The story of Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl (D-Q) University is rooted firmly in the land and peoples of California, but also in other Native nations and nationals who have recently relocated. There are many versions of where and how D-Q began. D-Q's articles of incorporation, which were based on the "brief proposal" of June and August 1970, state that one of the university's primary goals was "to develop, sponsor, and operate a university-level program of higher education and instruction, and to award appropriate certificates and degrees to students who benefit from said instruction." Originally, the university was to have four integrated colleges: Tiburcio Vasquez College, which would offer vocational training and house a two-year junior college program; Carlos Montezuma College, which would be a medical school; Deganawidah College (renamed Hehaka Sapa College), which would focus on Northern Native American studies; and Quetzalcoatl College, which would focus on Southern Native American and Chicano studies. By 1975, the goal was to have the school fully operational from pre-college to doctoral-level programming and courses, to be fully accredited, and to be fully funded. These goals were made part of the deed for the land agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and would meet many of the agreements of the deed. On July 6, 1971, D-Q University began offering classes. This article is about the origins of the university.