2024 SUNLAND-TUJUNGA INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

“Tongva women never left their ancestral land, they just became invisible. How do we make ourselves not invisible? This is the question I ask every day.”

Julia Bogany, Tongva Elder

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2024

11am-4pm

12400 Big Tujunga Canyon Road, Tujunga, CA 91042

How can we honor, celebrate, uplift, and learn from our Indigenous Peoples? How can we, collectively, nurture the healing of devastating wounds caused by centuries of colonialism, land and cultural loss, and the erasure/invisibility of Indigenous Peoples? Tuxuunga, the “Place of the Old Woman”, of the beautiful un-ceded land of the Tongva, once again commits to reaffirming Indigenous Peoples, their culture, contributions, relationship to the land, and visionary leadership.

The event is organized by ST Forward with special guidance from Indigenous Culture Bearer and Advisor Tina Orduno Calderon, and support from the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA).

This cultural, educational, and community-centered celebration will be organized and shaped by the following key values:

Respect for the land
A focus on reciprocity
Relational educational opportunities
Cultural diversity
Generative dialogue

Presenters and Workshop Facilitators

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TINA CALDERON

Tina Orduno Calderon is a Culture Bearer for her family; the descendants of Komiikranga of the Santa Monica mountains which is shared territory for the Chumash and Tongva. Tina is wife, mother, grandmother, sister and auntie to many.

Tina is a singer who also enjoys creative writing and composing poems and songs. To date she has composed over a dozen songs in her ancestral languages of Tongvé and Chumash.

Additionally, Tina is a traditional dancer and storyteller who strongly believes in honoring her ancestors by sharing their history, educating others about Indigenous truths and inspiring others to respect the land, waters, sacred elements and environment.

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TED AND DENNIS GARCIA

Ted Garcia Jr. and his younger brother Dennis Garcia

(Tataviam/Chumash/Serrano) teach about traditional lifeways through song and storytelling. Enrolled with the Fernandeño-Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, Ted and Dennis Garcia trace their ancestry to individuals who lived at Chaguayabit village (today’s Castaic Junction) and elsewhere in the greater Santa Clarita Valley, southern Antelope Valley and San Fernando Valley at the time of European contact in 1769 and for a thousand years before that.

Ted Garcia, a spiritual advisor to the annual Hart of the West Powwow at William S. Hart Park in Newhall, is also an accomplished stone carver. Dennis Garcia is a traditional native dancer who gives presentations at L.A. area schools, The Autry, Satwiwa Native American Indian Cultural Center in Newbury Park and elsewhere.

VIRGINIA CARMELO

Virginia Carmelo was born in Orange County, California. Her paternal side is Gabrielino/Tongva and Digueno/Kumeyaay tribes. Virginia received her B.A. from CSU, Fullerton, in Ethnic Studies. During that time, being influenced by and involved in the social movements of the sixties, she began dance studies that led her to study indigenous dance with two prominent masters in the Los Angeles area. Currently, they take part in preserving and sharing the Tongva culture. The family endeavors to revitalizeTongva tribal song, dance, and regalia.

Today, the group “Toveema” can be seen performing both ancient and modern tribal song and dance at many prominent venues throughout Southern California. They take pride in the making of all regalia and instruments, using natural indigenous materials.

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LAZARO ARVIZU

Lazaro Arvizu Jr. is an artist, educator, musician, and researcher dedicated to the culture of the first people of Los Angeles. Born in the Los Angeles Basin, he is knowledgeable of the landscape and cosmology of the Gabrieleno culture. He has worked for over 20 years facilitating creative and meaningful cultural experiences to people of all ages and walks of life, in many venues.

MEZTLI PROJECTS

Meztli Projects is an Indigenous based arts & culture collaborative centering Indigeneity into the creative practice of Los Angeles by using arts-based strategies to support, advocate for, and organize to highlight Native and Indigenous Artists and systems-impacted youth.

Meztli Projects operates out of Apachianga (East Los Angeles) in Tovaangar (Los Angeles County), lands stewarded since time immemorial by families and villages now known as the Acjachemen, Chumash, Tataviam and Tongva Tribal Nations.

CHRISTOPHER GARCIA

Christopher Garcia is a native of East Los Angeles, and a critically acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, improviser, composer, lecturer, and "musical polyglot", with concerts in 28 countries on 5 continents either on drumset, marimba, percussion of India or Indigenous breath, string, and percussion instruments of Mesoamerica.

In 1979 he received a full scholarship to the California Institute of the Arts but left after 18 months after receiving invitations to MAKE MUSIC in very different musical worlds.

An independent professional creative musician, he continues to compose, improvise, and lecture for a who's who in the world of music and provide for his FAMILIA, as he is also a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

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CHEF LOUIE

Raised in Boyle Heights, Chef Louie's journey is deeply rooted in his Navajo and Apache heritage. His grandmother (age 103) is a living repository of Navajo tradition and boarding school stories, and has been a guiding light in his life. Inspired by his grandmother's resilience, Chef Louie, along with his son, embarked on a culinary journey by attending culinary school. Through his passion for food, he keeps his family's heritage close to his heart. Despite never venturing beyond the borders of the United States, Louie is a champion for refugees and asylum seekers, understanding the displacement they face from their indigenous lands.

Chef Louie's journey is a testament to the power of heritage, family, and resilience. His story is one of cultural preservation, empathy, and using one's platform to make a positive impact on the world.

XIOMARA DURAN

Xiomara Durán works as a Community Forestry Coordinator for urban greening projects in the San Fernando Valley. She loves volunteering especially when it helps to address climate change and environmental justice. She is mixed with European and Pipil (El Salvador) heritage.

AZTLAN UNDERGROUND

Aztlan Underground is a fusion band from Los Angeles. Since the early 1990s, Aztlan Underground has played Rapcore. Indigenous drums, flutes, and rattles are commonplace in its musical compositions. This unique sound is the backdrop for the band's message of dignity for indigenous people, all of humanity, and Earth.

DYANN DOMINGUEZ

A proud member of the Chumash community, Dyann is also known as Wyann Womin, or Smuwič in her native language. Her ancestral villages are in Santa Barbara and Ventura. She is a member of the Chumash Cultural Collective, where she works with Indigenous sisters to preserve traditions and culture through Indigenous language, song, and dance. As a Certified California Naturalist and Climate Steward, she dedicates herself to protecting the land and water entrusted to by her ancestors, passionate about passing on Traditional Ecological knowledge to the next generation.

GERARDO BARRIENTOS

Mexican Immigrant, Artist, sculptor, ceramicist, muralist, wood carver, activist and community leader. In a journey from survival, to freedom, to make creative contributions.