Sac State welcomes first Native American college cohort. ‘Fight for our sovereignty’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sac State opened Wileety College to support Native students with community ties.
- The inaugural cohort includes 34 students pursuing degrees with Native studies minors.
- Wileety aims to boost Native enrollment, retention and cultural connection on campus.
Thomas Lozano was an undergraduate student at Sacramento State in the early 2000s and felt alone.
He was a Native American student, a citizen of the Enterprise Rancheria Estom Yumeka Maidu. As Lozano walked the campus, he could not see many of his peers who looked like him. He said he felt isolated.
“I felt like, where am I supposed to be? Where is my footing?” he said.
He was speaking about 20 years later at his alma mater and where he is also currently studying for his master’s in Public Policy. Wednesday, he attended the grand opening of Wileety Native American College, Sacramento State’s ethnic college for Indigenous students, and gazed upon a crowd of students who would have a less lonely academic journey.
He addressed the 34 Native students in the school’s inaugural cohort, the ones who will sit in the same classrooms and walk the halls as Lozano had with such a sense of isolation now replaced with hope. He told the students that they are the future leaders of Indian country.
With their education, they will make a difference, he said.
“They’re going to come back and be leaders again within the community, and will fight for our sovereignty,” said Lozano. “We’ll fight for our place at the table, because everyone deserves that right to be at the table when it comes to our people.”
Sacramento State announced in November 2024 it would open Wileety Native American College to provide an education with tribal values and a sense of belonging for Native students, who make up less than 1% of Sacramento State’s student body, according to university data. “Wileety” is a Miwok word that translates to “to bloom, to be bright, to shine,” according to Sacramento State.
The school is the first of its kind in the California State University system. Students can enroll with a major of their choice and a Native American studies minor, said Anette Reed, Wileety Native American College’s dean.
The goal of the institution is to bring Native students nationwide to the university and build the next generation of Native changemakers, a Sacramento State news release said. With an emphasis on tribal leadership, students at Wileety are also paired with Native mentors.
“(Native students) were really lonely when they first got here at Sac State, being one of the few Native students,” said Reed, who is a citizen of Tolowa De-Nii nation. “And then all of a sudden, now they feel like they have people, both Native and nonp-Native, to reach out to and to go through classes with.”
The students of Wileety
For Native students, graduation is often a challenge due to systemic barriers, including isolation and a lack of representation on their campus, according to Tribal College Journal. About 42% of Native American students attending a four-year university graduate in six years, compared to the average of 64% for other students, according to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute.
The goal of Wileety Native American College is to support Indigenous students by connecting them with a culturally informed education.
Neyr-Res Bartoo, who is a member of the Yurok tribe, is among the 34 students in Wileety’s inaugural cohort. She was born and raised in Humboldt County, where the Yurok tribe is based. She moved to Sacramento to study health science, but felt disconnected. Now entering the Wileety Native American College, Bartoo said she feels secure in her education.
“I really feel way more comfortable and at home here,” Bartoo said. “I’m really glad that this program has started up.”
Colbe Hunter, a freshman at Wileety Native American College, gravitated toward the institution for similar reasons. He moved to Sacramento from the Navajo Nation in Arizona as a teenager and said he was one of three Native students at his high school. He said he enrolled at Wileety Native American College to find a connection to his community again.
“Since there’s a Native college, you able to meet more Native American students,” Hunter said. “It makes me more involved with my community and makes me feel more belonging.”
‘We had to fight our way to be in here’
The creation of Wileety Native American College is a part of ongoing efforts to increase Indigenous student enrollment at Sacramento State. Additionally, the college also aligns with Sacramento State’s goal to have the highest Native American enrollment among the California State Universities, said Aniesha Mitchell, the university’s vice president of student affairs.
As tribal leaders spoke at the grand opening, they recalled the mistreatment California had inflicted on their ancestors. They said the creation of Wileety Native American College stands as a testament to their survival. Despite historic discrimination and trauma, Native communities continue to persist, said Joaquin Tarango, a citizen of Wilton Rancheria and the tribal community relations advisor to President Luke Wood.
“(Wileety College is) the first of its kind in all the history of these colleges throughout the state, throughout this country,” said Tarango. “When these universities were established...we weren’t invited to them. This wasn’t meant for us. We had to fight our way to be in here.”
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
