The Genocide, Oppression, Resilience, and Sovereignty
of the First Peoples of California
November 21-24, 2019
Definition of Genocide. According to the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines the term “genocide” denotes any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such
- Killing members of the group
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
- Deliberately inflicting on the group the conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Four days of presentations, music, documentary films, and political action sessions offer attendees a chance to enhance knowledge of the California genocide and Indigenous peoples’ history. Engage with others who want to learn more about these topics and come away with new understanding. Come together with the community to share ideas for resolutions that will be sent to state officials at the end of the conference.
Can't make the conference in person?
Watch events live from the web on Fri, Nov 21 - Sun Nov 24.
Purpose
To contribute to the truth-telling against false narrative about Indigenous nations and peoples, and to further the processes of healing ongoing historical, cultural, and intergenerational trauma; we will raise awareness about the genocide and the continued oppression of California’s Indigenous peoples, while celebrating resilience and survivance.
Vision
We envision a world wherein all peoples are respected fully and the wrongs of colonial oppression are acknowledged and rectified.
Dr. Anthony R. Pico
Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Nation
Honorable Chairman Dr. Harry Paul Cuero, Jr.
Campo Band of Kumeyaay Nation
Dr. James V. Fenelon
Lakota/Dakota
Ms. Tamara Starblanket, LLM, LLB
Nehiyaw iskwew (Cree Woman) from Ahtahkakoop First Nation in Treaty Six Territory
Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy
Hupa/Yurok/Karuk
Dr. Benjamin Madley
UCLA
Mr. Steven Newcomb
Shawnee/Lenape
Honorable Judge Abby Abinanti
Yurok
Dr. Jeffrey Ostler
University of Oregon
Honorable Chairwoman Erica Pinto
Jamul Indian Village
Dr. Debra Harry
Paiute
Dr. Juana Majel-Dixon
Traditional Tribal Leader/Activist
Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians
Honorable Judge Claudette White
Fort Yuma Quechan [Kwatsan] Indian Tribe
Dr. Henry Quintero
ASU, Apache, Mexican
Mr. Kenneth G. White, Jr., MSW
Dine of Navajo Nation
Christina Snider
Tribal Advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Executive Secretary of the Native American
Heritage Commission
Healing practitioners will be available:
Friday, November 22 (10:00 am-4:00 pm) in the Center for Intercultural Relations (Student Union, Suite 250)
Saturday, November 23 and Sunday, November 24 (all day) in Arts and Letters, room 102.
All healing practitioners are volunteers who wish to be of service to conference attendees who may feel the need for physical, emotional, and spiritual support. Offerings include cultural/traditional Native healing, energy healing, Reiki, herbal tea, and other modalities.
Healers will also facilitate traditional Talking/Healing Circle Saturday 9:30-1:30.
The Cultural & Holistic Practitioners Team:
- Antone LaBrake, Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Nation, Cultural Healing/Smudging
- Julie LaBrake, Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Nation, Massage Therapy
- Vera Tucker, Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Nation, Cultural & Energy Healing
- Grace Sesma, Kumiai/Yaqui Descent, Cultural Healing
- Patricia Aguayo, Chicana, Support
- Olympia Beltran, RN, Yaqui and Chichimeca, Cultural Healing
- Michelle Castillo, Acjachemen Nation, Cultural Healing, Reiki
- Lydia Fitch, Chicana, Reiki, Support
- Steven Garcia, Tongva/Apache/Yaqui, Cultural Healing
- Veronica Gohlke, Chicana/Purepecha, Herbalist, Teas
- Celina Jacques, LMFT, Chicana of Nahua Descent, Cultural Healing, Art Therapy
- Emilia Jara, Chicana of Nahua Descent, Cultural Healing
- Kathy Willcuts, Lakota, Cultural Healing, Reiki, Crystal healing
Can't make the conference in person?
Watch events live from the web on Fri, Nov 21 - Sun Nov 24.
