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 IndiansGabrielino Tongva Indians of California Tribal CouncilGabrieleno/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission IndiansGabrieleño Band of Mission Indians – Kizh NationSan Manuel Band of Mission IndiansSan Fernando Band of Mission Indians
In 1976, the California State Government established the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) as the primary government agency responsible for identifying and cataloging Native American cultural resources. The NAHC maintains a list of California Native American Tribes traditionally and culturally affiliated with the geographic area of a proposed project that is subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and provides it to the government agency leading the consultation. For contact information on the tribes noted in the above land acknowledgment, please visit: California Native American Heritage Commission.
Over a nine-month period in 2022, the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission (LANAIC), in partnership with the Chief Sustainability Office and the Department of Arts and Culture, met with designated representatives from five local Tribes. A culminating report entitled “We Are Still Here,” A Report on Past, Present, and Ongoing Harms Against Local Tribes includes an accounting of the history of the First Peoples of the region. The report reflects the thoughts, wishes, needs, and recommendations of representatives from the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, Gabrieleno/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California Tribal Council, San Fernando Band of Mission Indians, and San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The report was submitted on February 16, 2023 to the Board of Supervisors.
