Native American Heritage Month is celebrated each November as a time to honor and uplift the traditions, languages, and stories of Native and Indigenous peoples. It recognizes and commemorates the cultures, knowledge, and contributions of the Indigenous peoples who have flourished on and cared for this land for thousands of years. This month also acknowledges the devastating impacts of colonization, genocide, and displacement that many Native communities endured, while celebrating their strength, resilience, and continued presence today. santamonica.gov - Honoring Native American Heritage Month
Santa Monica College currently stands is the ancestral unceded territory of the Tongva or Gabrielino, Kizh, and Chumash peoples. We honor the indigenous caretakers of these lands and their elders, past, present, and future.
Find SMCs Land Acknowledgment and additional resources: Land Acknowledgment - Santa Monica College
Join our events!
Indigenous Sovereignty and Education Fair/NAHM Kick Off
November 4, 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: SMC Quad
Description: The Native American Heritage Month Kick-off will provide an opportunity to learn from
Indigenous education organizations on the theme of 21st-century Native American and
Indigenous issues and life. There will be food, a photo booth, special guests, and
educational booths to engage with in celebration of the start of Native American Heritage
Month.
Afro Indigenous Solidarity During the Black and Red Power Movement w/ Dr. Kyle Mays
November 6, 2025
Time: 11:15 a.m. - 12:35 p.m.
Location: Art 214
Description: Dr. Kyle Mays is an Afro-Indigenous writer and scholar, and Assistant Professor in
African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), whose
work focuses on comparative race and indigeneity, popular and expressive culture,
and urban histories and contemporary experiences in the city. Dr. Mays will give a
lecture on the importance of Afro-Indigenous solidarity, specifically focusing on
the Black and Red Power Movements.
Indigenous Students Celebration w/ Indigenous Scholars and Oaxacans at SMC
November 13, 2025
Time: 11:15 a.m. - 12:35 p.m.
Location: Student Equity Center (MPR)
Description: Join the Indigenous Scholars Club and Oaxacans at SMC Club in the Student Equity
Center for an Indigenous students celebration! Sit back, relax, and connect with other
Indigenous students and allies in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. Food
will be provided!
Placental Politics Book Talk with Dr. Christine Taitano DeLisle
November 18, 2025
Time: 11:15 a.m. - 12:35 p.m.
Location: Student Equity Center (MPR)
Description: Dr. Christine Taitano DeLisle is an Associate Professor at the American Indian Studies
Department and Gender Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),
whose focus is on Indigenous Pacific Islander histories, especially Indigenous Pacific
Islander women's histories, public history, and rewriting the stories in Guahan under
a CHamoru perspective and critical lens. Dr. DeLisle will give a lecture on her book,
Placental Politics, and other research.
Book Description: Dr. DeLisle examines how interactions between Indigenous CHamoru women and white
American naval wives in Guam from 1898 to World War II reshaped social and political
power under U.S. imperial rule. Focusing on CHamoru midwives (pattera), she introduces
the concept of “placental politics” to show how Indigenous women blended American
modernity with traditional values like inafa’maolek, redefining both U.S. imperial and Indigenous histories.
Native Alienation Book Talk with Dr. Charles Sepulveda
November 19, 2025
Time: 2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Location: Hybrid, HSS 104
Zoom Registration: https://smc-edu.zoom.us/s/87413235402
Description: Dr. Charles Sepulveda, a California Native (Tongva and Acjachemen), is an Assistant
Professor in the Ethnic Studies department at the University of California, Riverside
(UCR) whose work focuses on California Indian histories with a specialized focus on
the system's enslavement of Native peoples and their resistance against colonialism.
Dr. Sepulveda will give a lecture on his book, Native Alienation: Spiritual Conquest and Violence of California Missions.
Book Description: Dr. Sepulveda exposes the California missions as sites of slavery, spiritual conquest,
and genocide that violently subjugated Indigenous peoples rather than “civilizing”
them. By centering Native resistance and the enduring impacts of enslavement, dispossession,
and environmental destruction, he dismantles the myth of Spanish benevolence and restores
Indigenous agency and history.
Traditional Beading Art Workshop with USC NASA Student Leader Mandy Lamere
November 20, 2025
Time: 11:15 a.m. - 12:35 p.m.
Location: Student Equity Center (MPR)
Description: Beadwork in Native American culture is profoundly important as both an art form
and traditional knowledge, conveying identity, storytelling, and historical narratives
through the beads woven in fabric. Join us at this workshop with special guest, Mandy
Lamere, as she leads our beading workshop and presents on the importance and vitality
of beadwork in Native American and Indigenous cultures.
Guelaguetza: A Traditional Indigenous Celebration in Oaxaca, Mexico
November 20, 2025
Time: 11:15 a.m. - 12:35 p.m.
Location: SMC Quad
Description: As a finale to Native American Heritage Month, join us in celebrating the Indigenous
tradition of Guelaguetza, which dates back thousands of years to our ancestors coming
together and sharing culture and tradition. The Guelaguetza celebration is a time
for the SMC Community to come together to learn and enjoy Oaxacan presence, culture,
live music, food, and to celebrate the end of Native American Heritage Month!
Thank you to the Art Department, Counseling Department, English Department, Ethnic Studies Department, History Department, Center for Media and Design, Global Citizenship Committee, Decolonizing the Academy, Indigenous Scholars Club, New Rainbow Coalition, Oaxacans at SMC, Student Equity Center, SMC Library, Office of Student Life, Associated Students, The Corsair, and all of our Guest Speakers, Performers and Vendors. Your independent and collaborative efforts with and for Native and Indigenous students to support Indigenous visibility have fundamentally changed Santa Monica College and its legacy for generations to come.
This month honors the histories and perspectives of our Native American and Indigenous ancestors. It is through their courage, resilience, and dedication to our communities that we continue to thrive on Turtle Island today. We honor their sacrifices, the wisdom they’ve passed down, and the strengths that continue to guide us. May we continue to walk in their footsteps and uphold their legacy as we strive to keep our cultures, languages, and histories alive and thriving for future generations.
We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to the Chumash and Gabrielino Tongva peoples for their original and ongoing stewardship of the land we occupy and for preserving Santa Monica’s beauty for over 7,000 years. A heartfelt thank you to Matika Wilbur, former artist-in-residence at Santa Monica College, your commitment to Indigenous visibility, paved the way for Native and Indigenous students.
A special shoutout to Sequoyah, Juarez, and Eva Pilar for their unwavering dedication, time, and energy in setting the foundation in changing the fabric of Santa Monica College by centering Indigenous and Native communities.