Photo: Ewa’a on patio of Mission Trails Regional Park visitors center
December 8, 2019 (San Diego) - There are some 40 miles of trails in Mission Trails Regional Park along the San Diego River and surrounding grasslands and mountains. Hikers can view Kumeyaay and Spanish archaeological sites, possibly encounter some endangered animals and some dangerous ones, and be introduced to plants with characteristics so interesting they almost have personalities.
Photo: Kumeyaay elders by T.J. Dixon and James Nelson
December 8, 2019 (San Diego) - The Visitors and Interpretive Center of Mission Trails Regional Park is low-tech compared to razzmatazz commercial attractions like Disneyland or Sea World, but it effectively teaches about Native American life and about nature. Its exhibits appeal to a full range of age groups with a variety of learning styles.
November 22, 2019 (Alpine) – To ring in 2020, Viejas Casino & Resort is hosting a Roaring ‘20s themed New Year’s Eve bash that promises to be the resort’s biggest New Year’s Eve celebration yet.
You’re invited to don your flapper dress or Gatsby get-up, then choose a package tailored to fit your fortune. Festivities will span the ballrooms, pool bar, park, and beyond.
The invite adds, “See you there, revelers – it will be the bee’s knees!
Photo: SDSU Kumeyaay Land Acknowledgement formally acknowledges Native and Indigenous people and to take specific action in support of the Kumeyaay.
November 6, 2019 (San Diego) - The SDSU Kumeyaay Land Acknowledgement has been formally approved and will be adopted as part of ceremonial introductions at key campus events, as written statements on university web pages, and to encourage initiatives that bolster academic, professional and other support for students, faculty and staff.
October 21, 2019 (El Cajon) -- America’s favorite dance show is going back on tour this winter with “Dancing with the Stars – Live Tour 2020.” The longest tour to date will be dancing through Sycuan Casino Resort on March 26 at 8 p.m. The all-new production will feature fan-favorite professional dancers wowing audiences with every type of dance style as seen on ABC’s hit show Dancing with the Stars.
Directed by Randy Reinholz (Choctaw) in SDSU’s Experimental Theatre; production is a collaboration with LA theatre company, Native Voices at the Autry
Source: SDSU
October 20, 2019 (San Diego) -- The SDSU School of Theatre, Television, and Film presentsLying with Badgers, a timeless story of hope, loss, identity, and wonder, from Friday, Nov. 1 to Sunday, Nov. 10 in SDSU’s Experimental Theatre.
October 20, 2019 (Lakeside) – The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATLAM) recently presented the 2019 International Guardians of Culture and Lifeways “Museum Institutional Excellence” Award to the Barona Cultural Center & Museum at its annual international conference in Temecula.
October 15, 2019 (San Diego, CA) -- For the past two years the Mountain Empire Unified School District’s Teachers and Native students received a gift of 500 full-color books including the photography and research of historical Kumeyaay rock art. Much of the rock art located along the U.S./Mexico border is within the school district’s boundaries.
September 25, 2019 (El Cajon) – Sycuan Casino Resort has opened three new restaurants: the Bull and Bourbon steak house, the Elicit Lounge, and Retreat, a poolside venue complete with cabanas and swim-up bar. View/download menus and learn more at Sycuan.com.
Below are delicious details on the new Clique Hospitality offerings provided by Sycuan:
The Sycuan band of the Kumeyaay nation will hold its 30th annual powwow from Friday evening, September 6 through Sunday, September 8 at the Sycuan powwow ground (5577 Dehesa Rd., El Cajon).
The event features bird singing and Native American dance competitions, drumming, Native arts and crafts vendors, foods and more.
Photo via Cal Fire: Cal Fire doused a brush fire in Dehesa in July, operating out of a Cal Fire station.
August 25, 2019 (Dehesa) – Going, going, gone. A county auction sold off the former Dehesa fire station as surplus property on August 6th. The buyer is the Sycuan band of the Kumeyaay nation, which purchase the site for $650,000.
August 8, 2019 (Lakeside) - The 49thtth annual Barona Powwow takes place Friday, August 30th through Sunday, September 1st at the Barona Sports complex on the Barona Indian reservation.
The public is welcome to come watch Native dancers and drummers from across the nation compete at the powwow, where you can also find craft vendors and food such as tacos made with Native American fry bread.
August 6, 2019 (Pala) -- The Pala Band of Mission Indians will hold its first annual “Honoring Traditions” Gathering on Saturday, August 31 at the Pala Rey Youth Camp on the Pala Indian Reservation.
While this new event replaces the Tribe’s longstanding Pow Wow Celebration, the Gathering will be dedicated to offering many of the same rich traditions of Pala–including bird songs, shinny games, bow and arrow making, peon lessons and demonstrations, a peon tournament and much more.
July 25, 2019 (San Diego) -- Soldados de Cuera, Native Californians and a Franciscan father depicting Saint Junípero Serra, came together on a hill high above San Diego on July 16, at the original site of the first Mission and Presidio type garrison in Alta California – to commemorate what many call the Founding of California, exactly 250 years ago Tuesday. View video of the historic reenactment.
The City of San Diego uses the date July 16, 1769 as its official birthdate, and along with the rest of California, it celebrated its 250th birthday. Not only was Alta California’s first Mission and Presidio founded on this date, but also came the official recognition of the adjacent ocean port and the seeds of a united California under the Spanish, and later Mexican and U.S. flags.
