[Video News Release] University of San Diego Names New Tribal Liaison of the Center for Inclusion and Diversity

The University of San Diego (USD) named Sahmie S. Wytewa as the new Tribal Liaison for the university’s Center for Inclusion and Diversity. Sahmie is Piikyasngyam (corn clan), a member of the Hopi Tribe from the village of Misongnovi in Second Mesa, Arizona. Wytewa’s role will build on USD’s mission and vision to strengthen partnerships and programming in support of Native-Indigenous students and communities. Some of Wytewa’s goals are to show up authentically for Native-Indigenous students and faculty and also to connect with local tribal nations.

“From the perspective of a tribal liaison, one of the biggest components of your work is to prepare to listen and fully contextualize where people are coming from, not only in a professional sector or from the organizational capacity, but spiritually,” said Sahmie S. Wytewa, USD’s Tribal Liaison. “I think it’s important to be able to listen and learn, offer insight and really learn about the communities they come from so that you can best support them,” she added. 

Some of the roles and responsibilities of the tribal liaison will be:

• Recruitment, retention and graduation of Native and Indigenous students by expanding programming and support services
• Expanding the university’s relationships to high schools, community colleges and Tribal Colleges that serve and support Native and Indigenous students
• Collaborate, build, heal and repair relations with local and regional tribal communities

“One of the goals of the Center for Inclusion and Diversity is to create a campus culture that celebrates diversity and inclusive excellence. Sahmie Wytewa’s work within the Office of Tribal Liaison will be a great compliment to the work being done within the Center for Inclusion and Diversity, while growing our connection with our Native-Indigenous communities. Wytewa was recently selected as 1 of the 27 member Fall 2022 cohort for Arizona State University’s American Indian Policy Institute and the Indigenous Leadership Academy which is a testament to her commitment, creativity, sensitivity and leadership in relation to the Native American and Indigenous student experiences,” said Regina Dixon Reeves, Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Director of the Center for Inclusion and Diversity. 

Wytewa is the second tribal liaison at the University of San Diego. She started her new role on September 1.

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.