Download the Program of Events + Maps (last update 11-21 at 8am)
Indigenous Film Festival & Music
LOCATION: CONRAD PREBYS STUDENT UNION THEATER
8:30-9:30 am
Native America Documentary
9:30-11am
The Doctrine of Discovery Documentary and Discussion
Steven Newcomb (Shawnee/Lenape)
11 am-12:30 pm
Gold, Greed, and Genocide Documentary and Discussion
Monique Sonoquie and the International Indian Treaty Conference
12:30-1:15 pm
Lunch Break (dining options are available on campus)
1:15-2 pm
Native Veterans and Genocide Studies:
Mr. Chag Lowry, (Maidu/Yurok/Achumawi) Graphic Novelist, Director Sycuan Intertribal
Vocational Rehabilitation
2-3:30 pm
Tribal Justice Documentary
3:30-4:30 pm
Panel Discussion:
Honorable Judge Abby Abinanti (Yurok Tribe) and Honorable Judge Claudette White (Fort
Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe)
4:30-5 pm
Honoring Mr. Joe Renteria (Cherokee Nation)
Honoring of Dr. Gwendalle Cooper (Cherokee Nation) Professor Emeritus SDSU American Indian Studies
5-6 pm
Dinner Break (dining options are available on campus)
6-7:30 pm
Native Theater and Discussion
“Undamming History” Through Performance: How an Inter-Tribal Partnership’s Theatrical
Production Promotes Truth and Reconciliation in Rural Northern California
Marc Dadigan, Facilitator
Jack Potter, Chairman (Redding Rancheria) co-writer and performer
Kenwa Kravitz (Wintu/Pit River Tribe) co-writer and performer
Barbara Wolfin (llmawi of the Pit River Nation) performer
8-10 pm
Native Musical Performance
Blest One, Marlon D. White (Diné Nation)
Tracy Lee Nelson (La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians)
Conference Opening
Dawn lighting of sacred fire and prayer in tribute to ancestors | 6:20 am
LOCATION: SCRPPS COTTAGE
Opening Ceremonies | 8 -11 am
LOCATION: CONRAD PREBYS STUDENT UNION THEATER
Master of Ceremonies: Honorable Chairwoman Erica Pinto (Jamul Indian Village)
8-9 am
- Opening Blessing by Honored Elder Virginia Christman (Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Nation)
- Prayer with tobacco
- Birdsongs and dancing
- Explanation of the 5:27 moment of silence
- 5:27 minutes — a collective moment of silence across the university
- Burning sage (on the podium, etc.)
- Honoring veterans through the prayer staff
9-10:30 am
Honored Keynote Speaker: Dr. Anthony R. Pico (Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Nation)
10:30-11 am
Land Acknowledgement read by Raini Tesam-Reading (Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Nation)
11-11:45 am
Honored Speaker: Christina Snider (Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians) Tribal Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom and Executive Secretary of the Native American Heritage Commission
11:45 am-12:15 pm
Lunch Break (campus dining options are available)
12:15-1:15 pm
The Free and Independent Existence of the First Peoples in California Before Invasion
Professor Ethan Banegas (Kumeyaay, Barona Band of Mission Indians)
1:15-2:15 pm
The Doctrine of Discovery and the Code of Domination
Honored Speaker: Mr. Steven Newcomb (Shawnee/Lenape)
2:15-2:45 pm
Indigenous Poetry
Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo) Red Ink Journal, Regents Professor Emeritus
2:45-3:45 pm
Native Glory from Pre-contact to the 21st Century
Honored Speaker: Dr. James V. Fenelon (Dakota/Standing Rock)
Panel: Joseph Giovannetti (Tolowa Dee-ni'), Gregg Castro (Ohlone/Salinan), Julia Bogany (Tongva), Matt Leivas (Chemehuevi), Luke Madrigal (Cahuilla Band of Indians)
Commentary: Dr. Renda Dionne-Madrigal (Chippewa/Turtle Mountain)
4-5 pm
Ninis'a:n-na-ng'a'/ The World- came to be lying there again, the World assumed its
present position: California Indian History, Genocide and Native Women
Honored Speaker: Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy (Hupa/Yurok/Karuk)
Location: Arts & Letters, room 201 (overflow rooms available in Storm Hall West (SHW) 11 and 12)
5-6:15 pm
An American Genocide: The California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873
