Heritage & Health Series Program
Celebrating NAHM November 2024
Honor. Trust. Wisdom.
Newly Added Event Tuesday, Dec. 3
Muwekma Flag Raising Ceremony & Trail of Truth Panel
Noon2:00 p.m.
Starts at 1900 flagpole/continues in the Dining Hall
Join our 17勛圖 community and Muwekma Ohlone tribal representatives, including Chairwoman Charlene Nijmehwith, as we formally raise and permanently display the tribe's flag in front of Administration Building (1900).
Following the ceremony, food will be served in the Dining Hall, where we are honored to host and to hear from the tribe about their recent Trail of Truth across the country on horseback to seek Federal Recognition for their tribe.
This event is sponsored by the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, 17勛圖 Ethnic Studies and Anthropology departments, and Office of the President.
Questions? Please contact Simon Pennington at penningtonsimon@fhda.edu.
Please join us throughout November for events planned around Native American history and culture, with music, food and talks with Native American artists and educators.
Please view all our events listed here and mark your calendars for those that you can attend. We look forward to seeing you there!
Wednesday, Nov. 13
NAHM Opening Ceremony: Poster Exhibit Honoring the Land and Heritage
Noon1 p.m.
Dining Hall
Join us to kick off Native American Heritage Month with a powerful self-guided poster exhibit honoring the ancestral lands we stand on. This exhibit celebrates the resilience, history, and cultural heritage of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. Come honor the land, reflect on history, and engage with the rich heritage of the Native communities who have shaped the Bay Area.
Complimentary traditional food and beverages will be provided.
Monday, Nov. 18
Virtual Artist Talk with Zig Jackson
Noon1 p.m.
Zig Jackson, also known as Rising Buffalo, is of Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara descent and was raised on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. His primary education came from the U.S. Indian boarding school systems. He first picked up a camera while attending the Intermountain Indian School in Brigham City, Utah, then attended the University of New Mexico and taught photography at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Jackson went onto earn his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, and was the first Native American to receive a MFA in photography from the renowned institution. Jackson was awarded a Residency Fellowship at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California, a Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation Grant for excellence in the photographic arts, with a culminating exhibition, Entering Zigs Indian Reservation, at the American Indian Contemporary Arts center in San Francisco. He was awarded a National Millennium Survey Grant and was the first Native American photographer collected by the Library of Congress. He also is a recipient of the first Beaumont Newhall Award for Photographic Excellence from the New Mexico Humanities Council. Jackson is a retired professor emeritus of photography for the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia and continues exhibiting across the United States. www.zigjackson.com
Tuesday, Nov. 19
Native American Powwow Dance
Noon1 p.m.
Library Quad
Join us to learn about the Native American Powwow Dance its history, the purpose, the regalia and dance steps. American Indians and Alaskan Natives musicians, dancers, and members of the will lead us through this workshop, closing with an invitation for us to come together and participate in the dance.
Wednesday, Nov. 20
NAHM Speaker Justo Valenzuela
121 p.m.
BIPOC Center (Campus Center)
Join us on campus to hear from our keynote speaker Justo Valenzuela talk about Native American history, resources, and join us for a Smudging Ceremony where you will receive a cultural education around the importance of burning sage.
About Justo Valenzuela:
Justo Valenzuela, he is a ICWA Social Worker(Indian Child Welfare Act) for Santa Clara county, was the first to create that division for the county. He is also an active member of different Native American organizations and works closely with surrounding tribes.
Thursday, Nov. 21
Tote Your Truth: Art and Journaling for the Soul (as part of the Stress Less Fest hosted by the Mental Health & Wellness Center)
Noon1 p.m.
Library Quad
Embrace your individuality with creativity! Paint a tote bag that reflects your inner self and discover journaling as a powerful tool for mental health. Guided by a TBH therapist together, well share our journeys and create meaningful expressions of who we are. Tote your truth proudly!
Monday, Nov. 25
Virtual Talk with Carolyn Rodriguez
Indigenous Education: Honoring California Native Peoples
10 a.m. 11:30 a.m.
Join us for an informative talk. Being a member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band (AMTB), Carolyn Rodriguez will share her reflections on the Tribes reconnection to ancestral lands and efforts with cultural knowledge revitalization. She looks at revitalizing Indigenous teaching methods so youth can learn about cultural land stewardship and build caring relationships with all living things. As AMTB heals from historical trauma, the presentation will also highlight the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and their challenges with obtaining federal recognition. Focusing on both Tribes honors Indigenous connections and commitments to traditional homelands while considering how allyship is essential to addressing the issues California Native Peoples face today.
Tuesday, Nov. 26
Indian Health Center Services Presentation on Support Services
11 a.m.12 p.m.
BIPOC Center
Join us for this important session with a presentation highlighting the types of support provided by center to American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Local and general history of the communities along with different projects, goals, struggles addressed.
Wednesday, Nov. 27
Native American Heritage Day Celebration & NAHM Closing Ceremony
Noon1:30 p.m.
Dining Hall
Please join us as we welcome back Miguel Gonzalez, a Native American with much to share about the Indigenous culture. Miguel will be playing flutes and drums, sharing poetry, and offering insights into his culture.
Enjoy a special meal with your 17勛圖 friends as we honor Native American Heritage Day. This event is meant to bring light to the plight of the Indigenous People, while celebrating our union as friends from all walks of life in the modern age. We will have an acknowledgement of Native American roots and history, along with an understanding for the true practice of gratitude.
Complimentary food and beverages will be provided.
Art Installation: Roots of Resistance
Dining Hall All Month
Resistance against erasure is an essential and foundational element of Indigenous activism, community organizing, and Native artistic movements- from the development of literary movements, to fresh counter-narratives presented through television and film.
Native American people have long fought for self-determination, starting with countering inaccurate and dehumanizing stereotypes that permeate popular culture today, to demanding visibility on our academic and political platforms. It is important to recognize the existence of tribal nations today who have survived colonial violence and genocide and take note of the many ways Native people have been able to thrive despite this violent history of attempted erasure.
NAHM Planning Committee Members
Thank you to all our students, faculty and staff who helped plan our NAHM events this month.
- Ashley Rajaa
- Neomi Kyaw
- Adanna Ihenacho
- Dr. Tiffany Rideaux
- Catalina Rodriguez
- Judith Walgren
- Fatima Jinnah
- Hilda Fernandez
- Christopher Yang
- Ulysses Acevedo
- Victoria Strelnikova
Native American Heritage Library ResourcesVisit our for a list of books, articles, and websites on Native Americans in Californiawith an emphasis on Ohlone Indian heritage. |
Take ENGL 7: Native American LiteratureOffered Winter 2025, Fully Online, CRN 31599 Readings include traditional creation myths, songs, and stories from a variety of tribal cultures; nineteenth and twentieth century autobiographical narratives; and significant works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction prose by contemporary Native American authors. View ENGL 7 course description and outline for more details. |
Questions?
We're Here to Help!
Heritage Month Planning
650.949.7060
Campus Center, Room 2008
Past NAHM Events