Heather Ponchetti Daly

“I am excited to be returning home. I grew up in San Diego County on the Santa Ysabel Indian Reservation. I am excited to be joining the Arts & Humanities community because I am looking forward to teaching Native American history, law, and Indigenous food classes from the perspective of a local San Diego County Native.”

Why did you choose your field? Why should students consider studying the arts and humanities?

“My family imparted in the me the love of history by telling the stories of the tribe and our people. Specifically, how they survived the pendulum of U.S. federal Indian policies, and I want to share this history and culture with my students.”

“The ability to understand the arts and humanities is essential for a well-rounded education and will establish a foundation to succeed in whatever profession or lifestyle of their choosing.”

What research or project are you working on currently?

“My book project examines and tells the story of the tribal bands of Mission Indians in California targeted by the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 108 in 1953. It concentrates on the individuals within tribal nations who participated in the political resistance movements that emerged before and during the implementation of the Indian Reorganization Act and came to fruition during termination.”

“I am researching reserved water rights in California Indian country. Once I started researching water rights litigation, I discovered that California Indian tribes have been in the courts fighting against local, state and federal agencies for over a century for an article.

“I’m also creating a space for an Indigenous Food Sovereignty Lab. My goals for this lab align with the UC San Diego mission statement that aspired to establish an experimental campus, one that would define the future of education and research. The Indigenous Food Sovereignty Lab will incorporate hands-on experience for students by training them through food to work directly with tribal communities and research for sustainable Indigenous foodways. This lab could serve as a model for other campuses nationally and internationally.”

What’s your favorite class to teach and why?

“‘The History of Native American Law and Federal Indian Policies’ and ‘History of Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Food Justice.’ These are topics that have been historically underrepresented and teaching about these topics gives a historical basis for present-day issues.”

What is something about yourself that is not typically included in your bio?

“I am a San Diego Padres fan, and I love all things Star Trek!”

Heather Ponchetti Daly is a tribal member of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel and is a historian of 20th century Native America. She received a Ph.D. in history from UCLA and is a member of the UC San Diego Indigenous Futures Institute. Her research and teaching interests include 20^th century Native American history, specifically in California Indian Country, Native American and constitutional law, grassroots activism and Indigenous food sovereignty.

Her first book, “American Indian Freedom Controversy,” examines and tells the story of the tribal bands of Mission Indians in Southern California targeted by the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 108 in 1953. It concentrates on the individuals within tribal nations who participated in the political resistance movements that emerged before and during the implementation of the Indian Reorganization Act and came to fruition during termination. In addition, her research focuses on the navigation strategies of Native American tribes, specifically California Indian Country, through the labyrinth of federal Indian policies, including the legal machinations of reserve water rights.

Before joining the Department of History, Ponchetti Daly was a lecturer in the Environmental Studies Program teaching “Indigenous Approaches to Climate Change,” “Environmental Law and Federal Indian Policy Law” and “Indigenous Food Sovereignty.”

Currently, Ponchetti Daly is appointed to the UC NAGPRA Implementation and Oversight Committee for the California Native American Heritage Commission representing UCLA. She is partnering with Scripps Institution of Oceanography on a cookbook project titled “San Diego Seafood, Then and Now” that demonstrates how La Jolla and San Diego were the regions that the Kumeyaay lived, worked and prepared food. Her future research will engage food sovereignty as both practice and theory; specifically, she is actively designing the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Lab at UC San Diego.

Ponchetti Daly was awarded the 2023 UC San Diego Barbara & Paul Saltman Distinguished Teaching Award and the UC San Diego Teaching + Learning Commons Changemaker Anti-Racist Pedagogy Fellowship.