This in-depth data and advocacy report highlight the strengths and challenges experienced by American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN) across California, with an important focus on their existence being an act of resilience.
The Indigenous people of California is a story of the dispossession of land and ongoing attempts of assimilation and extermination, but it is also one of enduring strength and determination to protect the land, their traditions, and their peoples.
This report comes at a critical time when AIANs in California are 3.5 times more likely than their white counterparts to contract COVID-19, and when 35 percent of those between 25 and 59 who get it die from the disease. High caseloads and death rates result from systemic racism and ongoing erasure.
In spite of so much hardship, loss, and challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re seeing Native peoples across the state fighting and winning. From land defenders and water protectors saving their environment to saying no to border wall construction to fighting for their educational rights — community leaders are building power and winning against all odds.
The report can be found here. We encourage you to follow us as we share more of the report across social media platforms.