50,000 elementary school students have experienced the conference since 1999

San Bernardino, Ca. – More than 1,500 elementary school children and their teachers from throughout the Inland Empire are expected to visit Cal State San Bernardino and learn first-hand about California’s Native American culture, history and customs as part of the week-long California Indian Cultural Awareness Conference to be held on campus Sept. 23-27.

The five-day conference, which will be led by tribal educators from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and across California, will be from 9:45 a.m. to 12:55 p.m. in the university’s Santos Manuel Student Union. Students will learn firsthand from tribal members and elders about Native American traditions including basketry, plants, music, language and history including Native American accounts of the mission through early statehood period of California’s history.

The conference culminates in the 20th Annual California Native American Day celebration on Friday, Sept. 27, from 6-9 p.m., at the CSUSB Meeting Center (formerly known as the Commons).

This is a celebration to honor California’s indigenous people, an opportunity to learn about Native American culture and a time for people of all cultures to reflect on and remember their own heritage while experiencing the music, dance and stories of California’s native nations.

The celebration will feature traditional Northern California brush dancers, southern California bird singers and dancers, a participatory Native American theater company performance for all ages, food and demonstrations of traditional life ways and knowledge.

The event is free and open to the public. Free parking will be available in Lot D.

For more information on California Native American Day, contact Kenneth Shoji at (909) 754-0298 or email kshoji@sanmanuel-nsn.gov and visit http://www.nativeamericanday.org/.

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit inside.csusb.edu.

About San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is a federally-recognized Indian tribe located on the San Manuel Indian Reservation near Highland, California.  San Manuel exercises its inherent sovereign right of self-governance and provides essential services for its citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services, and promoting social, economic and cultural development.  As descendants of the indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys, mountains and high deserts, the Serrano people of San Manuel have called this area home since time immemorial and are committed to remaining a productive partner in the San Bernardino region.