Celebrating Native American Heritage Month

November 3, 2025

Dear Campus Community,

The late Tongva elder and activist Julia Bogany proudly shared her Native American heritage as a teacher and cultural ambassador throughout Southern California for decades.

She did this because she often felt invisible.

As we begin the annual celebration of Native American Heritage Month this November, we celebrate the work that Bogany and others have done and continue to do to promote representation of Native Americans. For events at Chaffey College, we often include a “land acknowledgement” so we remember the Gabrieleño/Tongva Nation.

But it is important that we go beyond this recognition in and out of the classroom. We invite you to join us for Student Life’s Native American Pow Wow, which will be hosted by Native Pride Productions from noon to 2 p.m. Nov. 12 in the Rancho Cucamonga campus quad.

The event will include drums, dancing, music and culturally-relevant food by Tropic Truck (while supplies last). The event will also include a “hidden histories” educational display focused on the Gabrieleño‑Tongva peoples.

You can also learn more about Native American history through the Chaffey College libguides.

Bogany succeeded in her quest to make her more visible, with artists paying tribute to her in city murals, invitations to speak at cultural events and more. We hope to see you at this month’s event to keep the stories, cultures and histories of Native Americans alive.

Sincerely,

Henry D. Shannon, Ph.D.