UC Hastings, Tribal Leaders Continue Talks on Name Change and Possible Reparations

When the board of University of California Hastings College of the Law sat down last Friday to discuss the next steps in changing the school’s name, California tribal leaders were at the table with them.

The meeting of the two groups was the latest development in a years-long process to redress violence perpetrated against Indigenous Californians by the college’s founder, Serranus Clinton Hastings. The law school isn’t just getting a new name: Under a bill now pending in the Legislature, it would also make reparations to tribes affected by Hastings’ actions.

Making sure tribal leaders are part of the conversation about the name change sets the tone for how restorative justice should be carried out, said the bill’s author, Assemblymember James Ramos, a Rancho Cucamonga Democrat and the first member of a California Native American tribe to serve in the state Legislature. Ramos is a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla Tribe.

“We’re laying the groundwork and a model for others to be able to follow when we’re dealing with these types of historical trauma that has been inflicted upon California Indian people,” he added.

The controversy dates back to 2017, when the university investigated how Hastings, the first chief justice of the California Supreme Court, promoted and funded massacres in the 1850s against the Yuki Tribe and other Indigenous Californians in the Eden Valley and Round Valley areas of what is now Mendocino County. A subsequent New York Times article looked at the university’s findings, sparking more widespread public outcry, and prompting the school’s board last year to sign off on the process of exploring a new name.

“This has been a long road that has gotten us here, and the road will continue past this moment,” said the law school’s dean, David Faigman.

According to the university’s findings, Hastings funded hunting expeditions that led to the deaths of Yuki men, women and children; profited off the seizure of land following the massacres; and funded the college with a $100,000 donation.

James Russ, president of the Round Valley Indian Tribes Tribal Council, said the name change isn’t about placing blame.

“What we’re saying is this is what happened to our tribes historically, and it needs to be acknowledged,” he said.

The name-change process, though, remains contentious, with ongoing disagreement on what the college should be called. During Friday’s meeting, members of the public urged the board to consider suggestions from tribal leaders.

One name proposed was “College of the Law: San Francisco.” Russ said tribal leaders pushed back against the proposal because of its connection to the Catholic mission system, which also perpetuated violence against California Indigenous people.

“To us, the name San Francisco means the same kind of death and destruction as the name Hastings, just a different time and place,” said Steve Brown, councilmember of the Yuki Committee. “We don’t feel restorative justice would be accomplished by substituting one name with a horrific history for another with an equally horrific history.”

Meanwhile, there’s also hope among some tribal representatives that the college will consider a Yuki name. The area where the massacres occurred was Yuki land, and other tribes were forcibly relocated there. Today, the confederated tribes of the Round Valley Indian Reservation include Yuki, Pit River, Little Lake Pomo, Nomlacki, Concow and Wailacki.

Brown urged board members to choose a name that includes two words from the Yuki language: Powe Nom, which means “one people.”

If a Yuki name is chosen, “all who attend and speak of this institution will be participating in the restorative justice process whenever the law school is mentioned, by speaking and helping revitalize the Yuki language,” said Yuki Committee Vice Chair Mona Oandasan during an April hearing on the bill.

The name change can’t happen without legislation, since the school was founded under the state’s education code. Ramos’ legislation, Assembly Bill 1936, would authorize changing the college’s name with consultation from the Round Valley Indian Tribes and the Yuki Committee.

The bill also lays out restorative justice measures, including the creation of scholarships for Native students, installing memorials and developing ways for the school and its students to provide legal aid to tribes affected by the atrocities.

The bill, approved on a 75-0 vote in the Assembly last month, is now before the Senate. At the same time, meetings will continue between the tribes and university leaders to settle on a new name, with the goal of adding it to the bill for lawmakers to vote on before the end of the legislative session in August.

UC Hastings is hardly the only university grappling with its history and namesakes.

In 2020, UC Berkeley removed John Henry Boalt’s name from its law school building, after racist anti-Chinese writings from the attorney were surfaced. And in 2017, Georgetown University changed the names of two buildings that had commemorated school presidents who oversaw the sale of 272 enslaved people in 1838.

Efforts at these universities have also put an emphasis on restorative justice. Along with the renaming, Georgetown offered preferred admission to descendants of the 272 enslaved people. At Harvard University, after research revealed deep links between slavery and past school presidents, a university report recommended partnerships with community groups and relevant schools — such as historically Black colleges and universities — to benefit the descendants of those affected.

Some of the restorative justice efforts at Hastings have already begun. The university created an Indigenous Law Center and has established a fellowship for law students, providing legal aid to Indigenous communities.

The renaming will cost UC Hastings an estimated $3 million, said university spokesperson Elizabeth Moore. A fiscal analysis of the bill states there would be ongoing costs of about $559,000 for the college’s Indigenous Law Center.

Other measures outlined in the bill include the formation of a nonprofit that would provide legal aid to tribal leaders on water and property rights' issues. The university also would create a memorial on its campus for the Yuki and Round Valley Indian tribes and establish scholarships for admitted law students who are tribal members.

Brown, of the Yuki Committee, said these initiatives would be a big step.

“The tribal council has ongoing issues with water rights and land boundaries,” said Brown. “The tribal members have legal issues with land and timber, so that pro bono legal advice will be helpful. The scholarships will help the tribe to become more educated and successful.”

Though a name hasn’t yet been chosen, both the school and tribes agree that the restorative justice measures ought to move forward. To Russ, of the Round Valley Indian Tribes Tribal Council, these conversations are the most critical part of the process.

“We want our story to be told. It’s not just about a name change, and we want our story to be told accurately,” he said.

Sindhu Ananthavel is a fellow with the CalMatters College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. Marnette Federis, the network’s UC team leader, contributed to this report. This story and other higher education coverage are supported by the College Futures Foundation.