Native American Heritage Month Free Event: Tuesday November 22, 6:00-7:00 PM
Founded on March 31, 2020, the American Indian Cultural District (AICD) is the first established Cultural District of its size in the United States dedicated to recognizing, honoring, and celebrating the American Indian legacy, culture, people, and contributions. The AICD empowers the American Indian voice of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Join them in conversation to learn more about the district, celebrate its work and hear about its creation and challenges.
Hosted By: Miguel Bustos, Senior Director, GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice
Panelists include:
Mary Travis-Allen (Mayagna, Chortega, Seneca): Board President of The American Indian Cultural District
Ms. Travis-Allen volunteers for Indian Ed and sits on the SFUSD School Names Advisory Committee. Mary was born, raised and educated in San Francisco. She has roots with Alcatraz, Wounded Knee occupation, and the American Indian Movement. In the 1970's she frequently spoke at rallies and networked with many other emerging political activist groups in the San Francisco Bay Area that advocated for racial equality, freedom of political prisoners and more. Mary retired after 32 years of employment with the City & County of San Francisco, SFMTA, as a Senior Operations Manager. During her employment, she focused on the needs of the people served and the employees that worked hard to provide services to the city.Sharaya Souza (Taos Pueblo, Ute, Kiowa), Executive Director of the American Indian Cultural District
Ms. Souza is dedicated to recognizing, honoring, and celebrating American Indian legacy, culture, people, and contributions. She is an ambassador for promoting equitable resource distribution to American Indian communities, increasing Native visibility and political representation, and protecting and preserving tribal cultural resources in the San Francisco Bay Area. She serves on the Climate Council, SFAC Monuments Memorials Advisory Committee, Aquatic Park Pier Planning Committee, Housing Policy Committee, HRC Racial Equity in the Arts Working Group, Presidio Activators Council, Environmental Justice Working Group, and the Human Rights Commission Roundtable.Dr. LaNada Warjack, Ph.D Writer/Activist
Dr. Warjack, also known as LaNada Boyer and LaNada Means, is an American writer and activist. She was the first Native American student admitted to the University of California at Berkeley in 1968. She led the drive to create the Native American Student Organization and became its chair. As a leader of the Third World Strike at UC Berkeley in 1969, she succeeded in obtaining approval for the first ethnic studies courses to be included in the university's curricula. Soon after, she became one of the organizers of the Occupation of Alcatraz in 1969. After the occupation, she completed her bachelor's degree at the University of California, Berkeley and went on to study law at Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C. While in Washington, she participated in the takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs office in 1972. She has continued her activism on behalf of Native people and is a distinguished professor at Boise State University, teaching Native law and governance courses.