#kumeyaay

[kropotkindersurprise]

April 12, 2026 - Indigenous people in Mexico protested the USA blasting a sacred ceremonial site with dynamite to build the US-México border wall. [video]

[theremina]

exquisitely upholstered cacti, magic hour, kumeyaay land, 2022

[nyemuul]

Ch’uup — Yautja Hybrid

Illustrated by Calszonee

Recently I rewatched The Predator and felt like the hybrid concept was really cool, but personally, was also lackluster. After really looking into some Yautja lore and one of my designs for a Star Wars original character (based off of a mantis), I reworked some things and made a little inspo board to send off to my friend for a commission.

So here is my idea for a Human-Yautja hybrid, her name is Ch’uup, a reference to a character in my culture’s stories (Chaup and the Buzzard People). In my mini lore, she is seen as a perversion to her race for sharing a lot of similarities to humans, but her yearning for acceptance and proving her worth allows her to ignore how she is viewed.

Though she is restricted from accessing most Yautja weapons (blasters and the such), she utilizes melee based combat the most, her wrist blades and a war club being her go to. Her leaning towards her human nature over Yautja, was not an accident in her creation, her purpose is to infiltrate human areas without being noticed too easily.

Though her people forbid her from having relations like the rest of her race, she yearns for experience to raise pups into being worthy fighters. She spends a lot of time around younglings to play and aid parents around, though most would prefer her away from their communities.

I was thinking of potentially having her make a whole new clan to continue the hybridization of the two races, potentially leading to the creation of my initial Star Wars character. I really love her a lot and am so thankful for Cal taking on my project!

[superinjun]

Half Indian/Half Mexican, 1991-2011

James Luna ('Iipai-Tiipai, Payómkawichum, Mexican)

[agelessphotography]

Half Indian/Half Mexican, James Luna, 1991

[ningirida]

WEST INDIGENOUS NORTH AMERICAN RESOURCES

The Anthropological Masterlist is HERE.

The Western United States is a North American region that constitutes the western part of the United States. Alaska and Hawaii are also considered part of the Western United States.

AHTNA ─ “The Ahtna, or Ahtena, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to the Copper River in southern Alaska.” ─ Ahtna Information

ALEUT ─ “The Aleuts, or Unangas, are an Inuit people. They are native to the Aleutian Islands between Russia and Alaska.” ─ Aleut Information ─ Aleut Museum ─ Aleut Language

ATHABASKAN ─ “Athabaskan, or Dene, is an Indigenous American linguistic group that share the Athabaskan language family. They are native to Alaska, north Canada, and southwest United States of America.” ─ Athabaskan Languages ─ Athabaskan Language Conference

CAHUILLA ─ “The Cahuilla, or Ivilyuqaletem, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to the center of southern California.” ─ Cahuilla Information ─ Cahuilla Language ─ Cahuilla Language

CROW ─ “The Crow, or Absaroka, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to central and south Montana.” ─ Crow Information ─ Crow Language

HOPI ─ “The Hopi are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to northeastern Arizona.” ─ Hopi Information ─ Hopi Culture and History ─ Hopi Dictionary

INUIT ─ “The Inuit are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to Greenland, Canada, and Alaska.” ─ Inuit Collections ─ Inuit Religion ─ Inuit Dictionary

KUMEYAAY ─ “The Kumeyaay, or Tipai-Ipai, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to southern California.” ─ Kumeyaay Culture ─ Kumeyaay Language ─ Diegueño Dialect

KWAKWAKA’WAKW ─ “The Kwakwaka’wakw, or the Kwakiutl, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to Vancouver Island.” ─ Kwakwaka’wakw Mythology ─ Revival of the Kwakwaka’wakw Langauge ─ The Bible in Kwakwaka’wakw

LUISEÑO ─ “The Luiseño, or Payómkawichum, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to the coastal area of southern California.” ─ Luiseño Culture ─ Luiseño History ─ Luiseño Language

