Indigenous Peoples' Heritage Month

Dear Cal Lutheran Community,

Please join us in activities organized throughout November as we recognize and honor Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month. These programs have been scheduled to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Indigenous and Native-identifying colleagues and neighbors and to affirm Cal Lutheran’s commitment to meaningful, inclusive engagement.

The Cal Lutheran Thousand Oaks campus is located on the ancestral land of the Chumash People whose territory encompassed 7,000 square miles that spanned from the beaches of Malibu to Paso Robles. We honor them along with the Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Cahuilla, Juaneno, and Luiseno People from all over Southern California. As we recognize and celebrate Indigenous stewards of the land that grounds our work at the main campus, our colleagues at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) campus in Berkeley do the same, honoring the Ohlone People who were the original inhabitants of that area. 

In recognition of the Indigenous communities who are profoundly connected to campus locations, we will explore important Indigenous-community issues that will be shared with us through personal accounts, traditional storytelling, natural art, and visual presentations.

This year’s activities and educational programs are co-sponsored by the Office of Talent, Culture, and Diversity (TCD), the Center for Cultural Engagement and Inclusion (CCEI) in partnership with Mission and Identity, Pearson Library, Sodexo, student groups, and various departments across campus. Their combined efforts are bringing to life the wide range of events outlined in the attached flyer.  

Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month kicks off today with a storytelling and art workshop by Native American storyteller Alan Salazar and earth pigment artist Mona Lewis. I hope that you can attend that program and some of the other events that enrich and help make us a stronger university community.