Nation-Building After Federal Recognition

On today’s episode, Jessica speaks with Sandra Hernandez, Tribal Treasurer, and Colin Rambo, Cultural Resources Manager, of the Tejon Indian Tribe. We talk about their history, from having the first reservation in California to unknowingly losing all their land due to an unratified treaty to becoming the 566th federally recognized tribe through the reaffirmation process. They talk about what it’s like literally building a nation from scratch, in addition to revitalizing their language and culture. Finally they end out talking about their cultural preservation program and the curation facility that they built. This facility is now being used to fund their larger cultural goals.