National Native American Heritage Month

Published on November 13, 2023

At the Nov. 7 City Council meeting, Menlo Park Mayor Jen Wolosin recognized November 2023 as National Native American Heritage Month. This month and every month let us honor the resilience of Native Californians and take strides to support truth, visibility and justice for Native people in our local, state and national communities.

California is home to more people of Native American heritage than any other state in the country, with 109 federally recognized Indian tribes as well as several additional tribes petitioning for federal recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Ohlone, a band of distinct groups of indigenous people who spoke similar languages, thrived in the land now known as San Mateo County and other parts of the San Francisco Bay Area. Due to devastating policies and practices of European explorers and missionaries, settlers and various levels of government, the Ohlone lost the vast majority of their population and land. National Native American Heritage Month provides San Mateo County residents the opportunity to teach students about the Ohlone people, their role in the history of the county and the Bay Area, and their efforts to keep their culture alive. 
 
A special exhibition featuring the photographs of Dugan Aguilar, who captured contemporary Native life in California for four decades, is free to visit throughout November in our very own Menlo Park Library. 

Join us Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m. for a presentation with Robert Keith Collins, Ph.D on Native American Cultural Impact on the United States. 

We encourage our community to find time to acknowledge and express gratitude toward the original residents of the land on which we reside.