Ken Shoji | San Manuel Band of Mission Indians | (909) 864-8933 | kenneth.Shoji@SanManuel-NSN.Gov
Cindra Weber | San Bernardino City Schools | (909) 473-2076 | cindra.weber@sbcusd.k12.ca.us
Tamara Holder | CSUSB Santos Manuel Student Union | (909) 537-3454 | tholder@csusb.edu
Carlos "Two Bears" Gonzales | CSUSB First Peoples' Center Coordinator | (909) 537-3502 | Carlos.gonzales@csusb.edu
Cal State San Bernardino and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians invite the university and surrounding community to celebrate California Indian culture, heritage and family during California Native American Day Friday, Sept. 27, from 6 to 9 p.m., next to the CSUSB Alumni Center.
California Native American Day is a day to honor California’s indigenous people, an opportunity to learn about Native American culture and a time for people of all cultures to reflect on and remember their traditions.
The celebration will feature traditional Northern California brush dancers, Southern California bird singers, a traditional Native American theater company performance featuring all-ages dance groups from Central and Northern California, food and demonstrations of traditional life ways and knowledge.
Free parking will be available in Lot D. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
On Monday, Sept. 23, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians partners with CSUSB to host a gathering of local dignitaries, elected officials and education leaders to discuss the impact of curriculum and legislation centered around bringing greater recognition to the unique identities and issues that define the state’s First Peoples.
From Sept. 23-27 the university will be the venue for the annual California Indian Cultural Awareness Conference Student Field Trips. During the week-long field trip, 1,500 local students from San Bernardino and Riverside counties will visit CSUSB to learn firsthand from tribal members, elders, historians and academics about the culture, traditions and experience of Southern California’s Native American Tribes.
“California designated the fourth Friday of September in 1998 as California Native American Day to dismantle the misconceptions about California Indians,” according to the California Native American Day website. “Previously, students were led to believe California history began with the arrival of the first explorers and lacked a fundamental understanding of Native American’s existing society. Native populations across the country were seen as primitive and were too often associated with stereotypes like teepees and drums.
“Education in K-12 schools and community colleges has since evolved to entail the extensive history of the many tribal groups in California,” the website states. “We now have programs and conferences each year on California Native American Day to continue educating our communities.”
For more information on California Native American Day, contact Kenneth Shoji at (909) 754-0298 or email kshoji@sanmanuel-nsn.gov and visit the California Native American Day website.
For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Marketing and Communications at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.
About the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is a federally-recognized Indian tribe located on the San Manuel Indian Reservation near Highland, Calif. San Manuel exercises its inherent sovereign right of self-governance and provides essential services for its citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services, and promoting social, economic and cultural development. As the Indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys, mountains and high deserts, the Serrano people of San Manuel have called this area home since time immemorial and are committed to remaining a productive partner in the San Bernardino region. For more information, visit the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians website. 