Grants frozen again: How federal cuts hit Indigenous research at UC Berkeley

Last month, federal officials hit pause on at least 18 research grants at UC Berkeley, despite a judge just months ago telling them to stop canceling grants. One of those frozen was a $1. 4-million project at the Lawrence Hall of Science that trains Ohlone youth to build mixed-reality exhibits about Indigenous knowledge of nature. The National Science Foundation sent an email saying it had “foreign funding” concerns, yet never showed proof of any outside money reaching the project. Jedda Foreman, who leads the effort, said her team hasn’t taken a dime from abroad and is now staring at a court deadline for an exhibit opening this weekend. Under Trump, the National Science Foundation has become a moving target. It canceled nearly 2, 000 grants nationwide, many focused on diversity and inclusion, and now takes months to release new awards. In April, the administration fired the agency’s entire 22-person science board and wants to chop its budget in half by 2027. California’s flagship university system, which pulled in $525 million from the NSF this year, is scrambling for backup plans.After a judge blocked the agency from revoking funds with form letters or anti-DEI orders, UC researchers thought the worst was over. Then the NSF froze more grants anyway. UC Berkeley is now asking a judge whether this latest freeze breaks the court order. Claudia Polsky, the lawyer handling the case, calls it “a backdoor cancellation” and worries the administration is testing how far it can push the limits. Meanwhile, UC is racing to the state Capitol. University leaders are pushing a $23-billion bond measure that could appear on the November ballot. If voters approve, the money would fund wildfire research, pandemic prep, and new medicines, with profits shared back to California. UC President James Milliken framed the move as necessary because federal support is “unreliable. ” UC isn’t waiting for Washington. Provost Katherine Newman recently met with top British universities to explore partnerships on climate change, clean energy, and public health—areas already under federal funding pressure. The message is clear: if the feds keep pulling the rug, California will try to build its own safety net.