Source: Daily Breeze
An intertribal powwow took over the Cal State Dominguez Hills campus Saturday, April 18, with food, music and a traditional powwow ceremony. CSUDH has held this event for 15 years, honoring the Tongva-Gabrielino land the university sits on in Carson.
The Tongva people had villages throughout Southern California before the area was colonized, and the powwow welcomed all descendants of the Tongva-Gabrielino tribe and any other Indigenous people in the area.
“We are on Tongva land and the Tongva, like other indigenous communities across the United States and across the world, have faced centuries of oppression,” said CSUDH Native Gathering Event Coordinator Ambyr Hardy. “They have faced genocide, yet they persist; they’re resilient.”
The event attracted hundreds of attendees and lasted all day with Tongva singers, a Native music concert and a hoop dance. New this year, Hardy said, was a celebration for Indigenous students who are graduating this year.
“Our school sits on top of Tongva land,” Hardy said. “So people on campus, including faculty, the administration, the CSU system and also our Indigenous students and our community, really feel that it’s important to recognize we’re on Tongva land and work with the Tongva-Gabrielino community as well as the other tribal communities that call Southern California home.”
