The Governor Gavin Newsom declared this November as Native American Heritage Month, seeking to have California honor and uplift the enduring perseverance, diverse cultures and excellence of all the people who first called this state and nation home.
In his statement, the California governor acknowledged the tenacity of Native communities in the face of adversity throughout the state’s history, while reflecting on the progress made in healing, growth and a shared future.
“Over the past four years, the leadership and advocacy of Indigenous people working in partnership with the state have forged progress to address long-standing injustices and create a California that embraces the stories, values and strengths of all people,” she said in her letter.
In it, she also acknowledged the enduring trauma of atrocities inflicted on California's indigenous people throughout history, for which, she said, the state has taken significant steps to tell the truth about the past and begin to heal deep wounds.
“We have taken the historic step of apologizing for this genocidal violence and mistreatment, established a Truth and Healing Council to continue the journey of reconciliation with our past, and worked with tribal nations to reevaluate systems and symbols of oppression and restore ancestral names and practices to important cultural sites across California,” she stressed.
Through policy, legislative, and budgetary actions, she said, work has been done to empower Native communities to lead culturally informed systems of care, work has begun to address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis, and California’s first Secretary of Tribal Affairs has been elevated to lead a newly established Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs.
“The unwavering strength and leadership of Native peoples lies at the heart of these milestones – a lifeline that has sustained tribal communities amidst existential threats of the past and perseveres through the tragic loss of irreplaceable leaders, culture bearers, elders and family members during the pandemic.”
During Native American Heritage Month, she called on people to honor the resilience of these remarkable Californians and to be proud of the strides made to support truth, visibility and justice for Native peoples.
According to IWGIA, a global human rights organization dedicated to promoting, protecting and defending the rights of indigenous peoples in the U.S., as of 2021, the number of indigenous people in the United States is estimated to be between 2.5 and 6 million, of whom about 20 percent live in American Indian areas or Alaska Native villages.
Indigenous peoples of the United States are more commonly referred to as Native groups. The state with the largest Native population is California; the place with the largest Native population is New York City.
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