For the fourth consecutive year, and marking three decades since the City of Berkeley hosted the first Indigenous Peoples Day celebration, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed this October 10 as Indigenous Peoples Day in California.
"Today we honor and celebrate the perseverance, rich diversity and contributions of all indigenous peoples, from the first peoples of this place to those from around the world who now call California home," the governor said in the proclamation.
Newsom detailed that at a time when many seek to exploit differences, "California understands that our diversity has long been our greatest strength."
He also emphasized that the first peoples of this place descend from one of the largest and most diverse populations of native peoples in the nation, who, despite all adversities, have persisted in the face of successive waves of newcomers, sometimes hostile, seeking to extract, displace and destroy, and sometimes hopeful, seeking a better future for their children.
"Since then, California has welcomed indigenous peoples from all over, all of whom we now call fellow Californians," he stressed.
"Today we celebrate not only the survival, but also the tenacity of indigenous peoples to succeed despite deep-rooted historical, institutional and cultural barriers."
Newsom recalled that, just this year, a Wailaki citizen of the Round Valley Indian Tribes became the first Native American woman in space, as Native Californians reclaim their right to manage coastal lands under a program pioneered in the nation in partnership with the state.
He also said that offensive place names have also been removed throughout the state, the reintroduction of the California condor to Yurok lands, and the restoration of native lands and foods to indigenous peoples throughout California.
"As indigenous peoples gather today on Alcatraz to commemorate the Native American rights movement's occupation of the island, we stand in solidarity with and support Native and indigenous-led movements toward balance, reciprocity and respect, understanding that these changes will require a re-evaluation and renewal of our collective values," he said.
On the other hand, he explained that we live in times of massive change and existential threats, as climatic, cultural and capital changes "demand welcoming one another with open hearts and minds, stripping ourselves of the colonial thinking that allows us to dehumanize and degrade ourselves all too often in the pursuit of personal well-being."
Finally, Newsom noted that California rejects the celebration of the conquest of the lands we now call the Americas, and instead called on Californians to reflect on and celebrate the resilience and tenacity of indigenous peoples everywhere.
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