Honored Speaker: Dr. Benjamin Madley (UCLA)
Location: Arts & Letters, room 201 (overflow rooms available in Storm Hall West (SHW) 11 and 12)
6:15-6:45 pm
Dinner Reception
Indigenous Healing Prayer by Shawna Newcomb (Shawnee, Lanape, Azteca)
6:45-7:30 pm
Honored Speaker: Chairman Valentin Lopez (Amah Mutsun)
Location: Arts & Letters, room 201 (overflow rooms available in Storm Hall West (SHW) 11 and 12)
8-10 pm
Contemporary Native Theater
Isabella Madrigal (Cahuilla Band of Indians)
Location: Conrad Prebys Student Union Theater
Plenary and Concurrent Sessions
LOCATION: ARTS & LETTERS BUILDING, room 201
(overflow rooms available in Storm Hall West (SHW) 11 and 12)
Master of Ceremonies: Honorable Chairwoman Erica Pinto, (Jamul Indian Village)
8-9 am
Honored Speaker: Dr. Stanley Rodriquez (Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel)
9-9:15 am
Expression
Chris Medellin-Lopez, Assistant Director for the Native Resource Center, SDSU
Concurrent sessions 9 am - 1:30 pm
LOCATION: SCRPPS COTTAGETrauma from a Practitioners Perspective
Grace Sesma (Kumiai/Yaqui descent)
Presentation to be followed by:
Talking/Healing Circle facilitated by Grace Sesma (Kumiai/Yaqui descent) in collaboration with Vera Tucker, (Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Nation), Michelle Castillo (Acjachemen), Emilia Jara (Chicana of Nahua descent), Celina Jacques (Chicana of Nahua descent), Lydia Fitch (Chicana), Veronica Gohlke (Chicana/Purepecha)
9:15-10:15 am
Surviving Genocide: Native Nations and the United States from the American Revolution
to Bleeding Kansas
Honored Speaker: Dr. Jeffrey Ostler
10:15-10:30 am
Indigenous Healing Flute Music and Eagle Dance
Steven Garcia (Tongva, Yaqui, Mescalero Apache, adopted Lakota)
10:30-11:30 pm
Resisting the Myths of Discovery and Erasure of Genocide
Honored Speaker: Dr. Debra Harry (Paiute)
11:30-11:45 am
Indigenous Storytelling
Ami Admire (Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians) and Rincon Youth Storytellers
11:45 am-12:15 pm
Lunch (dining options are available near campus)
12:15-1:15 pm
Genocide: Indigenous Nations and the State
Honored Speaker: Tamara Starblanket, LLM, LLB, (Nehiyaw iskwew [Cree Woman] from Ahtahkakoop First Nation in Treaty Six Territory)
1:15-2:15 pm
VAWA, Resiliency, and Empowerment
Honored Speaker: Dr. Juana Majel-Dixon (Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians) Traditional
Tribal Leader, Activist, Educator
2:15 -3:15 pm
MMIW Panel Discussion
Honorable Judge Claudette White (Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe) San Manuel Tribal Court Justice
Paula Julian, Senior Policy Specialist, National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
Concurrent Sessions on the Mission System 3:15-4 pm
Reevaluating Junipero Serra’s Canonization: Inverted Meaning, Modern Myth, and Human
Rights Violation
Dr. Grzegorz Welizarowicz
Location: Storm Hall West, room 12
The Branding of Genocide, the California Mission System, and Dispelling the Spanish
Fantasy Heritage
Mr. Ozzie Monge (Tohono O’odham)
Location: Storm Hall West, room 11
Fausta and Sarafina: Indigenous Women and the Preservation of Power
Martin Rizzo
Location: Arts & Letters, room 201
4-5 pm
Panel Session on Boarding Schools and the Contemporary Understandings and Oppressions
of Native School Children
From Boarding Schools to Suspension Boards: Suspensions of Native American Students
in California Public Schools
Jesus Valle (Carrizo/Yaqui/Isleta/Apache) , Professor of English and Director of the Native American Resource Center, American River College
Vanessa Esquivido (Nor Rel Muk Wintu), Visiting Assistant Professor of Multicultural and Gender Studies, Chico State University
Marc Dadigan - Ph.D. student in Native American Studies, University of California
Davis
Luke Wood, Chief Diversity Officer, San Diego State University
Ami Admire (Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians) Native Connections Coordinator Indian Health Council, Inc. Rincon Storytellers Youth Coordinator
5-6 pm
