The Kenneth Robert Lincoln Indigenous Environmental Projects Fund
The Kenneth Robert Lincoln Indigenous Environmental Projects Fund, launched in 2026, helps students transform ideas at the intersection of Indigenous studies and environmental action into projects with community impact.
The Kenneth Robert Lincoln Indigenous Environmental Projects Fund grants are available to students enrolled in the Environmental Leadership Incubator (ELI). The Fund, developed in partnership with American Indian and Indigenous Studies at UCSB, honors Kenneth Robert Lincoln, a scholar and professor whose career helped advance the study of Native American literature and American Indian studies.
The Fund was established with generous support from Caprock, a donor-advised fund at Tides Foundation, to advance student-led projects at the intersection of Indigenous studies and environmental action.
Students interested in developing a project at the intersection of Indigenous studies and environmental action are encouraged to apply to ELI with their project idea. Students admitted to the program will receive information during the fall class about applying for up to $1,000 in project support through the Kenneth Robert Lincoln Indigenous Environmental Projects Fund.
ELI students are also able to apply for funding from other UCSB funding opportunities, such as the Coastal Fund, The Green Initiative Fund and Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities, which are not specifically dedicated to Indigenous environmental studies or initiatives.
Kenneth Robert Lincoln
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff
Lincoln grew up in Alliance, Nebraska, near Pine Ridge and Wounded Knee. As a young adult, he was adopted into the Oglala Sioux by the Mark Monroe family and received the Lakota name Mato Yamni.
Lincoln taught Native American literature and contemporary American literature at UCLA during a career spanning more than four decades. He helped develop the university’s American Indian Studies curriculum, chaired the nation’s first interdisciplinary master’s program in American Indian Studies and published widely on Native American literature.
His books included “Native American Renaissance,” “The Good Red Road: Passages into Native America” and “Indi’n Humor: Bicultural Play in Native America,” among others. He also edited nine titles in the UCLA Native American Poetry Series. Lincoln died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2024.
Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Lincoln’s daughter, is a UC Santa Barbara alumna, writer and climate communicator who has lectured and mentored through CUEL and ELI.
“Growing up, I watched my father work to amplify Indigenous voices and challenge people to think differently about our relationship with the natural world,” Lincoln Sarnoff said. “As a UCSB alumna, I can't imagine a more meaningful way to honor him than by investing in young people whose ideas have the potential to strengthen both communities and the environment.”