USC and Los Angeles celebrate Native American Heritage Month

Native American Heritage Month is a time to remember and appreciate the history of the indigenous people of the United States, and various organizations around the city and on campus plan events to highlight Native American culture.

In order to increase awareness, USC Student Affairs has planned several events throughout the month to commemorate the historical month. Events will include the 4th annual Pow Wow, a presentation on the “true story of Thanksgiving” and a presentation by award-winning Chef Pyet, who specializes in indigenous fusion cuisine.

Educating people about Native culture is essential in helping society move forward in support of indigenous tribes, said Jair Peltier, a PhD candidate studying tribal sovereignty and a cultural ambassador to the Native American Pasifika Student Lounge.

“For many years it’s been native [people] fighting alone because nobody’s listening. Nobody knows the history, nobody knows the realities,” Peltier said. “But by becoming more aware, by becoming more involved, then maybe we can actually overcome these historical atrocities and tragedies.”

Still, Peltier acknowledged that events celebrating Native Heritage at USC, a school which sits on land that belonged to the Gabrielino-Tongva people, are still fairly limited.

“We’ve been doing a lot of groundwork,” said Peltier. “We plan to have more events next summer, or next year, actually. But this year it’s really kind of the preliminary kind of time where we’re seeing if we can really get these things going and get them accomplished.”

Kaitlin Becenti, a sophomore majoring in journalism and a member of both the Navajo tribe and the Native American Student Assembly (NASA), also explained the difficulties of being away from home during Native American Heritage, and missing out on family celebrations.

“More of our traditions or culture takes place at home,” Becenti said, “which unfortunately I’m not home to do.”

However, one notable event meant to educate USC students is an event hosted by Emily Eid called “From Alcatraz to the BIA: Portraits of Modern Native American Leaders,” which hopes to combat the widespread “vanishing Indian” stereotype.

“The historical narrative has always been that Native people were here and then they weren’t here, and now… the United States is here,” Peltier said. “There hasn’t really been good education as far as indigenous rights and indigenous history.”

Anthony Morales, the tribal chairman and chief of Gabrielino-Tongva San Gabriel Band of Missions Indians, spoke to Annenberg Media about the Native American Heritage Month and its celebration in Los Angeles.

“It’s an honor because the Native American community is being recognized and there [are] events, especially here in L.A… recognizing Native Americans, not only my tribe—the tribe of Los Angeles—but other tribal nations that now make L.A. their residence, their home. It’s a show of honor that they recognize Native Americans and they designate the whole month of November as Native American month.”

Morales noted that other than USC’s celebration, L.A. city council member Mitch O’Farrell from the Wyandotte Nation hosts a celebration for Native American Heritage Month every year on the first Friday of November.

Morales also encouraged people to check out the Autry Museum of the American West, which often holds events celebrating Native American culture.

Beyond USC, community organizations are holding numerous events to honor and celebrate Native American Heritage month. The Los Angeles County Library is hosting numerous events such as an in-person art class in which you can learn about Yankton Dakota artist Mary Sully and create inspired artwork. The Glendale Central Library is hosting conversations with Native American history experts and authors David Heska Wanbli and Weiden Walter R. Echo-Hawk.

Just off campus, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles is recognizing this month by sharing stories from indigenous communities as part of their “Becoming Los Angeles” exhibition.

For more information about Native American Heritage Month events at USC, readers should check out its website.