Protect Indigenous Sites! Interact with Amah Mutsun Tribal Chair!

Get Inolved! Learn how you can help protect 1000's of cultural, burial, and sacred sites in the region! Listen to and interact with the Tribal Chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band! Take an hour to learn about issues of concern to one of the most sidelined constituencies in the greater Bay Area--the local Indigenous population.

The San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area has experienced one of the most thorough genocides in human history. Colonialism exists here to the present day.

Topics covered will include:
--The Indigenous history of the region and the struggle to Speak Truth to misrepresentations of Mission and American history in the region
--The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band's efforts to promote Indigenous land stewardship and promote biodiversity
--The reintroduction of 'cultural burns' to combat potential catastrophic wildfires
--The ongoing effort to save Juristac, the most sacred Amah Mutsun ceremonial site
--How all local residents can use existing laws and advocacy to help protect Indigenous burial, cultural, and sacred sites (some notable examples will be given)

The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band consists of the descendants of those who were taken to Mission Santa Cruz and to Mission San Juan Bautista. Valentin Lopez is the current Tribal Chair. He is involved in numerous efforts of concern to the Indigenous populations of California. He has spoken at the United Nations.

Louis Chiaramonte organized the South Bay Indigenous Solidarity Group. He has been involved in advocating for burial, cultural, and sacred sites for many years. South Bay Indigenous Solidarity is a multi-ethnic group that supports Indigenous-led, grassroots efforts to promote human rights, restore Indigenous land stewardship and preserve threatened cultural, burial, and sacred sites.

Although this Talk will take place during the Guest Speaker section of a meeting of the Democratic Club or North Santa Cruz County, the views expressed in the presentation are those of the speakers themselves. South Bay Indigenous Solidarity seeks to act in solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area, but does not represent any Tribal Group. To that end, the sections of the presentation given by South Bay Indigenous Solidarity will be separated from those given by Tribal Chair Lopez. The Tribal Chair will be available for an interactive question and answer session.