MIWOK ─ “The Miwok, or Miwuk, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to northern California.” ─ Miwok Mythology ─ Miwok History ─ Miwok Dictionary

NAVAJO ─ “The Navajo, or Diné, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to the southwestern United States of America.” ─ Navajo Culture ─ Navajo Mythology ─ Navajo Language

O’ODHAM ─ “The O’odham people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.” ─ O’odham Dictionary

PAIUTE ─ “The Northern Paiute people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to the Great Basin in the United States of America.” ─ Paiute Culture ─ Paiute Culture ─ Paiute History

PUEBLO ─ “The Pueblo, or Puebloan, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to New Mexico and Arizona.” ─ Isleta Pueblo Information

SHOSHONE ─ “The Shoshone, or Shoshoni, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada.” ─ Shoshone Information ─ Shoshoni Language Project

SNOHOMISH ─ “The Snohomish people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to the Puget Sound area of Washington.” ─ Snohomish Culture and History

TEWA ─ “The Tewa are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to the Rio Grande, New Mexico.” ─ The Ethnogeography of the Tewa Indian

WINTUN ─ “The Wintun people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to North California.” ─ Wintu Language

ZUNI ─ “The Zuni, or Zuñi, people are an Indigenous North American people. They are native to western New Mexico.” ─ Zuni Culture ─ Zuni Culture ─ Zuni Language

[toriroze]

In San Diego, CA, we inhabit Kumeyaay Land ❤️🙏🏽❤️ Repost from @amplifierart • Take a moment today to learn about the peoples' whose land you are currently occupying. Visit native-land.ca to learn about the original inhabitants of the land you occupy. One you know the land you are on - research landback & real rent to indigenous communities in your area. Donating to those causes are an amazing way to support and show solidarity with our Indigenous relatives! REMATRIATE THE LAND by @jackiefawn #indigenous #nativeamerican #kumeyaay #reparations #indigenousdayofmourning #acknowledge #awaken #native #thanksgiving #truth #history #herstory (at San Diego, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClY8AEkJlOW/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[amer-ainu]

"Tlingit man elected as San Diego mayor"

Indian Country Today

Joaqlin Estus Indian Country Today

On Nov. 3, Todd Gloria, Tlingit, aged 42, was elected mayor of San Diego, the nation’s 8th largest and California’s second-largest city.

Gloria is the first openly gay and the first person of color to be elected as San Diego’s mayor, as well as “the first Native American and Filipino-American mayor elected in a US city of over a million people…” according to the Los Angeles Times.

He was born in San Diego. In a 2009 interview he said he’s Native American, Filipino and “a little bit of Dutch and Puerto Rican.” In 2018, representatives of the 30,000 citizens of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, which has headquarters in Juneau, Alaska, adopted a resolution honoring Gloria for his leadership.

His Tlingit ancestors are from Klukwan and Haines, Alaska. His grandfather, Louis J. Gloria, of Juneau then El Centro, California, served on the board of the Alaska Native corporation for southeast Alaska, Sealaska, from 1979 to 1988, when the for-profit company went from being in the red to having assets in the tens of millions of dollars.

Gloria told reporter Christy Scannell of San Diego Uptown News his background is, “a classic San Diego story in the sense that all four of my grandparents came from different parts of the world because of the Navy and the military – so from Juneau, Alaska; Tulsa, Okla.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Manila. My grandfathers were in the service. My paternal grandmother came here because her father was in the service. My maternal grandmother came here to work in the factories. And they just all stayed.”

Todd Gloria, a Democrat, said his lifelong career in public service was inspired by his parents, who worked as a maid and gardener in his youth. His father went on to a career in aeronautics.

When asked how his ethnicity shapes him, Gloria said, “I think certainly being part Native American and being very sensitive to issues of sovereignty and things of that nature is probably something that someone else wouldn’t necessarily bring to the table. And a real understanding, because I think unfortunately for Native Americans the understanding of them is fairly superficial and unfortunately cartoonish. The depth of that is far more complex.”

