Dr. Dori Tunstall, faculty member of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) Extended Studies programs, refuses to use the word “chief,” claiming that it is offensive to Native Americans.
Tunstall is also head of her advocacy organization, Dori Tunstall Inc., which is “dedicated to decolonizing and diversifying institutional processes.” She refuses to use the term “chief executive officer,” instead opting for “Lead Executive Officer” on her Instagram biography, where she invites others to “ask why we don’t say chief.”
When asked, Tunstall told Campus Reform that “[t]he term has received negative comments from Indigenous colleagues, so I used ‘lead’ instead.”
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However, according to Liberty University linguistics professor Dr. Jaeshil Kim: “The word chief comes from the Old French chef, meaning ‘leader’ or ‘head,’” and “[t]he term was applied to Native American leaders by European settlers, aligning with their existing use of the word for leaders in other societies.”
She concluded that the term “Chief Executive Officer” signifies “its original meaning of leadership and authority without direct reference to Native American cultures.”
Tunstall’s website features” DEI & Justice and Sustainability Statements” that explain how her organization is “constantly seeking to decolonize our own practices by putting indigenous first” and that “care for the environment is best achieved when we return the land back to Indigenous communities.”
The website also features a “land acknowledgment statement” at the bottom: “WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE ORIGINAL CUSTODIANS OF THE LANDS CALLED LOS ANGELES ON WHICH DORI TUNSTALL, INC. IS HEADQUARTERED: THE TONGVA, TATVIAM, SERRANO, KIZH, AND CHUMASH PEOPLES.”
Dr Tunstall also partners with CalArts Extended Studies to lead various online courses, such as “Creative Explorations of Whiteness without White Supremacy,” “Hiring for Decolonization and Cultural Justice in the Creative Industries,” and “Business Transformation for Cultural Appreciation, Not Appropriation.”
On Jan. 29, she released a video on her personal Instagram account describing how she would be postponing her course on “Hiring for Decolonization and Cultural Justice in the Creative Industries” and offering instead a “special session” of “Creative Explorations of Whiteness without White Supremacy” beginning Feb. 6. She announced her decision was made “in response to the President Trump Administration [sic] actions Jan 20-24th,” specifically referencing Trump’s anti-DEI campaign and deportation of illegal aliens, among other things.
In addition to teaching online courses, she is available for paid speaking events that utilize “principles of equity […] so that organizations who might not afford Dori Tunstall’s ‘market rates’ might be subsidized by wealthier organizations.”
For example, a “For-Profit over $1 million in annual revenue” might pay between $27,500- $50,000 as well as travel and expenses, whereas a “[g]rassroots organization or favored education institution” might pay only $2,000-$5,000 plus travel and expenses.
Dr. Tunstall is also the author of “Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook,” which is a “guidebook to the institutional transformation of design theory and practice by restoring the long-excluded cultures of Indigenous, Black, and People of Color communities.”
Campus Reform has reached out to CalArts for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
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