Acknowledging Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Monday, October 14 is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which acknowledges Native and Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas and reexamines the narratives associated with their histories and cultures. At CCA, we aspire to strengthen our commitment to expanding the visibility of Indigenous histories and contemporary presence in art, architecture, and design, on whose ancestral land we occupy.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day has been celebrated in the Bay Area since 1992, and the state of California formally recognized the holiday in 2019. The college has expressed its support for the City of San Francisco’s decision to recognize Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

At CCA, we adopted and practice Land Acknowledgment to promote our greater public consciousness of Native sovereignty and cultural rights. Our Land Acknowledgment was created by the CCA Decolonial School in consultation with Indigenous community partners. The Decolonial School introduced important research and provided crucial resources to faculty such as strategies and curriculum which foregrounds decoloniety as a continuous process.

Continuing our journey and strengthening our partnerships

Over the past year and a half, as the college has been in its final phase of unification and expansion in San Francisco, planning efforts have been underway to further our commitments and partnership with the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone (ARO). Through the Office of the Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, CCA is establishing a relationship to ensure greater representation of Indigenous histories of the Ohlone peoples, as well as more opportunities to promote Native and Indigenous presence and futures within CCA’s built environment, curriculum, and sustainable community partnerships. Our partnership with the ARO constitutes the development of a formal, two-way dialogue between college leadership and representatives of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples, which acknowledges and respects tribal sovereignty and associated protocols.

CCA’s final site planning agreement, or Interpretative Plan, was recently accepted by the City of San Francisco and our Ramaytush Ohlone (ARO) consulting partners last month. We are pleased to share those key commitments below.

1. Public mural: A prominent mural celebrating the legacy and ongoing presence of the Ohlone coastal territory and peoples will be created at the corner of Hooper Street and Eighth Street. As a year-long project within the Critical Ethnic Studies (CES) Studio Mural Project course, artwork will be co-created with CCA students, CES faculty, and designated ARO partners. The mural location allows the work to be experienced by all CCA community members and visitors leading to the new main entrance of the campus.
2. Learning garden of native plants: A living-learning garden featuring at least six plant species native to the San Francisco Peninsula identified in the archaeological record will be established and well marked in close proximity to the mural. The garden will serve as an educational resource and contribute to increasing the natural aesthetics of the campus while supporting ecological restoration of the area, which is a core objective of projects supported by the ARO.
3. Historical shoreline marker: A physical marker showing the historical shoreline will be painted on the sidewalks along campus, accompanied by descriptive information in all of CCA’s interpretive signage.
4. Interpretive signage: Publicly accessible signage (physical and digital) will provide information about the shoreline, CCA plant garden, CCA mural design, and historical, cultural, and archaeological significance of the city buildings on and near the CCA campus. A dedicated page on CCA’s website will provide information about California Indigenous history, learning garden, mural project, interpretive signage, and links to the Final Archaeological Resources Report.
5. Shared campus space: As a private college with limited public access, CCA has committed to providing meeting space for the ARO and designated community partners upon request, and without a requirement of events or meetings being associated with CCA departments or programs. This Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) is emergent and will include feedback and contribution from designated CCA operations leads and leaders of community-based organizations.
6. Curriculum development: We are committed to creating opportunities for faculty, students, and the public to learn Indigenous history and culture, as well as broaden the creative practices we draw upon through our academic programs. The Office of the Provost will explore and establish a curriculum development committee comprised of faculty, students, and designated community partners.

Additionally, a working group has been established for CCA to apply for Minority Serving Student (MSI) designation as an Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander (AANAPI) Serving Institution. Within this committee’s planning goals are steps to identify and articulate the student resources and supports necessary to ensure access and success for BIPOC students we currently enroll and the students we wish to serve in the future. This includes (but is not limited to) more targeted recruitment and designated scholarship support for Native American and Indigenous students.

Over the next year and onward, we look forward to deepening our commitment to this work and continuing our journey as we work on the actions outlined in our Interpretative Plan. We express our sincerest thanks to Dr. Jonathan Cordero (Ramaytush Ohlone, Bay Miwok, Chumash, Cochimi) and Mr. Gregg Castro (Ramaytush Ohlone, T’rowt’raahl Salinan, Rumsen) for their partnership and participation with CCA.

For information and future updates on the Interpretive Plan, visit Campus Planning on the CCA Portal.

– Tricia Brand, vice president of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging