On Nov. 1, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors formally recognized November as Native American Heritage Month.

Supervisors formally acknowledge what is now known as Los Angeles County as the Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Kizh and Chumash as well as the region’s American Indian and Alaska Native population, comprised of members from more than 200 tribes.

2022’s Native American Heritage Month theme is “Stronger Together.” The Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission selected the theme and recognized this year’s honorees.

Additional events are scheduled throughout the month in L.A. County for the community to learn and connect. To learn more, view the Stronger Together guide to find information about a Native American Vendor Directory and events including the National Native Americans Veterans Memorial and multiple Powwows.

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion adopting a formal land acknowledgment of the indigenous people of the county.

Effective on Dec. 1, 2022, Board meetings will open with the following Land Acknowledgment, to be verbally announced and displayed visually:

“The County of Los Angeles recognizes that we occupy land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Kizh and Chumash Peoples. We honor and pay respect to their elders and descendants — past, present, and emerging — as they continue their stewardship of these lands and waters. We acknowledge that settler colonization resulted in land seizure, disease, subjugation, slavery, relocation, broken promises, genocide and multigenerational trauma. This acknowledgment demonstrates our responsibility and commitment to truth, healing and reconciliation and to elevating the stories, culture, and community of the original inhabitants of Los Angeles County. We are grateful to have the opportunity to live and work on these ancestral lands. We are dedicated to growing and sustaining relationships with Native peoples and local tribal governments, including (in no particular order) the:

Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians

Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California Tribal Council

Gabrieleno/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians

Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians — Kizh Nation

San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

San Fernando Band of Mission Indians

To learn more about the First Peoples of Los Angeles County, please visit the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission website at lanaic.lacounty.gov.”

To view the full County of Los Angeles Land Acknowledgement Report, click here.