{"id":2637,"date":"2025-10-14T00:16:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T00:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/2637\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T00:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T00:16:11","slug":"gathering-at-anaheim-city-hall-celebrates-indigenous-peoples-day-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/2637\/","title":{"rendered":"Gathering at Anaheim City Hall celebrates Indigenous People\u2019s Day \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virginia Carmelo, a third-generation Orange County resident, waited on the steps of Anaheim City Hall on Monday afternoon, Oct. 13, to celebrate with the city\u2019s sixth annual Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While she waited, her children and grandchildren were completing a prayer walk from the Anaheim Coves Lincoln Trailhead to City Hall \u2014 a 5-kilometer trek honoring the Gabrielino-Tongva Nation and indigenous culture and history.<\/p>\n

Alongside her, a crowd of a hundred or so community members wielded signs and cameras, cheering in support of the walkers and the occasion they were commemorating.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a recognition of all the native people, the ancestors, and to celebrate our day,\u201d Carmelo said.<\/p>\n

Present-day Orange County\u2019s early inhabitants were the Tongva and Acjachemen people hundreds of years ago. Carmela, herself, is a Tongva member.<\/p>\n

Across the nation, many cities have opted to celebrate Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day instead of Columbus Day, historically observed Oct. 13, as part of an effort to recognize colonialism and the Native-American community\u2019s resilience.<\/p>\n

\"Elisa<\/p>\n

Elisa Daiz, from the Aztec Nation, sounds the conch during an Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in Anaheim, CA on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People sing during a ceremony in front of city hall for Indigenous Peoples Day in Anaheim, CA on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People listen to speakers during a ceremony in front of city hall for Indigenous Peoples Day in Anaheim, CA on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Participants<\/p>\n

Participants return to city hall following a morning prayer and walk during an Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in Anaheim, CA on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Virginia<\/p>\n

Virginia Carmelo, from the Gabrielino\/Tongva Nation, speaks during a ceremony in front of city hall for Indigenous Peoples Day in Anaheim, CA on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Shannon<\/p>\n

Shannon Rivers, from the Akimel O\u2019otham Nation, speaks during a ceremony in front of city hall for Indigenous Peoples Day in Anaheim, CA on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Anaheim<\/p>\n

Anaheim city councilmember Kristen Maahs reads a proclamation for Indigenous Peoples Day during an event in Anaheim, CA on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People listen to speakers during a ceremony for Indigenous Peoples Day in Anaheim, CA on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 8<\/p>\n

Elisa Daiz, from the Aztec Nation, sounds the conch during an Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in Anaheim, CA on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

There are 574 recognized indigenous tribes<\/a> in the United States. The Tonga village, Hutuukuga, stood where later became present-day Anaheim.<\/p>\n

Anaheim\u2019s celebration on Monday featured the morning prayer walk, a land acknowledgment program at City Hall and finished at the Downtown Community Center with a closing prayer and potluck, with food provided by local restaurants and community members.<\/p>\n

Shannon Rivers, with the Akimel O\u2019otham, or Pima, said activists had been in conversation with the city for two years before the inaugural Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day was recognized in 2019.<\/p>\n

Historically known as the \u201criver people,\u201d the Akimel O\u2019odham are an indigenous people of the Sonoran Desert in Mexico and Arizona, where Rivers lived before moving to Southern California.<\/p>\n

The annual Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day is just one marker, Rivers said, in the much longer history of Indigenous activism and recognition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking for more than just Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day recognition. We want policy change, land recognition, educational systems to be different,\u201d Rivers said. \u201cWe want to\u00a0remind people that are driving down the street that indigenous people are still here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Virginia Carmelo, a third-generation Orange County resident, waited on the steps of Anaheim City Hall on Monday afternoon,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,7,179,1996,23,611,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-2637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-anaheim","8":"tag-anaheim","9":"tag-anaheim-headlines","10":"tag-anaheim-news","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-community","13":"tag-diversity","14":"tag-local-news","15":"tag-orange-county","16":"tag-top-stories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}