The Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission (LANAIC) wishes everyone a happy Native American Heritage Month (NAHM)! NAHM is an opportunity to celebrate our community and the vast contributions we make.
The LANAIC selected Weaving Together a Community of Traditions, Cultures & Respect as this year’s NAHM theme. Each year the Commission selects outstanding Los Angeles County American Indian and Alaska Native community members to recognize as Native American Heritage Month honorees. The 2024 honorees are: Spirit of Tradition: Chief Anthony Morales, leader of the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians; Spirit of Community: Cynthia Ruiz, Chairwoman of the Cherokees of Los Angeles (Tsa-La-Gi LA); and, Spirit of Creativity: Kenny Ramos, Iipai theater practitioner from the Barona Band of Mission Indians/Kumeyaay Nation.
Chief Anthony Morales – Spirit of Tradition
Chief Anthony Morales is the leader of the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians. In the tribe’s modern history, particularly noted for his role in securing state recognition for the tribe in 1994. This achievement marked a significant milestone in the tribe’s ongoing efforts to reclaim their heritage and ensure their presence is acknowledged. His leadership values traditions from ceremonial duties, involving active engagement in cultural preservation, education, and legal advocacy.
Chief Morales is committed to the preservation and revitalization of the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians’ cultural practices and traditions. He has overseen initiatives aimed at maintaining the tribe’s language, rituals, and customs, ensuring these vital aspects of their identity are passed down to future generations. His efforts have included organizing cultural events, educational programs, and community gatherings that celebrate the tribe’s rich heritage. Chief Morales has played a crucial role in the tribe’s efforts to protect and preserve their ancestral lands. He has been actively involved in various campaigns to safeguard significant cultural and natural sites from development and destruction. Including a trip to the White House in May to see the signing of the Protection of the San Gabriel Mountains.
His leadership is characterized by a commitment to justice, cultural integrity, and environmental sustainability. He continues to inspire his tribe with a vision of resilience and focuses on the youth of the tribe knowing they are needed to continue tribal traditions.
As a cultural bearer, Chief Morales keeps traditional practices, stories, and customs alive within the community. His efforts ensure that invaluable knowledge and wisdom of the Gabrieleno are passed down to future generations, fostering a deep sense of identity and pride among the tribe’s members.
Cynthia Ruiz – Spirit of Community
Cynthia Ruiz is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and the Chairwoman of the Cherokees of Los Angeles (Tsa-La-Gi LA). Cynthia is a distinguished professor, best-selling author, executive coach, and inspirational speaker, renowned for her expertise in leadership. Ms. Ruiz served as a Commissioner on the Board of Water and Power (LADWP) Commission, appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti and was the first Native American to serve on the body.
Before her role as LADWP Commissioner, Cynthia held the position of Commission President at LACERS (Los Angeles City Employee Retirement System), overseeing a multi-billion-dollar pension portfolio. She has authored or co-authored eight books and is a recognized expert in public sector leadership.
At the University of West Los Angeles (UWLA), Cynthia imparts her extensive knowledge of leadership to both graduate and undergraduate students. Cynthia’s dedication to her Cherokee heritage has been recognized with awards such as the Cherokee Nation “Community Leader of the Year Award” and the Cherokee Phoenix – Seven Feathers Award. She holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Counseling from California State University Los Angeles and has completed a Leadership Course at Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Cynthia Ruiz follows in the footsteps of her mother who served on the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission for 20 years. Cynthia maintains a strong connection to the Native American community in Los Angeles, serving as a dedicated leader and advocate for Native American issues. She mentors numerous individuals within the community, champions critical Native American causes, and plays a pivotal role in organizing and leading Native American events throughout Los Angeles. Cynthia inspires and empowers others through her work. Her mission is to be a beneficial presence on this planet, fostering a world characterized by love, compassion, integrity, and support for future generations.
Kenny Ramos – Spirit of Creativity
Kenny Ramos is an Iipai theater practitioner from the Barona Band of Mission Indians/Kumeyaay Nation. He grew up on the Barona Indian Reservation in San Diego County and graduated from UCLA with a degree in American Indian Studies. He is passionate about making theater that centers Native perspectives, asserts tribal sovereignty, and challenges settler colonial realities of American culture and society. Kenny is an ensemble member at Cornerstone Theatre Company in Los Angeles, where his favorite projects include a trilogy of collaborations with Sicangu Lakota playwright Larissa FastHorse, director Michael John Garcés, and various tribal nations and communities around the United States: Urban Rez in 2016 (Tovaangar, Los Angeles, CA); Native Nation in 2019 (O’odham and Piipash lands, Phoenix, AZ); and Wicoun in 2023 (Oceti Sakowin lands, North/South Dakota statewide tour). Highly active in the contemporary Native theater movement, Kenny’s favorite theater credits include the world premiere productions of Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Return to Niobrara (The Rose, Omaha Theater Company); Dillon Chitto’s Bingo Hall (Native Voices at the Autry); Vera Starbard’s Devilfish; A Tlingit Christmas Carol; and Frank Henry Kaash Katasse’s Where the Summit Meets the Stars (Perseverance Theatre); Madeline Sayet’s The Neverland (Krannert Center, Illinois Theatre); and the First Peoples Fund’s original production, We the Peoples Before, at The John F. Kennedy Center. Other regional credits include productions, workshops, and readings at South Dakota Shakespeare Festival (Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Roderigo in Othello), Passage Theatre Company, Playwrights’ Center, American Players Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Denver Center Colorado New Play Summit, Seattle Rep, Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum, and The Kennedy Center. Kenny also voiced the quail spirit, Takak, in the children’s animated television series, Spirit Rangers, on Netflix.
Kenny is a 2019 Theatre Communications Group Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellow; a 2019 First Peoples Fund Cultural Capital Fellow; a Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration 2021 Mellon Artist Fellow; a 2021 Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow; and a Center for Cultural Innovation 2022 CALI Catalyst Grantee.
Currently, Kenny is touring the country with the national touring company of Peter Pan: The Broadway Musical, which recently finished a 3-week run at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood.
Kenny continues to live in his ancestral tribal homelands today, where he’s been an Artist-in Residence at La Jolla Playhouse, serves on the Community Advisory Council at The Old Globe, and is under commission at Diversionary Theatre. He dedicates his successes to his mother, JoAnn, who transitioned on to be with their ancestors this past May.
Last modified: November 25, 2024