The Rumsey Community Fund ?” the philanthropic part of the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians and operators of Cache Creek Indian Bingo and Casino ?” awarded Sacramento State’s Native American Studies Program a $250,000 gift in early February.

According to Annette Reed, director of the Native American Studies Program at Sac State, $100,000 will go toward the current annual scholarships that the program awards students.

Each year, $1,000 scholarships are given to students to increase the understanding of the history of California’s indigenous people.The additional money may increase the number of scholarships that the program gives out.

“It all depends on interest rates and the economy of the state,” Reed said. “But hopefully we can give out three to four awards a year.”

The rest of the money will go toward the program. The money can bring more speakers to the university to “address topics in both Native American Studies and California Indian Studies,” Reed said in a statement.

Reed also discussed the possibility of building a future California Indian Studies Center on campus. She stressed that nothing is definite on the project, and the project is only in its planning stages.

She said Sac State faculty have wanted an Indian Studies Center for years, and that faculty began to have more meetings about the potential center when she came to the university in 1998.

According to the California Indian Studies Center mission statement, the center will be dedicated to research, scholarship and educational programs that will focus on Tribal Nations indigenous to California.

It will also focus on academics, education, student leadership, issues of sovereignty, tribal governments and tribal communities.”We would also like to have it as a resource for documents of California Native Americans,” Reed said.She also commented on the timing of the gift.

“Before, there hasn’t been a focus on Native Americans in scholarships and academics,” Reed said. “However, there are issues now in California over Native American sovereignty.

With more people being employed by Indian tribes, we need to focus on the economic development and the historical and cultural preservation.”

Reed said the studies program is seeking funding from other tribes and nontribal organizations.

The Rumsey Tribe has supported the program for several years. It helped raise money for the 16th Annual California Native American Conference, which Sac State held in October 2001.

Jamie Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]