July 25, 2019 (Lakeside) – The Killer Dueling Pianos will provide lively entertainment at a dueling pianos party this Saturday, July 27 at Barona Casino and Resort in Lakeside from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Photo: Xusha Brown, Jr., innocent victim of gangland shooting
July 25, 2019 (La Mesa) – “We will continue to fight until justice is done,” Deborah Flores, mother of slain Sycuan tribal member Xusha Brown Jr. said at a press conference in 2016, when the tribe boosted a reward to $100,000 to help find his killer. La Mesa Police also posted the reward information on freeway signs. Three weeks later, three men were arrested for the drive-by shooting of Brown, 22, which occurred on I-8 in La Mesa in 2013.
Photo: The Kumeyaay flag is raised at the Presidio to celebrate San Diego’s 250th anniversary. Photo by Chris Jennewein
July 24, 2019 (San Diego) - San Diego officially celebrated its 250th birthday last week while also recognizing millennia of Kumeyaay Indian history before the European arrival.
New Julian fire station No. 56 sits on disputed land
By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor
July 13, 2019 (Julian) – Following a firestorm of controversy over San Diego County’s takeover of the Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District, the County may lose access to a new fire station. Theodore J. Griswold, attorney for the Kumeyaay Native American Land Conservancy, has filed an eviction notice with the San Diego County Fire Authority (SDCFA) that would force the SDCFA to abandon Julian Fire Station No. 56 within two weeks.
The future of Station No. 56, located at 3407 State Route 79 just south of downtown Julian, has been a dicey subject from the onset of the county’s efforts to shut down of the Julian Cuyamaca Fire protection District (JCFPD), the county’s last volunteer fire department. Though the transfer of authority was approved by a majority of voters and the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), many area residents have fought strenuously to reverse the action, with litigation pending.
July 10, 2019 (El Cajon) - The legendary ‘60s British rock band Herman’s Hermits with its original lead singer Peter Noone will be live in concert at Sycuan on August 3rd with shows at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
They stormed the American pop charts 22 times with smash hits such as “Can’t You Hear My Heart Beat,” “There’s a Kind of Hush” and “I’m Henry VIII, I Am.” The boys from Manchester ultimately sold over 80 million records including seven gold albums, inspiring fans around the world.
June 21, 2019 (Jamul) – On Saturday, June 22, Jamul Casino will ring in summer by hosting an All-Star Block Party featuring casino promotions, live entertainment, and celebrity guests. The all-day event will feature:
June 20, 2019 (Sacramento) -- Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an apology through executive order on behalf of California to Native American people for the many instances of violence, mistreatment and neglect inflicted upon California Native Americans throughout the state’s history.
June 18, 2019 (Sycuan) – Members of sovereign tribes from across North America convened at the Sycuan resort in San Diego’s East County June 9-11 for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and Trafficking Awareness Conference.
June 17, 2019 (Pala) -- Pala Casino Spa & Resort will present Havana Days Pool Party, with the Summer Days – Fun in the Sun Pool Party series. On select Sundays all summer long, Pala will be hosting themed events in the recently remodeled pool area for guests 18 years old and over. From DJs and live performers, to customized menus for all tastes, guests will experience a day packed with entertainment.
June 14, 2019 (In-Ko-Pah) – Native Americans running from the Fort Yuma Indian reservation in Arizona to the Sycuan reservation in San Diego’s East County, a 150 mile journey, sought to draw attention to the plight of missing and murdered sovereignNative American women. On Friday morning, they wound up saving the lives of two women whose vehicle plunged off of I-8 east into a rugged canyon.
May 28, 2019 (Alpine) - Grab your popcorn – it’s time for (free!) summertime movies at the outdoor roller skating rink at Viejas Outlets shopping mall (5005 Willows Rd.) in Alpine. Showtimes start at 7:30 p.m. The season opened May 24 with Top Gun. The lineup of popular movies coming up include:
May 26, 2019 (Alpine) - Viejas Casino is hosting a blood drive in partnership with the San Diego Blood Bank on Tuesday, June 11, 2019 from 10:00 am ‑ 3:00 pm. The drive will take place in the casino’s Sycamore Room (5000 Willows Rd., Alpine).
May 23, 2019 (Fallbrook) - Just in time for the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, an old school bus donated to North County FM station Rez Radio 91.3 by the Bonsall Unified School District is nearing completion of its custom paint job commissioned with students from the Art Department at Fallbrook High School. As the school year draws to a close, an army of students led by graduating senior, Caiden Metts are hard at work putting the finishing touches on the 60’s hippie-themed work of art. It’s quite a spectacle.
The idea came about when Rez Radio changed its call letters early last year to the San Diego heritage call sign, KPRI – now standing for Kupa Pala Rez Indians. That brought forward a number of people from the air staff of the original KPRI in San Diego when the station first tried free-form FM programming in 1967-68. Much of that music is still a core element of Rez Radio’s programming.
Source: SDG&E, San Diego County Fire Chief's Association, Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians
April 16, 2019 (Alpine) - The San Diego County Fire Chiefs, in coordination with the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, will conduct their annual Wildland Fire Preparedness Exercise April 17-19, 2019. Numerous emergency service agencies from throughout San Diego County will come together to prepare for the upcoming fire season.
April 5, 2019 (Valley Center) - The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians announced today that they presented a $10,000 gift to Escondido’s 2019 Cruisin’ Grand today in downtown Escondido. This $10,000 donation will support the music venue which will highlight local musicians and talent.
April 3, 2019 (Pala) - Pala Casino Spa & Resort announces the addition of Kenny Loggins to the 2019 summer concert lineup in the Starlight Theater on Friday September 27, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets will go on sale, with no service charge, at 10 a.m., Friday, April 5, at the Pala Box Office, www.palacasino.com and 1-877-WIN PALA (1-877-946-7252). Tickets also are available atwww.startickets.com and 1-800-585-3737.
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