For Johnny Hernandez Jr., it was difficult growing up hearing two different accounts of the histories of California’s Indigenous peoples.
One account came from his elders in the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians in San Bernardino and was based on their lived experiences, and another came from his teachers at school. That history glossed over decades of mistreatment Native American people faced.
“You have your family, but then you have the people you’re supposed to respect — teachers and the administration,” the vice chairman of the San Manuel Band said. “As a kid — I’ll speak for myself — it is confusing to … know who’s telling the truth.”
Now a bill, AB 1821, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday requires public schools teaching elementary, middle or high school students about Spanish colonization and the California gold rush to include instruction on the mistreatment and contributions of Native Americans during those periods.
The state Department of Education must consult with tribes when it updates its history and social studies curriculum framework after Jan. 1, 2025, under the law.
“This is a critical step to right some of the educational wrongs,” Hernandez said before the bill was signed.
Newsom signed the measure Friday on California Native American Day, a holiday first designated in the 1990s to honor the culture and history of Indigenous peoples in the state. California is home to 109 federally recognized Indigenous tribes, the second-most in the nation behind Alaska.
San Diego County, for instance, has 18 tribal reservations and four tribal nations – the Kumeyaay, Luiseno, Cupeno and Cahuilla – represented.
“I’m proud of the progress California has made to reckon with the dark chapters of our past, and we’re committed to continuing this important work to promote equity, inclusion and accountability for Native peoples,” Newsom said in statement. “As we celebrate the many tribal communities in California today, we recommit to working with tribal partners to better address their unique needs and strengthen California for all.”
Newsom, who issued a state apology in 2019 for the historical violence and mistreatment of Native Americans, also signed another 10 measures Friday to further support tribal needs.
Assembly member James C. Ramos, D-San Bernardino, the first Native American state lawmaker in California, authored the curriculum bill. He said it would build on legislation the state passed in 2022 encouraging school districts to work with tribes to incorporate their history into studies.
“For far too long California’s First People and their history have been ignored or misrepresented,” he said in a statement last month. “Classroom instruction about the Mission and Gold Rush periods fails to include the loss of life, enslavement, starvation, illness and violence inflicted upon California Native American people during those times. These historical omissions from the curriculum are misleading.”
