Dr. Gabriel Estrada

Dr. Gabriel Santiago Estrada is a Mexican Indian of Nahuatl, Raramuri, Mestizo, and Basque heritages. He is a proud child of the Chicana and Chicano Movements and an activist grandchild of the Indigenous revolutions of Mexico. Indigenous Nations Studies is his joint position shared between Chicano/Latino Studies and American Indian Studies. Indigenous Nations Studies classes that focus on Latin American Indigenous peoples and transnational migrations will be offered in the Fall 2006-Spring 2007 school year.

Dr. Estrada's Masters and PhD are in Comparative Cultural and Literary Studies from the University of Arizona, Tucson. Spanish and Nahuatl skills were honed at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and Nahuatl University. A B.A. in Anthrolopology from UC Berkeley grounds an interdisciplinary study of race, class, and gender with a focus on border migrations, sexualities, and comparative work on Native Americans and Mexican/Central American Indians. His interests range from Aztec codices to California Indian media to queer Latino literature. A brief listing of publications include:

• "Star Wars Episodes I-IV: Resisting the Force of Whiteness." Whiteness in Contemporary Hollywood. Ed. Daniel Bernardi. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, forthcoming 2006.
• “California Indian Educational Network.” News from Native California. Ed. Margaret Dubin. Berkeley: Heyday Books, 2005.
• “Latinas/os in Hollywood.” Encyclopedia of Latina and Latino Popular Culture in the United States. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Company, 2005.
• “Gay,” “Indo-Latino,” “Literary Criticism/ Theory,” “Machismo,” and “Transsexual.” Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States. Eds. Deena J. Gonzalez and Sozanne Oboler. New York: Oxford Press, 2005.
• Estrada, Gabriel S., Ed. An Introduction to American Indian Studies: Sovereignty, Culture, and Representation. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2004.
  

A few community grant writing experiences include:

• California Communities Protection Foundation Grant. Successfully wrote a $10,000 grant to fund online Cupeno, Luiseno rich language tutorials.
• Instructor, Humanities 270. “Alcohol, Chemical Dependency, and the
  Adolescent: Grant Writing for Native American Communities” Northwest Indian College, Satellite Program at San Xavier Reservation, Tohono O’odham Nation. Taught students to write grant for programs which target Chemical Dependency programs for Native American youth.
• Migrant Project Coordinator, Catholic Social Services, Sac., CA.;
  implemented a grant, assisted in grant writing, conducted a Spanish/English health assessment of 100 migrant farm working families in a flood relief effort, provided access to free health care, food, and household supplies.
• Born in Anaheim, CA, Dr. Estrada is thrilled to return to old haunts after growing up in rural Washington and Idaho as well as inner-city Sacramento.
• Dr. Estrada has traveled far to teach composition, literature, and multicultural research classes at the University of Arizona, Tucson, as well as American Studies and American Indian Studies at Palomar College in San Diego only to return home again.