Governor Newsom proclaims Native American Day
PROCLAMATION
Today we celebrate the 59th annual California Native American Day. This year’s theme, “Inherent Sovereignty: Tribal Nations Fighting to Protect Our People and Defend Our Land,” reflects tribal nations’ deep commitment to safeguarding inherent rights to Native bodily autonomy, Native spiritual and material relationships with lands and waters, and the unique cultural and human expression of Native peoples across the state.
Over the last several years, tribal nations have secured incredible milestones in furtherance of these rights. Through their advocacy, they have secured historic funding and policy initiatives to create safety and security for their people in the areas of housing, public safety and the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, wellness, and community care. They have also secured historic land return and access throughout the state, expanding tribal ownership and co-stewardship through innovative partnerships and sheer determination to restore ancestral homelands.
On this final Native American Day of my administration, we also reflect on our collective progress to address the most pressing issues of our time. Together, in partnership with California tribal nations, we have looked squarely at the violence and exploitation that marked the early relationship between the state and Native peoples, worked to address the harmful legacies of those early injustices and have begun to chart a path toward a better future for all based in truth, healing, and accountability. In shaping this future, we have chosen to do more than simply close gaps where they exist — we are aiming for the highest reaches of what could be possible in advancing Native excellence.
Together with tribal partners, we have also proven that innovation and tradition are not in competition, but that durable progress relies on both. In advancing our bold climate goals, we have had measurable success through restoring Traditional Ecological Knowledges, tribal experts, and Native stewardship practices to the lands and waters of this state. In maintaining our status as the fourth largest economy, tribal nations have led in job creation and economic growth, often in areas hungry for attention and investment throughout the state. And as we fight to sustain the arts, Native artists and practitioners continue to remind us of our common connection to beauty and humanity.
This California Native American Day, I encourage all Californians to reflect on our shared commitment to true partnership and accountability toward California Native Americans, and to continue toward a better future grounded in humility, respect, and inclusion for all.
NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim September 25, 2026 as “Native American Day.”
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 25th day of September 2026.
GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor of California
ATTEST:
SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.
Secretary of State
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