Addressing Genocide by Creating an Indigenous Holisitc Healing Model-Warrior Spirit
Mr. Kenneth G. White, Jr., MSW (Diné Nation)
6-7 pm
Dinner Break (dinner not provided, dining options are available near campus)
7-9 pm
Native Theater Performance
Lying With Badgers, Randy Reinholz (Choctaw)
Youth Day, Plenary and Concurrent Sessions
LOCATION: SDSU ARTS & LETTERS BUILDING
Master of Ceremonies: John Eagle Spirit Elliott
8:30-9 am
Blessing and Healing
Mr. Kenneth G. White, Jr. MSW (Diné Nation)
Founding partner of Calling upon the Warrior Spirit to Heal Historical Trauma Conference and Ceremony
Youth Bird Singers
Jake and Dakota Jacome (Kumeyaay, Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians)
9-9:30 am
In The Life of Indigenous Ninja Warriors
Abram Benally (Diné Nation)
Concurrent Cultural Activities
LOCATION: SCRPPS COTTAGE
(unless noted)
9:30-4 pm
Native Warrior Youth Challenge Obstacle Course
Cultural Activities
Ana Gloria “Martha” Rodriquez (Kumiai of Mat Pehaw)
9:30-10:15 am
Youth Empowerment Panel
NASA, ISWA and Youth Matter
Location: Arts & Letters, room 201
10:30 am-12:30 pm
Medicine Bag-making
Ivan Sam (Diné Nation)
Basket-making, Soapstone-sanding, Yucca Fiber-making, Arrowhead-making
Ms. Jacque Tahuka-Nunez, (Juaneno Band of Mission Indians of the Acjachem Nation)
10:15-11:15 am
Panel Session on Child Welfare and ICWA: Healing Our Children, Families, and Communities:
Linda Ruis, Tribal Social Worker (Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel), Gina Sutton, Southern
Indian Health Council (Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel), Mica Llerandi, Esq., Staff Attorney,
California Indian Legal Services (Dine of Navajo Nation), Shurene Premo, SDSU MSW
Title IV-E Student (Shoshone Paiute), Whitney Baugher, SDSU MSW Title IV-E Candidate
(Cahuilla Band of Indians), Tamara Strohauer, MSW, ASW, SDSU School of Social Work,
SERVE Indigenous Social Workers for Change Project Coordinator
11:30 am-12:30 pm
Panel Session on Native Language Restoration and Native Stories
Doña Yolanda Meza (Nejí/Kumiai) - Tipai Speaker
Dr. Margaret Field, SDSU American Indian Studies
12:15-1 pm
Lunch Break (campus dining options are available)
1-2:30 pm
Joint Sessions Panel on Land Relationships & Retelling of
California Indian Histories
Professor Michael Connelly Miskwish (Campo Band of Kumeyaay Nation)
Dr. Henry Quintero, (Apache/Mexican), ASU, Red Ink Journal
Professor William Madrigal (Cahuilla Band of Indians) UC Riverside
2:30-3:15 pm
The Possibility of Compensatory and Non-Compensatory Reparations in the Context of
the California Genocide
Dr. J. Angelo Corlett
3:15-4 pm
Political Action Session
4-5 pm
Tribal Chairwomen Leadership: Indigenous Women Continuing the Protection and Safety of our Tribal Communities
Honorable Chairwoman Erica Pinto (Jamul Indian Village)
Honorable Vice-Chairwoman Wendy Schlater (La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians)
5-6 pm
Closing Ceremonies
- Presentation of Conference Resolutions
- SDSU Senate Resolution — Kumeyaay flag to be flown at SDSU
- Closing Flag Ceremony
- Closing Prayer Honored Traditional Leader Dixon
Closing Prayer by Dr. Juana Majel-Dixon (Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians) Traditional Tribal Leader, Activist, Educator
Free SDSU Campus Parking
For campus maps, please visit:
PRINTABLE MAP | INTERACTIVE MAP
Thursday, Nov. 21 & Friday, Nov. 22
Park in parking structure PK 3, level 6 only.
Note: please do not park in SP (Special Permit) spaces.
Free parking may be limited. Other parking is available, but you must purchase a permit. See SDSU Parking website for more information.
Driving Directions to SDSU
From Interstate 8, exit at College Avenue and go south. San Diego State University
will be on your right. Continue on College Avenue South through the Canyon Crest Drive/Alvarado
Road stop light. Cross under two pedestrian bridges and turn left at your first opportunity.
Parking 3 (PK 3) will be directly in front of you.
Find custom driving directions to SDSU Campus Parking—PK 3 with Google Maps.
