Fred W. Schuster and Margaret C. Schuster Distinguished Visiting Lectureship in Literature — Carleton College, April 2026.

AFP National Philanthropy Day Outstanding Grantmaker Award, November 2024.

Asian American Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Heritage Month Honoree, May 2024.

EqualityCA Community Leadership Award, 2024.

Induction to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Los Angeles Equality Awards, Community Leadership Award, Los Angeles, October 2024.

Arts & Humanities Dean's Teaching Award, Sonoma State University.

Sonoma County Democratic Party Trowbridge Lifetime Achievement Award, February 2024.

University of Utah Award in the Environmental Humanities, September 2023.

San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus Visionary Award, April 2023.

Sonoma State University Distinguished Chair Emeritus Award, August 2022.

North Bay Business Journal's Pride Business Leadership Award, May 2021.

Heyday Lifetime Achievement Award, October 2020.

Independent Publisher Book Bronze Award for How a Mountain Was Made, April 2019.

North Bay Business Journal 2018 Community Philanthropy Awards, Santa Rosa, California, March 2018.

Certificate of Recognition for 2018 Sonoma County Conservation Action Dick Day Community Activist Award, June 2018.

Western Business Alliance LGBT Economic Summit, Honoring 2017 Fire Relief Efforts, San Francisco, California, March 2018.

Bay Area Theater Critics Award, Best Play, for Mission Indians, 2002.

Hugo Award for Best Documentary, American Passages, 2003.

California Independent Booksellers Award, Best Read, Fiction, Grand Avenue, 1997.

California Independent Booksellers, Best Reads Award, 1996.

Santa Fe Film Festival Award, Best Screenplay, and American Indian Film Festival Award, for Grand Avenue, 1996.

California Indian Writer of the Year, 15th Annual California Indian Conference, October 2000.

Award for Outstanding Service from California Indian Legal Services, September 25, 1998.

Humanitarian Award, Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, 1996.

"I Made a Difference Award", Sunday Best, Gray Foundation, Santa Rosa, California, September 2013.

"Working Class Hero Award", North Bay Labor Council, AFL-CIO, December 2012.

Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, Sonoma State University, June 2024.

Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, Stanford University, 1988–1989.

University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1989–1991.

Associate Director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center, 1991–1992.

Appointed to the MLA Committee on the Literatures and Languages of America, 1992.

Distinguished Alumnus Award, Santa Rosa Junior College.

Greg Sarris Scholarship Fund for Native American Students, Santa Rosa Junior College.