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At United Ways of California, as part of our ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, we honor and celebrate observances like Native American and Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month to promote a sense of belonging among our staff, to recognize and honor the significant contributions of historically marginalized or underrepresented voices, and to educate ourselves about inequities and injustices in our country.

In November and year-round, it is important to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of Native American and Indigenous people. It is also important to remember historical injustices such as forced separation from land, family, and culture as well as acknowledge inequities that continue to affect Native Americans and Indigenous people living in California today.

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that the communities California United Ways works with across the state are on the traditional lands of more than 100 native tribes who have stewarded this land for centuries and who continue to exist, cut off from much of their land, today.

A land acknowledgment, while important, is only a first step toward positive action. Through ongoing and continuous efforts, we must honor the legacy of Native American and Indigenous peoples and work towards a future that respects and upholds their rights and contributions.

Learn whose land you reside on.

Celebrating Native American and Indigenous Peoples

It’s important to celebrate the invaluable contributions of Native American and Indigenous people—both past and present—in a wide variety of fields in this country. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. Guitarist Jimi Hendrix (and other Native Americans who influenced rock music). Poet laureate Joy Harjo. Actor Jason Momoa. Pioneering aerospace engineer Mary Golda Ross. NFL player Creed Humphrey. Prima ballerina Maria Talchief. National Park Service Director Charles F. Samms III. Model Quannah Chasinghorse. Astronaut John Harrington. Artist Kent Monkman. Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Louise Erdrich. Activist Hank Adams. Chef Sean Sherman. The list goes on.

Beyond public figures, Native American and Indigenous people contribute diverse art, food, music, language, environmental practices, and more that make our state and country culturally richer. Native American and Indigenous peoples are also often strong environmental stewards, protecting natural resources and advocating for climate justice policies. 

Access our Native American and Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month guide.

Acknowledging Inequities Affecting Native American and Indigenous Peoples

According to the 2020 Census, 3.6% of Californians identify as “American Indian or Alaska Native,” alone or in combination with other races and ethnicities, compared to 2.9% of the U.S. population. While making up a relatively low percentage of the population, at more than 1.4 million, California has the highest number of residents identifying with this race compared to any other U.S. state. This, along with historical treatment and still-existing inequities, makes it particularly important for us to understand, acknowledge, and address the needs of Native American and Indigenous peoples living in California today. 

It is important to note that Native Americans and Indigenous peoples are not a monolith. According to California Courts, there are 109 federally recognized tribes just in California, plus about 45 tribal communities in the state whose status was terminated, via the racist and colonial House Concurrent Resolution 108 in 1953, or never recognized. 

Lumping Native Americans into a single group dismisses their unique identities and oversimplifies the rich diversity of Indigenous peoples. How “Native American” and “Indigenous” are defined can also be problematic. There can be overlap with other racial and ethnic categories, such as Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, Hispanic, and Latine. This overlap can cause miscounting or misunderstanding from a data perspective, especially when people identifying as “two or more races” are lumped together or when those also identifying as Latine/Hispanic are removed from Native American counts. Understanding these complexities is essential to avoid erasing and overlooking the distinctiveness of individual communities.

But two major commonalities among most, if not all, Native American and Indigenous communities in the U.S. are that their ancestors endured horrific treatment and injustices throughout history and that they do face severe economic, educational, and health inequities still today.

Historical treatment of Native Americans that still impacts this diverse group today include:

Many differences in needs among Native Americans and Indigenous peoples are a result of this history. Even among members of the same tribe, Native Americans are spread throughout the state and country, live on tribal and non-tribal lands, live in urban and rural areas, and more—resulting in widely varied experiences. Some have access to their native language, culture, and land, while others don’t. Some have access to broader supportive infrastructure, and others (especially those living on tribal lands) have less access. There can also be challenges accessing federal resources specific to Native Americans, when such resources are available at all. Tribes that are not federally recognized are likely to have even fewer support resources than those that are federally recognized.

All of these factors can make addressing inequities affecting Native American and Indigenous peoples challenging. However, the extreme inequities Native Americans and Indigenous peoples face in California and nationally make it critical to consider the needs of this group.

