So Cal Tribal Education Institute announces fellowship

The Southern California Tribal Education Institute announces the offering of the Christopher B. Duro Graduate Fellowship for Native students pursuing graduate and doctoral study to help the advancement of Native communities.

The pursuit of educational excellence serves as the basis for the Southern California Tribal Education Institute (SCTEI).  The Southern California Tribal Education Institute has announced the award of Christopher B. Duro fellowships to four amazing Indigenous students working in various academic arenas.


Kari Ann Lewis is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and resident of southern California.  She received her A.B. inNative American Studies from Dartmouth College.  She is entering her second year of the American Indian Studies M.A. program at the University of California—Los Angeles.  Her research focuses on Chickasaw language revitalization.  After completing her degree, she plans to participate in the Chickasaw Master-Apprentice program and work toward the revival of Chikashshanompa' (Chickasaw language).


Leon Peralto is Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) from Waiākea Uka in Hilo, Hawaiʻi.  Leon received his B.A fromStanford University and will be pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Hawaiian Studies, his goal is to deepen his knowledge of the history, culture, and language of his people, so as to better prepare himself to serve the community and ʻāina (land and sea) from which he was born.


Kehaulani Vaughn is Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian), and is working towards her doctorate in Ethnic Studies at the University of California-Riverside.  Vaughn received her B.A. from Occidental College and graduate degrees fromUCLA.  Her research interests include: Indigenous sovereignty issues, land rights, and Indigenous education.  Once she is finished with her doctoral research, she plans to continue helping Indigenous students and communities with the arduous challenges they face.


Casandra Lopez is Cahullia, Luisneño and Tongva and a MFA candidate studying Fiction at the University of New Mexico.  Lopez received her B.A. from Cornell University and a graduate degree from the University of Redlands.  Her research interests include: stories that explore themes of alienation, loss and displacement. Lopez writes with a sense of urgency because she believes art can be a vehicle for transformation of both the self and community.


“As Native peoples we have the responsibility to look towards the future while remembering the past.  We respect the many sacrifices that have been made for our survival and the advancement of our communities.  One of our greatest responsibilities is educating ourselves and securing a promising future for generations to come.  As a Native graduate student I have been blessed with the opportunity to make these fellowships possible.  It is my belief that we (as Native students) have an obligation to give back to our communities and these fellowships are my attempt to help those that are willing to help themselves.  And it is through education that we can make our communities stronger.  I am very proud of the four fellows that have been chosen for the fellowship.  I know that all four will take great honor in continuing their education and research that is vital to Indigenous communities” said Christopher Duro, Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate student in Linguistics.  He is the sole funder and Chief Executive Officer of the Southern California Tribal Education Institute.  For more information about the Christopher B. Duro fellowship or the Southern California Tribal Education Institute (SCTEI), please visit the website at www.sctei.org