Always have faith in our young people! Was honored to help lead our delegation from @allianceforbmoc to talk about important bills that impact our communities, the opportunity to have youth in juvenile Hug their parents, protect their rights when they try and transfer to adult prison, and ways to have alternatives to police with 911/988 calls!
The youth are our present, and our future. I'm humbled by their courage and stories?
@sadeelhawary@officialccst
@officialccst and @ftbmi are hosting a tremendous opportunity for our Native Community. Thank you @sgbmigt for providing the space for this meaningful event.
Greetings Relatives!
We are so excited to launch the California Native Organizing Network in partnership with Tepito Coffee and our Gabrielino Relatives—an organization made up of Native students, organizers, community leaders, tribes, and organizations committed to building Native Power we need to win on issues impacting our peoples lives.
Our CA Native Organizing Network Launch Event will be Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 from 10am–2pm. We will have delicious FREE tacos and aguas frescas, raffle prizes, DJ, dancers, panelists, and more!
Location: Tepito Coffee/Vroomans Bookstore Outdoor Amphitheater
Address: 695 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101
We come together to center Land Based Tribes in what is now called Los Angeles, create solidarity between tribal leaders, create a healing space for those who have been left out, and recruit more Native and Indigenous people to join the fight for Sovereignty, Self determination, and Liberation.
We hope to walk away with a united front —the beginnings of a base of Native people to take action on issues, policy, and systemic and structural change.
ALL NATIVE, TRIBAL, INDIGENOUS, FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ARE WELCOME!
RSVP in Bio or here: https://bit.ly/cnonlaunch
See you then!
THE CNON TEAM
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California Native Organizing Network
@officialccst@sgbmigt@ftbmi
Testimony 3-18-26:
Hagarename, Nu’ut Naget Joey Williams, and I’m a CA Indian (KVIC), one
of 190 autonomous tribes before contact in what is now called California. I represent the Coalition of CA State Tribes, a coalition organizing for state and federal sovereignty and self determination and liberation.
I have been an organizer for over 20 years fighting to end mass incarceration and for educational access for people of color, especially Indigenous and Native students. I was once a Native student in the
Bakersfield City School District, and back when I had more hair I was in the 4th grade and a teacher asked all the White students to get on one side of the class and Mexicans on the other. I remember sitting in the middle of the class because I knew I was Indian. My homeboys said get over here, “You are one of us?” It was clear to me that day if I wanted to survive I had to be something else (We are all Indigenous to this continent).
I say all that to say this, there has been a severe undercount of Native students in the school system. Especially in Southern CA, as LAUSD reported only 242 Native/Tribal students (LA County has more Natives here than anywhere in the US). 10 million people, 1.4 million in CA and only 242? It was clear from our work in the Indigenous Education Now Coalition
in LA that there was a severe undercount. Undercount means erasure and
misrepresentation (dual races), and erasure means lack of funds and resources for AIAN students.
AB 1581 by Assemblymember James Ramos, sets to remedy this and will require schools to report the Tribal data of students in California to CDE. By leveraging these revisions, the CDE can implement policies to standardize and enhance the collection of tribal data, ensuring that Native students are accurately represented and receive the resources they need.
CCST is one of 2 Native organizations in the Building CA Dream Alliance headed up by SEIU California, part of 60+ organizations that have put AB
1581 on it’s priority legislation for 2026. I urge this committee to strongly support AB 1581 to right the wrongs and make good on promises by the
Governor and Governor Brown for Truth and Reconciliation.
Thank You
UPDATE: AB1581 (Ramos). California Assembly Bill 1581, introduced by Assembly Member James Ramos, focuses on data reporting for American Indian and Alaska Native pupils. The bill aims to enhance the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) by including specific data related to these student populations.
CCST President, Joey Williams speaks at the press conference regarding a California Native American Day to be a paid state holiday. asmjamesramos @jaydoubleu77
Thanks to all that wrote a letter, made a phone call, and went to Sacramento to push back @asmaguiarcurry bill AB 52.
The bill was just pulled from the Natural Resources Committee hearing set for tomorrow.
Proud of the long list and solidarity.
Special thanks to @sayyi_gali and @indigenous_justice and all those that have been leading for over a decade on this!
Let’s keep the course as we will keep fighting for a better version of AB 52 that prioritizes the sovereignty of all CA Tribal Nations.
@officialccst@jaydoubleu77
