Pulskamp, a member of the Navajo Nation who serves as U of R’s Tribal Liaison and Director of Native Student Programs (NSP), hopes students will find when they walk through the doors.   

“When we chose the name, we thought about what we dreamed for this space,” Pulskamp said. “We want people to feel that connection that is so inherent to Native communities — that sense of kinship when you meet someone and ask where they’re from, who their grandma is, and know who their family is and how you’re related to them. We want everyone to experience that and invite others into it.”

Both the University and the Čañaam Center sit on the ancestral and unceded homelands of the Serrano and Cahuilla peoples — a point Native American Student Union (NASU) Vice President Lana Lansing ’28, of the Navajo Nation, wove into her opening remarks.  

“Recognizing this land is not just a gesture, it’s a reminder of our responsibility to support Native communities, respect tribal sovereignty, and uplift Indigenous students and nations connected to this area,” Lansing said.

The Čañaam Center took shape through years of collaboration between the University and community partners, including the Yuhaaviatam of the San Manuel Nation. At the opening, University President Krista Newkirk spoke to the depth of that partnership.  

“Their investment reflects a shared commitment to educational quality, equity, to uplifting Native voices, and to creating pathways for Native students to thrive as leaders in their communities and beyond,” Newkirk said. “Just as importantly, this space reflects values deeply aligned with the tribe, including a commitment to culture, unity, and resilience across generations.”

Support extended beyond campus and community. The evening opened with a blessing from Kim Marcus, a member of the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians, who also performed Serrano Big Horn Sheep and Bird Songs.

For Pulskamp, the presence of so many community members made the night feel as significant as the center’s opening.

“We were honored to host members of the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation's Youth Council, representing the next generation of Tribal leadership,” she said. “This event also served as an opportunity to reconnect with some of the very first Native alumni NSP worked with.”

The evening also brought formal recognition from the California Legislature. District Director Vanessa Brierty offered remarks on behalf of Assembly Member and alumnus James Ramos ’12, a longtime champion of Native American representation in higher education.

“He [Ramos] firmly believes there are three things in life that, once you attain them, no one can ever take from you — your culture, your education, and your spirituality,” Brierty said. “As students, alumni coming back, and academic support staff, knowing that and keeping true to that will allow you to be successful in any space, at any time.”

For attendees who filled the room that evening, the celebration provided a moment to honor how far Native Student Programs has come and to look ahead towards what the Čañaam Center will make possible. In the coming months, U of R will also welcome the launch of the Native American Studies minor and the Native Leader Development Program — two initiatives that will find a natural home within the Center’s walls.  

Explore Native Student Programs at Redlands.