Muwekma-Tah-Ruk

Muwekma-Tah-Ruk, established in 1988, celebrates the diversity of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas and Pacific Islands. The name means “House of the People” in the language of the Muwekma Ohlone, the people whose ancestral lands Stanford University now occupies. Muwekma is the only four-class house on the Row. Muwekma is a small, close-knit, and welcoming community.

More About Muwekma

Muwekma residents take a credit-bearing seminar to explore cultural identity, legal, historical, and societal issues that affect indigenous peoples through speakers, discussions, and events. Additional theme programming also addresses a range of indigenous cultures, histories, and current issues, and engages all students regardless of their backgrounds or familiarity with the theme. Residents also volunteer at the annual Stanford Powwow organized by the Stanford American Indian Organization (SAIO) and Hui o Nā Moku’s annual marquee event. 

Resident Fellows

Michael (Yuman/Quechan descent) and Julie Wilcox have been a part of the Stanford and Native American Community since 2001. We were both raised in San Mateo County and graduated from UC Santa Barbara with degrees in Anthropology and Environmental Studies. Julie received her engineering degree from Northeastern University and Mike finished his PhD at Harvard in 2001. We are both dedicated to educating the public about Indigenous histories, traditional ecological knowledge and returning land to Indigenous Peoples in California, New Mexico and Hawaii. Julie and Mike run an environmental/Indigenous archaeology field program on the Hamakua Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii. 

We have served as mentors and educators since 2003 when we established Murray House as the Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity Theme dorm. Prior to this, we were Resident Tutors at Harvard from 1998-2001. Our children Hannah (24) and Joslin (22) and Kian (16) were raised in the dorms at Stanford. Hannah is a Special Education tutor at Addison Elementary School and Joslin is an EMT in San Mateo County. Kian is an avid botanist and gardener.

Julie is currently a Senior Solutions Engineer for Enablon Software, focusing on ESG solutions. Julie enjoys creating welcoming spaces for gatherings with family and friends, attending and participating in sporting events, especially tennis-related, traveling, reading historical fiction, and snorkeling. You will likely see around campus walking the fluffy family dog, Bambina.

Mike was hired as an assistant professor in Anthropology in 2001 and moved to Native American Studies in 2016. Mike is also a lecturer for The Doerr School/Woods Institute Hawaii Field Program. We are active and vocal proponents of social and environmental justice and Mike serves as the University Tribal Liaison with the President’s Office and have been working with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe in the areas of public education and environmental stewardship. Michael works closely with the Tribe as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and helped the tribe found a land trust (The Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation) in 2020. Currently, Michael is working with Native Students and The Muwekma Tribe to establish the Muwekma Ohlone Native Plants garden at the dish. The garden provides a space for Native Peoples to conduct experiments in ecological restoration and TEK and will be hosting K-12 and college students from the area who are interested in the Indigenous history of the Bay. 

Mike has received several teaching and mentorship awards at Stanford and has written extensively about Indigenous archaeology, decolonization and the history of Indigenous rebellions in New Mexico, Yuma, and the San Francisco Bay Area.  His recent books include The Pueblo Revolt and the Mythology of Conquest (2010), Rethinking Colonial Pasts through Archaeology (2015). His current book project is a history of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. We are very excited to be joining the ResEd community!