History Department Assistant Professor Daisy Ocampo Diaz has received the CSUSB College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Outstanding Junior Faculty Award for the 2023-24 academic year.

Her recent book, Where We Belong: Chemehuevi and Caxcan Preservation of Sacred Mountains was published last year by University of Arizona press, and was featured in a book talk in the new Provost Presents Faculty Research series.

Dr. Ocampo Diaz has also served as historical consultant for a new documentary film, Pa'Chapa: A Mt. Rubidoux Story, which will premiere May 2 at the UCR Arts Life Building in downtown Riverside.

As an inspiring and excellent instructor and advisor, Dr. Ocampo Diaz has taught many popular courses including "Decolonizing Museums," as well as advising many undergraduate students and serving as lead advisor for two Master of Arts students, Lina Tejeda and Gabrielle Velazquez.

Dr. Ocampo Diaz is also curator in the development of a forthcoming exhibit "Fire Kinship: Southern California Native Ecology and Art" for the UCLA Fowler Museum.  In developing the exhibit, she has collaborated with Michael Chavez (Tongva), Archaeological Collections Manager, NAGPRA Project Manager, Fowler Museum and CSUSB History BA and MA graduate; and Lina Tejeda (Pomo), Graduate Student Research Assistant and one of her MA advisees at CSUSB.

Of the exhibit, Dr. Ocampo Diaz writes: "Prior the colonization of Southern California in 18th century, Native communities throughout the region deployed controlled fire regimes to ensure the well-being of their local ecosystems. Fire-based land management practices ranged from small burns to spur healthy growth, to larger burns that strategically eradicate invasive species and reduce fuel loads (preventing catastrophic natural fires). Fire Kinship counters attitudes of fear and illegality around fire, arguing for a return to Native practices in which fire is regarded as a vital aspect of land stewardship, community wellbeing, and tribal sovereignty.

"A selection of baskets, ollas, rabbit sticks, bark skirts, and a canoe in this exhibition were made possible through the relationship between people, place, and fire. Commissioned video, sculpture, portrait paintings, and installations by contemporary artists respond to and rejoin these cultural objects, spurring a dialogue of critique, reflection, and futurity. The exhibition presents a living history that centers the expertise of Tongva, Cahuilla, Luiseño, and Kumeyaay communities (past and present?). Fire Kinship reintroduces fire as a generative element, one that connects California residents to their past and offers many more a path toward a sustainable future."

Congratulations on this richly deserved recognition, Dr. Daisy Ocampo Diaz!