For example, United Ways of California’s Real Cost Measure study found that 44% of Native American and Alaskan Native households in California are not earning enough to afford basic necessities, like housing and health care, compared to 34% for all races and ethnicities.

Native American homeownership rates (historically the most accessible way for people to build wealth in the U.S.) are lower than those of all races, according to USA Facts. Though numbers from 2019 indicate that Native American homeownership rates are higher than those of Black and Hispanic/Latine households, they are lower than rates for Asian American and white households. In addition to affordable housing challenges all Californians face, limited mortgage lending capabilities on tribal lands can be a barrier to Native American homeownership, according to Freddie Mac.

Historical and current health care access challenges also continue to create inequitable health outcomes for Native Americans. The National Indian Council on Aging attributes these disparities to factors like “language and communication barriers, lack of diversity in the healthcare workforce, high rates of poverty, lack of insurance coverage, discrimination against American Indians and Alaska Natives, and large distances from healthcare services.” The National Indian Health Board reports that American Indians and Alaskan Natives also have disproportionate rates of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), which affect health and wellbeing later in life. While the federal agency Indian Health Service provides care to more than 2 million Native Americans, “Congress has consistently underfunded the agency,” an American Bar Association publication says, resulting in limited services that don’t even match benefits guaranteed by Medicaid. A 2022 study in the Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy found that Native Americans’ average life span is 12-13 years less than white Americans (the comparison group used in the study for illustrative purposes), attributed to poorer quality healthcare and increased vulnerability “due to historical conditions.” The Indian Health Service reports a life expectancy that is 5.5 years less than the average life expectancy for all races. 

A 2020 National Caucus of Native American State Legislators study also identified significant gaps in educational achievement between Native Americans and their white peers, including below-standards performance and high dropout rates. And according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data, only 24.6% of Native American people over the age of 25 living in California have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 37.5% for all races.

It’s also important to note that Native American and Indigenous peoples are often lumped into an “other” category in studies and reports that break down economic inequalities by race or ethnicity. In addition to minimizing the experiences of this group of people, practices like this also make it challenging to find data specific to this population, and thus make it challenging to address inequities that likely exist. 

When working toward an equitable California where every individual has the resources and opportunities they need to thrive, it’s critical to consider the unique experiences and histories of Native American and Indigenous peoples, building authentic relationships and bringing people with lived experience into the process.

How Some Regions Are Addressing Inequities and Needs

At United Ways of California’s statewide taxes meeting earlier this year, Susan Englund, Vice President of Community Impact with United Way of Ventura County, shared how United Way of Ventura County works with Indigenous communities in their region: 

“Ventura County is home to more than 20,000 Indigenous persons, most of them employed in agriculture. State tax education and outreach funding supported United Way’s partnership with the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) to provide outreach about free tax preparation services in Spanish, Mixteco, and Zapoteco languages via their radio station. United Way also contracted Indigenous interpretation services for both Mixteco and Zapoteco households at one of our in-person free tax preparation sites.”

When distributing payments through the Food and Farm Worker Relief program, Northern Santa Barbara County United Way also developed relationships with Mixteco community members and recognized the importance of resources specifically developed for this population. Northern Santa Barbara County United Way CEO Eddie Taylor shared, “In response, we are developing interactive online opportunities, including using platforms like Unite for Literacy to offer audio storybooks with written Spanish language. This initiative is designed to help Mixteco parents share storybooks with their young children, fostering early literacy and language development.”

It is important to continue to mobilize the power of our communities to bring people with lived experiences, organizations, and partners together to find culturally appropriate ways to do more to close gaps and improve health, education, and financial results for Native American and Indigenous peoples.

This month, United Ways of California is organizing a panel discussion for local United Way staff across the state to explore how others are building, sustaining, and enhancing relationships with Native American and Indigenous communities in their local areas.

Resources to Celebrate Native American and Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month

As a part of our commitment to equity, United Ways of California is gathering and sharing resources that might be helpful to our staff, network, and partners. If you want a place to start for your individual or collective learning this month, our Native American and Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month guide is available to you as a resource as well.

Here are a few other resources that might be helpful in your learning:

Join us in celebrating the contributions of Native American and Indigenous Peoples to our world and workplaces—this month and year-round.