Dr. Janet Berry Hess, Acting Chair of Native American Studies, has been recognized as the 2022 Excellence in Research, Scholarship, Creative Activities Award recipient. This highly competitive award comes after review through the Faculty Subcommittee on Scholarly Activities and is a reflection of the impactful work Dr. Hess does at Sonoma State University.
This Spring 2022, Dr. Janet Hess, Sonoma State University's Native American Studies program and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria were awarded $20,000 by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums through the National Endowment for the Humanities' "Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan" (SHARP). This grant, "The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria: Food Sovereignty and Cultural Land Management Practices Lecture Series," will facilitate in-person public programming, including a nature preserve workshop, and virtual lectures on food sovereignty and cultural land management practices. In Fall 2021, Dr. Hess was awarded a California Humanities Relief Grant through the National Endowment for the Humanities, supporting a series of talks by impactful Native speakers such as Chairman Walter Echo-Hawk, Dr. Debra Miranda, Dr. Anton Treuer, and more! Dr. Hess supports student internships in Native American Studies, approaches teaching holistically - teaching the whole student, and collaborates enthusiastically with colleagues in growing our Native American Studies community. Not to mention her many contributions in publishing. Congratulations Dr. Hess!