Desert Sun Wire Services • October 3, 2008

Representatives from Indian tribes throughout California will come together today and Saturday at the UC Riverside satellite campus in Palm Desert to address issues surrounding Native American health, traditions and land preservation.

The 23rd annual “California Indian Conference,” themed “Good Medicine & Healthy Nations,” will be held at Palm Desert Graduate Center on Frank Sinatra Drive.

It will feature art presentations, workshops on major health issues facing Native American peoples, documentary screenings, discussions about Indian gaming, as well as a series of conferences on archaeology and the threat urban sprawl poses to historic sites, according to UCR spokeswoman Bettye Miller.

San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chair James Ramos is scheduled to deliver the conference’s keynote address at noon today.

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 what programs are available to American Indians for help in combating 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 traditional music of the Southern Paiute people.

A series 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 in Northern California.

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. City News Service Inc.

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Posted on October 3rd, 2008 by hunwut
Filed under: Education, Events