In Indigenous protocol, we're beginning this week's episode honoring the original stewards of this land that many of us in Frisco now occupy — the ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone.

Now, let's take a trip down Valencia Street to La Misión.

The neighborhood is home to not one, but two rich cultural districts. Calle 24 Latino Cultural District was first established in 1999. More recently, in 2020, it was joined by the American Indian Cultural District — a home base for the Urban Native community. Its aim is to uplift the culture, history, and continuing contributions of American Indians in San Francisco and beyond.

On this week's Rightnowish, we introduce you to some of the people behind this cultural district that's the first of its kind in the Golden State.

Mary Travis-Allen (Mayagna, Chortega, Seneca) is the President of the District's Advisory Board and recalls memories of "Little Rez" along 16th Street. Debbie Santiago (Washoe, Osage) and her mother, Alberta Snyder (Washoe) share their memories about the SFUSD's Indian Education Program that ran out of the American Indian Cultural Center on Valencia Street in the 70s and 80s. Karen Waukazoo (Lakota) remembers her late mother and local hero, Helen Waukazoo, who co-founded Friendship House, the oldest social service organization in the United States run by and for American Indians. Last but not least, we venture to the waterfront at Fort Mason to talk with Sharaya Souza (Taos Pueblo, Ute, Kiowa), the Executive Director of the American Indian Cultural District about the legacy of the Alcatraz occupation. 

There are so many Native stories alive in La Misión — we hope this is just the start to more of us hearing about them.

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