Since November 1990 when former President George W. Bush approved a House Joint Resolution designating the month as “National American Indian Heritage Month," the U.S. annually sets aside every November to celebrate the cultural heritage of indigenous Native American tribes.

John Michael “Crazy Horse” Hernandez, member of the Native community, wears cultural attire in Lomita, California, on November 16, 2021. (Sarah Nachimson | The Corsair)

SMC student Xitlally Garcia, who is a member of the indigenous Zapotec tribe from the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, shared how she grew up immersed in the culture of her native heritage, specifically through food and language. Garcia believes that remembering the history of her tribe, and other native tribes, during Native American Heritage Month is important. “We were the first people to work this land and stuff before, you know, colonization, and it's something that can't be forgotten,” she said.

John Michael "Crazy Horse" Hernandez, father of SMC student Shawnee Hernandez, spoke about his own heritage as a Native from tribes such as the Apache and Navajo Tribes. He believes that natives in nearby Mexico, like Garcia, fit the label of Native American just as much as himself. " It's only the borderlines, what make who's who," he said.

Professor Bolleli explained that Native American tribes who long resided in now-California, including the Gabrieleno and Chumash tribes, chose to live as hunter-gathers due to the location’s natural resources. According to Bolelli, two events that drastically impacted those tribes were the creation of the mission system in the 1700s and the California gold rush in the 1800s. The 1700s Missions in now-California “were run essentially on slavery,” Bolelli said.

The latter event, the 1800s California gold rush, led to American settlers murdering many indigenous people in the area which is now California as stated by Professor Bolleli. “It's debatable, you know, when you can and cannot apply the term genocide,” he said. “What happens in California does, in the sense that there were state-waged campaigns to wipe out the tribes, the state was then refunded by the federal government.”

Bolleli then explained that the U.S. ignored the presence of California’s Native American tribes into the 20th century due to the state’s lucrative real estate. He pointed out that most large Native American reservations aren’t located on the U.S. west coast but in the country’s midwest.

Native American Heritage Month is important, Bolelli believes, because only approximately 1% of the U.S population is native and does not receive much awareness. He emphasized how those honoring Native American Heritage Month should acknowledge the vast variety of different cultures from many tribes who all fall under the umbrella “Native American” labels.

Hernandez shared a map of all the native tribes across the United States, Mexico, and Canada and he described it as where they resided before American colonization. He believes that the United States is not doing enough to truly celebrate Native American Heritage Month. "You know what, when they start celebrating us like everybody else, then maybe I'll start seeing something different," he said.

Bolleli offered the Chumash and the Gabrieleno associations as resources for anyone interested in learning more about today’s Native Americans in California

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