The Rupert Costo Library of the American Indian is a testament to the advocacy, expertise and legacy of its founders.

Rupert Costo (Cahuilla) and his wife Jeannette Henry-Costo (Eastern Cherokee) have supported UCR since its founding, even helping advocate for a UC campus to be built in Riverside in the first place. They believed in the power of education, and fought for Native American students to have equal access to education throughout their lives. In addition to helping bring a UC campus to Riverside, the Costos co-founded the American Indian Historical Society in San Francisco, and helped organize the First Convocation of the American Indian Scholars, a pivotal moment in the development of the field of Native American Studies. Throughout their lives, the Costos have been on the forefront of expanding access and representation of Native peoples in higher education. This legacy is deeply embodied in all three aspects of the endowment they gifted to UCR: their personal book collection, which forms the Costo Library of the American Indian, as well as their archives and their vision for the Costo Chair in American Indian History (now Affairs).

This exhibit documents the history of the Rupert Costo Library of the American Indian, located on the 4th floor of the Tomás Rivera Library in Special Collections & University Archives. View this exhibit and learn more about the Costos, the American Indian Historical Society, and why the Costos chose UCR to house their materials.