As the process for changing the name of UC Hastings College of the Law — named after a racist California rancher who murdered scores of Native Americans — progresses in the state legislature, advocates are pushing for tribal leaders to be directly involved.
For more, stream KCBS Radio now.
Before it was the name of a prestigious school of law, Serranus Hastings was the name of a mendocino rancher who masterminded a Gold Rush-era slaughter of many Yuki Indians.
As many as 5,617 Native Americans — perhaps more that were unrecorded according to the New York Times,— were massacred by officially sanctioned militias and U.S. troops from the 1840's to 1870's. These campaigns were initiated by white ranchers, like Hastings, who wanted to take their land.
Expeditions carried out at the behest of Hastings killed approximately 283 men, women and children and were the most deadly of 24 known California militia campaigns, the Times reported.
Hastings was one of the wealthiest men in California during the period and became the state's first Chief Justice. In 1878, Hastings donated $100,000 to found the school which now bears his name and is California's first school of law.
Competing bills in both California Senate and Assembly, in efforts of restorative justice, seek to change the name of the famed law college, albeit through different paths.
The Assembly bill, AB-1936, would compel cooperation among the college and Yuki tribal members to decide on a new name, while Senate bill, SB-1288, would simply remove the name "Hastings" from the school's title.
In addition to a name change, the assembly bill would also address an official apology from the college and the Hastings family.
"I want to acknowledge the willingness of the college to continue to sit down and work on some tough issues, including the Yuka Indian people," Assemblymember and AB-1936 co-author James Ramos said during a press conference on Tuesday.
"For once, having the California Indian people at the table to discuss these important issues that affects them, is something that AB-1936 continues to move forward," he said.
While school leaders initially resisted a name change and pushed for other forms of restorative justice, the college's board last November voted for UC Hastings to work "in good faith" with legislators to change the name.
The New York Times reported in March that the UC Hastings board favors naming the school "University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco," as the Senate bill proposes. However, advocates for AB-1936 argued that the school should work with Native Americans leaders on a new title which honors the Yuki people.
"(The bill) brings not only the indigenous voice to the assembly process in California which has not always been included, but also makes sure that we truly have restorative justice and are moving on and learning from history," San Jose Democratic Assemblymember Alex Lee said.
LISTEN to KCBS Radio
FAVORITE KCBS Radio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Related
