An eight-foot-tall bronze statue of a late Native American leader known for preserving cultural dances now stands surrounded by trees in a historic park outside of California’s state Capitol building, replacing a statue of a Spanish missionary that protesters toppled it in 2020.
California lawmakers, tribal leaders and hundreds of others on Tuesday celebrated the unveiling of a statue depicting Miwok leader William J. Franklin, Sr., in recognition of the Native American tribes whose ancestral lands are now the grounds of the state Capitol.
“Finally, the California Indian people will have a monument here on the Capitol grounds for all those visiting to know that we are still here,” said Assemblymember James C. Ramos, the first Native American in the state Legislature. “We’re here because of the resiliency of our elders and ancestors.”
Well there is good news, demographic studies have estimated that American Indian populations may have recovered to pre-contact levels, raw enrollment numbers might be lower but people who have a significant share of American Indian heritage number around 8-10 million last I checked, which is the low-ball of where it’s estimated to have been circa 1491, highball being 20 mil.
In Canada First Nations, Inuit and Metis people are the fastest growing demographic … which is helping them a lot.
Wait for real? I thought it was Punjab immigrants, especially with Modi bringing the crackdown hard enough to be sending gunmen to other countries over it