The City of Chula Vista celebrated its first Indigenous People’s Day celebration on Monday by raising the Kumeyaay flag above the city hall.
Jamul Indian Village tribal elder Jesse Pinto gave a blessing before speeches were given by Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas, Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation Chairwoman, Angela Elliott-Santos, Kanap Kuahan Coalition member Beatrice Zamora, and Chula Vista Human Relations Commissioner, Ricardo Medina. Erica Pinto, Chairwoman of the Jamul Indian Village lent the city of Chula Vista the Kumeyaay Nation Flag.
“As great as this country is, we have historically been blind to the contributions made to our history by Black, Indigenous Latino, Asian, and the LGBT community. It is time that we acknowledge the genocide perpetrated on the first people to live on this continent and celebrate their resilience,” Salas said.
The Kumeyaay were the original native inhabitants of San Diego County who lived in the region for more than 10,000 years. Kumeyaay tribal members are divided into 12 separate bands: Barona, Campo, Ewiiaapaayp, Inaja-Cosmit, Jamul, LaPosta, Manzanita, Mesa Grande, San Pasqual, Santa Ysabel, Sycuan, and Viejas.
“It's giving me goosebumps to be able to be here and acknowledge Indigenous Peoples' Day and acknowledge that this was our land. Our elder Jesse Pinto said, this was our land for 12,000 years, and to finally get to come back and to raise a flag and to have our songs be sung right here at Chula Vista City Hall is what our ancestors longed for,” Elliot-Santos said.
The Kumeyaay are one of the largest owners of land in San Diego County, as the Kumeyaay governments have jurisdiction over approximately 70,000 acres concentrated in East County from El Cajon, Lakeside, Poway, and Ramona, to the desert. Elliot-Santos noted that the Kumeyaay are still here.
“Our ancestors never got to tell their story, but through us, they will,” Elliot-Santos said. "We are still here. We are not a myth. We have our culture, our traditions, and we have come in a full circle.”
The second Monday of October is celebrated annually, but it has also been a topic of controversy since President Roosevelt declared Christopher Columbus Day a national holiday more than 80 years ago. Last year, President Biden became the first U.S. President to formally commemorate Indigenous People’s Day.
Since then, more than 130 cities have adopted the holiday, including the City of Chula Vista. The city council designated Oct.12 as Indigenous People’s Day in 2021 in lieu of Christopher Columbus Day.
“Last year this day would have been celebrated as Columbus Day. We are not here to erase Columbus, his day, or the idea that he was an adventurer who sailed and did all those things. We’re here to correct history. We're here to get to tell our side of the story and the impact that had on us, so makes it even more important for us,” Elliot-Santos said.
Chula Vista made strides in recent years to recognize the Kumeyaay Nation. On May 2021, the city council decided to remove the Christopher Columbus statue from Discovery park following a request from the city’s Human Relations Commission.
The city also convened a Discovery Park Task Force to handle the statue’s removal and replacement with another public art installation.
“This is the beginning of the healing process. This is a day of reckoning. It is a day to acknowledge the past so we can move forward as one nation. It is a day of owning up to the devastation, genocide, and terror caused by colonialism, manifest destiny, and the Doctrine of Discovery and frontierism. It is a day to openly and publicly affirm our relationship with the original people when we can express our thanks for their contributions to the world,” Zamora said
Human Relations Commissioner Ricardo Medina said commissioners are looking toward policy and recommendations to create a welcoming city in Chula Vista.
“The Human Relations Commission a group that is very eagerly interested in making sure that we right wrongs, that we teach truth, and we acknowledge those individuals who are in those that are in those margins,” Medina said.
