In Memoriam: Nat Zappia (1974-2023)

The History Department mourns the loss of its beloved colleague Dr. Natale “Nat” Zappia, who died of brain cancer on April 27, 2023 at the age of 48. An environmental historian by training as well as a community leader and master gardener, Nat was Professor of History and Director of CSUN’s Institute of Sustainability where he encouraged students to think about new ways of producing food and to explore the codependent relationship between humans and nature. Nat had recently received a $1.3 million grant from the Swedish Government to research traditional ecological knowledge and survival practices among Indigenous communities around the globe including the California-based Chumash and Tataviam tribes. A graduate of Cornell University, the Claremont Graduate University, and UC Santa Cruz, Nat was the author of Traders and Raiders: The Indigenous World of the Colorado Basin, 1540-1859 (University of North Carolina Press, 2014) and Rez Metal: Inside the Navajo Heavy Metal Scene (University of Nebraska Press, 2020) as well as numerous articles. He will be missed.