We would like to get the word out to everyone at California Indian Nations College about our reopening on May 2. We are going to share important history, Dr. Sean Milanovich lecturing on the Treaty of Temecula, in partnership with the San Gorgonio Pass Historical Society and the Rupert Costo Endowment of UC Riverside. This is important for teachers and students. We invite everyone to come and celebrate our 501(c)3 nonprofit Dorothy Ramon Learning Center’s re-opening after two years of pandemic-related closure. We are excited about offering in-person community events once again in our work to save and share Southern California’s Native American cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts. Please see attached flier. Also below is the media release. Please share! Thanks so much!
MEDIA RELEASE
GATHERING AGAIN AT THE GATHERING HALL:
DOROTHY RAMON LEARNING CENTER TO CELEBRATE REOPENING
WITH PUBLIC RECEPTION AND LECTURE
After being closed for two years during the pandemic, Dorothy Ramon Learning Center returns on Monday, May 2, 2022, to saving and sharing Southern California’s Native American cultures at in-person events. The nonprofit Center will reopen at 127 N. San Gorgonio Ave., Banning, starting at 5 p.m. with a public reception and a Dragonfly Lecture that explores a little-known but pivotal moment in national history, the Treaty of Temecula.
The signing of this treaty changed history in January 1852, but most scholarly work leaves out the Native American voice — until now. “The Treaty of Temecula: A Story of Invasion, Deceit, Stolen Land, and the Persistence of Power,” by Dr. Sean Milanovich, is co-sponsored by the Learning Center, the San Gorgonio Pass Historical Society, and the Rupert Costo Endowment of University of California, Riverside. Suggested donation for the reception and lecture is $10 per person.
Catered Reception, 5 p.m.
Native American elder and Center President Ernest Siva (Cahuilla-Serrano) invites all to celebrate 19 years of the 501(c)3 nonprofit Learning Center, which saves and shares Southern California Native American cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts, starting with a 5 p.m. reception at The Center’s Gathering Hall, 127 N. San Gorgonio Ave., Banning. Catered refreshments will be provided courtesy of the Rupert Costo Endowment of UC Riverside. Enjoy visits, shopping, some traditional music, and visits and catching up with friends.
Dragonfly Lecture, 6 p.m.
The Dragonfly Lecture will follow. Dr. Sean Milanovich of the Agua Caliente Band used Indigenous research methodologies to help gather and tell the story of invasion and the plot to wrest control of tribal lands. Between March 1851 and January 1852, Indian commissioners produced eighteen treaties with at least 139 tribal bands. The Cahuilla, Cupeño, Luiseño, and Serrano attached their marks to the Treaty of Temecula, to unite their communities and prepare for a new world that included the survival of their people. In July 1852, the United States Senate rejected the treaties, and kept them secret. The people persevered and continued to thrive despite genocide, incarceration, and lack of resources. Dr. Milanovich will share about the leaders who signed the treaty — ancestors of some Native Americans we know today — and will discuss why and how this event affects everyone today.
Lecturer Dr. Sean Milanovich, a member of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Southern California, is an Indigenous family man — a loving husband, proud father, and blessed grandfather to two grandsons. He received his PhD in Native American history at the University of California, Riverside. Sean engages with his community by serving as Vice President of the Native American Land Conservancy, Secretary of the Native Land Trust Council, and President of the Wicahpi Koyaka Tiospaye. His interests lie in Indigenous ecological knowledge, getting out on the landscape to embrace the gifts of the Creator, and sharing a laugh and song with his community members.
More information: info@dorothyramon.org <mailto:info@dorothyramon.org> , 951.849.7736
Learn more about the Treaty of Temecula and watch Ernest Siva’s invitation video at https://dorothyramonlearningcenter.substack.com/p/youre-invited