Vice Mayor Bapu Vaitla proclaims day of recognition and observance during city council meeting
By MATTHEW MCELDOWNEY — city@theaggie.org
On Oct. 15, the Davis City Council convened to proclaim Indigenous Peoples’ Day as the first item of their meeting agenda. On behalf of all members of the Davis City Council, Vice Mayor Bapu Vaitla read aloud the city’s proclamation that recognized and observed the holiday before some of Davis’ Native American residents and members from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation: one of the three Patwin tribes indigenous to the land Davis resides.
Vaitla said it was important to recognize this holiday and what ostensibly is the history of the atrocities committed at the expense of these Indigenous communities in America.
“Indigenous people, the original inhabitants of this hemisphere, suffered injustice, exploitation and genocide through forced removal, war, broken treaties, rape and the implementation of laws and policies to support such exploits by the United States of America,” Vaitla said. “Indigenous Peoples’ Day replaces Columbus Day in order to dispel the historical falsehood that Columbus discovered America.”
Vaitla then gave recognition to the Patwin tribe nations that have been stewards to the land where the city of Davis currently resides.
“For thousands of years, the land that the city of Davis sits on has been the home of Patwin people,” Vaitla said. “Today, there are three federally recognized Patwin tribes: Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.”
Vaitla concluded the proclamation by expressing the community’s gratitude for the lasting legacies left by these Patwin tribe nations.
“We are honored to be here today on their land to reaffirm our relationship to these tribal nations,” Vaitla said. “The city of Davis has benefited from the values and contributions of these Native Americans’ knowledge, labor, technology, science, philosophy, arts, culture and resources. Therefore we, the Davis City Council, on behalf of the residents of Davis, now recognize and observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”
James Kinter, the tribal secretary of the Yocha Dehe Wintun nation, along with his family expressed gratitude for the city’s acknowledgment of Indigenous history and perseverance.
“On behalf of my tribe, thank you for doing this,” Kinter said. “All of this [history] happened to us and to acknowledge that benefits everybody in this country. That way we can understand some of the atrocities the tribes faced during that time.”
The importance of Native American visibility is a forefront issue of the nations of the Patwin tribe, but it is also the case for Native American communities all over the country. This diverse heritage of Native American families who call Davis their home was put on display.
Jesus Valle, a professor at American River College and a Davis resident, reaffirmed the proclamation made by the Davis City Council.
“This means a lot,” Valle said. “Words matter. These things have meaning, and it creates an atmosphere and an environment of awareness.”
Valle expressed his gratitude for the nations that have lived here before him through a folk song in his own Native American language.
This desire for awareness and empowerment in Native American communities in Davis was felt through these words, and also by the activism of the Davis community.
The city council also invited Nizhoni Ellenwood, a NimiiPuu/Nez Perce tribe and Apache tribe artist as well as the president of the Davis-Joint Unified School District.
“Just this last week, we opened a Native Resource center for our K-12 families here in Davis, so this is our very first time that our communities have had a place for our families to go to,” Ellenwood said.
Eligible Davis K-12 families can receive grants and support for extracurricular activities. Further information regarding meetings is accessible on the Davis Joint Unified School District website. For Ellenwood, these programs and resources mark a positive change for empowering Native American communities that have persisted in spite of powers that have sought to erase their history.
“In regards to Indigenous Peoples’ Day and giving back to the community, one thing that I always ask for are donations to things such as our Native resource center which helps us build a better space, allows us to offer more to our children and helps support our next generations,” Ellenwood said. “There is so much more that we want to do.”
Written by: Matthew Mceldowney — city@theaggie.org
