Recognizing Indigenous People's Day
On Friday, October 8, 2021 President Joe Biden issued an official proclamation formally recognizing October 11 as Indigenous People's Day, a day to honor Native Americans. You can read his full proclamation by viewing the PDF below or clicking here.
A Proclamation on Indigenous Peoples' Day, 2021 _ The White House
Before El Monte or Los Angeles even existed, the LA Basin was home to the Tongva people. The Tongva are indigenous people of california from the los angeles basin and southern channel islands. According to LAist: the Tongva peoples set the stage for what would eventually become Los Angeles. They refered to their territory as "Tovaangar" which literally translates to "the world". Tovaangar encompassed all of gabrielino-tongva territory. "Gabrielino" was the name assigned to indigenous people living near the san gabriel mission by spanish settlers. The L.A. State Historic Park was formerly a fertile basin within a mile of Yaanga, the Tongva people’s largest known village in the area.
Before settlers arrived in california, Estimated 300,000 indigenous people lived across the state.
The El Monte City School District joins the country in honoring and celebrating all native peoples, past, present, and future, who call El Monte and California home.