Walking Directions from PK 3 to Conrad Prebys Student Union
After you park in PK 3, exit the parking structure and walk west toward the residence
halls and the large arched bridge. Cross the bridge and walk through the courtyard
of the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union.
Saturday, Nov. 23 and Sunday, Nov, 24
Park in parking structure PK 12, all levels.
Note: please do not park in SP (Special Permit) spaces.
Driving Directions to SDSU
From Interstate 8, exit at College Avenue and go south.
If you are traveling East on I-8 exit and remain in the extreme right hand lane and immediately turn right onto Canyon Crest Drive.
If you are traveling West on I-8 after you exit remain in left lane to traffic light then turn left but move into right most lane and turn right onto Canyon Crest Drive.
Follow Canyon Crest going west (you are parallel to I-8) going around two corners and up the hill. When you reach the stop sign (at the top of the hill) turn right onto Aztec Circle Drive (there may not be a street sign). Turn right into the first Parking 12 (PK 12).
Find custom driving directions to SDSU Campus Parking—PK 12 with Google Maps.
Walking Directions from PK 12 to Arts and Letters Building
After you park in PK 12, walk to the elevators that are marked Main Campus and go
to the 4th floor, and look for the pedestrian bridge immediately outside the elevator
area. You will see the West Commons at the end of that bridge. Follow the walkway
around West Commons and go up the stairs. Proceed straight past Nasatir Hall (building
on your left) to the road. Turn left at the road and walk straight ahead to the building.
Accommodations
Viejas Casino and Resort
A block of 30 rooms has been set aside for the conference (November 21st-25th) at Viejas Casino and Resort.
Hurry and book now! You will have until October 21st to book their discounted guest rooms with the code 191121CGC. You can use this code both online at https://reservations.travelclick.com/109500?&adults=2#/datesofstay or by calling our reservation line at 619-445-5400.
Some Thoughts on the Genocide
by Steven Newcomb (Shawnee, Lenape), Indigenous Law Institute
Raphael Lemkin coined the word “genocide” in the early 1940’s. In his book Axis Rule, Lemkin wrote that genocide means:
a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves.
This is a perfect description of the process whereby the “civil world” set out to destroy the exis-tence of the original nations and peoples by means of the genocidal process called “civilization.”
In her book A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (2003), which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, Samantha Power elaborates on Lemkin’s explanation. That explanation accurately matches a description of U.S. federal Indian law and policy directed against Native nations:
The perpetrators of genocide would attempt to destroy the political and social institutions the culture, the language, national feelings, religion and economic existence of national groups. They would hope to eradicate the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and lives of individual members of the targeted group.
Power quotes Lemkin as follows:
Genocide has two phases: one, destruction of the national pattern of the oppressed group; the other, the imposition of the national pattern of the oppressor. This imposition, in turn, may be made upon the oppressed population which is allowed to remain, or upon the territory alone, after removal of the population and colonization of the area by the oppressor’s own nationals.
Power points out that a “group did not have to be physically exterminated to suffer genocide.” She continues:
They could be stripped of all cultural traces of their identity. “It takes centuries and sometimes thousands of years to create a natural culture,” wrote Lemkin, “but Genocide can destroy a culture instantly, like fire can destroy a building in an hour.
The 1948 “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” defines the term “genocide” as follows:
Any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such:
Article 1:
A. Killing members of the group;
B. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
C. Deliberately inflicting on the group the conditions of life calculated to bring
about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
Article 3:
The following acts shall be punishable:
A. Genocide;
B. Conspiracy to commit genocide;
C. Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
D. Attempt to commit genocide;
E. Complicity in genocide.
Power writes:
For a party to be found guilty of perpetrating this new crime of genocide, it had to (1) carry out one of the aforementioned acts, (2) with the intent to destroy all of part of (3) one of the groups protected. The law did not require the extermination of an entire group, only acts committed with the intent to destroy a substantial part. If the perpetrator did not target a national, ethnic, or religious group as such, then killings would constitute mass homicide, not genocide.
Contact Us
For more information, please contact: Mark Wheeler [email protected] or Tamara Strohauer [email protected]
Sponsored by the Southern California Warrior Spirit Team, regional tribal leaders
and community members, the Director of the SDSU Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs,
the SDSU President, professors in the SDSU departments of American Indian Studies,
Anthropology, Chicano/a Studies, the School of Social Work, the Sycuan Tribal Gaming
Institute, and the SDSU School of Theater, Television, and Film.