REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
July 27, 2021
FROM
MELISSA RUSSO, Director, Museum
SUBJECT
Title
Approve and Establish Land Acknowledgment to Honor Serrano Peoples Legacy
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve and authorize the County Museum to establish and publicly post in the museum facilities and on the website a Land Acknowledgment statement recognizing the historic territorial lands of the Serrano people, ancestors of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians.
(Presenter: Melissa Russo, Director, 798-8608)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The San Bernardino County Museum (Museum) proposes the establishment of a Land Acknowledgment. These acknowledgments have been a traditional custom amongst tribes that dates back centuries. In collaboration with local tribes, these statements are being increasingly established in museums across the country, as well as by other organizations and governmental entities.
The Land Acknowledgment language for which the Museum seeks Board approval is as follows:
"San Bernardino County Museum acknowledges that the land on which our facilities are sited is the ancestral and unceded territory of the Maara'yam, commonly referred to as the Serrano people, which, in the contemporary era, are represented by two federally-recognized tribes: the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and Morongo Band of Mission Indians. We also acknowledge that in the historic era other tribal communities and European settlers intersected with Serrano peoples in these spaces. Our histories and stories are intertwined in this space, and by sharing them in culturally-appr...
Click here for full text