He said he’s helped educate others that some tribes have gaming but also there’s significant poverty. “My tribe does not game and so that presents some fiscal realities for us that are not common with a lot of San Diegans’ experiences.”

Gloria also has written, voted for, and supported legislation recognizing the right of Native Americans to wear cultural and traditional regalia at graduation ceremonies, and repatriation of artifacts. He served on the state Assembly’s Native American Affairs committee. And he’s brought Native Americans forward for recognition.

In September, the state Assembly adopted a bill by Gloria that would end the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s practice of accessing gas and electric customer utility data to facilitate deportations. He’s also the author of legislation that strengthens protections for victims of domestic violence.

He said he’s also been embraced by the Filipino community.

David Garrick, of the San Diego Herald Tribune, wrote, “Openly gay, he will be the first mayor of color and arguably the city’s most powerful leader.” Garrick said Gloria’s power is due to the city having switched to a strong-mayor style of governance in 2005, and because, unlike most other mayors since then, the majority of city council seats are held by members of his own party, which bodes well for his initiatives.

“Further increasing his power, Gloria will be the first mayor in modern history to simultaneously have strong backing from the business community and organized labor, two groups who are often at odds,” Garrick noted. Police, firemen’s, and public employee unions endorsed Gloria, as well as a regional labor council, the county Democratic party, and the regional chamber of commerce, which usually backs Republicans.

According to a speech Gloria made after the election, he’ll use that greater influence to fulfill his vision of making San Diego one of the nation’s greatest cities. Throughout his career, Gloria has worked on housing, racial justice and climate, issues that he’ll continue to work to address. He’s worked to increase access for treatment of AIDS. He’s called for more affordable housing and less use of law enforcement to handle homelessness.

Gloria said the city is facing unprecedented challenges: a continued worsening public health crisis, an economic crisis due to the necessary response to the pandemic, and a housing and homelessness crisis, as well as, “A social reckoning rooted in a sense that is in systemic racism that has been long ignored in this country, but has been awakened by the murders of George Floyd, Briana Taylor, Ahmad, Aubrey, and Ray, Milton, and far too many others to list this evening.”

When President Donald Trump came to San Diego, Gloria said “Instead of using this as an opportunity to advance his divisive and racist border wall, I wish that he were coming to our community instead to look at issues that we need addressing, specifically our needs around trade and our region that help grow jobs. And of course our ongoing cross-border pollution problems…”

In another talk he said, “the true emergency facing our state, our nation and our world is climate change. And don't let anyone tell you anything different. Climate change will lead to more heat-related deaths, smaller crop yields, more people in poverty and slowing economic growth. It's the world's most vulnerable communities that will be hit first and worst because of its impacts.” He was urging Congressional action for a “green new deal.”

"...When members of Congress convene in Washington, it will be clear where California stands. We stand on the right side of history. We stand opposed to climate change. We stand up for science and we stand out for making sure that we continue to have a planet that we may live on.”

Gloria was elected to the city council in 2008 and served as council president from 2012 to 2014. He was interim mayor in 2013.

He’s proud of his role in turning around the city’s fiscal crisis, “I served as the city's budget chair for six of eight years that I was at city hall. We were able to take the city from massive budget deficits resulting from the great recession, and turn them into surpluses and reserves that thankfully will help mitigate some of the cuts that will be necessary going forward.”

Gloria was minority whip in the California State Assembly, the state’s legislative body. When he was first elected, he was the Assembly’s only enrolled tribal member and just its second Filipino-American legislator. Reporter Garrick noted Gloria is the first mayor since 1971with experience serving in the state Assembly.

Before that, Gloria was district director for a California U.S. Representative to Congress. He also worked for San Diego County's Health and Human Services Agency. He earned a Bachelor’s in history from University of California.

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Joaqlin Estus, Tlingit, is a national correspondent for Indian Country Today, and a long-time Alaska journalist.

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