City News Service • September 28, 2008

Representatives from tribes throughout California will come together next week in Palm Desert to address issues surrounding American Indian health, traditions and land preservation.

The 23rd annual “California Indian Conference,” themed “Good Medicine & Healthy Nations,” is scheduled to start Oct. 3, at the University of California Riverside’s Palm Desert Graduate Center.

The two-day event will include art presentations, workshops on health issues facing American Indian people, documentary screenings, discussions about Indian gaming, as well as a series of conferences on archaeology practices and the threat urban sprawl poses to historic sites, according to UCR spokeswoman Bettye Miller.

San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos is scheduled to deliver the keynote address on the first day.

A panel of speakers will also address “Tribal Government and Gaming,” followed by a panel discussion highlighting “California Indian Health, Wellness & Medicine,” according to the conference agenda.

Miller said speakers will explore ways American Indians can combat obesity and diabetes.

The conference’s second day will include screenings of two documentary films - “People of the Pines” and “Salt Song Trail.”

The first recalls a 1990 land dispute between two Canadian tribes that escalated into violence. “Salt Song Trail” focuses on the music of the Southern Paiute people.

A host of conference sessions, collectively titled “Finding Common Ground,” will examine the impact of growth on ancient lands. Officials from the Archaeological Resources Committee of the state’s Historic Preservation Office are expected to be on hand, said Miller.

“There are a lot of hard feelings in California about the way developers build with respect to protecting sites that are important to American Indians,” said Cliff Trafzer, UCR professor of history and American Indian Affairs. “These sessions will give people a chance to talk directly with the commission about their concerns, such as desecration of graves.”

Art shows are planned by Billy Soza War Soldier of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians in San Jacinto, and George Blake of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation.

The conference is being sponsored by the UCR California Center for Native Americans, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, UCR’s Center for Ideas & Society and Cal State San Bernardino.

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Posted on September 29th, 2008 by hunwut
Filed under: Education, Events