Redbird's Native American Powwow recognized by the County of Ventura

The County of Ventura's logo appears on our powwow flier for the first time in the 31 year history of the gathering, and the significance runs deep.

There are three counties I am aware of in southern California that chose not to recognize indigenous people and nations in their formation. In the case of Ventura County, that decision was made over 150 years ago.* That act had sweeping, generational negative impact, as I am sure it was intended to.

It made the people of the land invisible and invalid. It stripped their connection to place, and to themselves. Its impacts were far-reaching, and can be felt today. Regrouping as a nation after centuries of active annihilation, both physical and spiritual, has been difficult...and for some, impossible.

In my lifetime leaders have emerged who helped illuminate the way for reparation. Sometimes they were recognized as leaders. Sometimes they faced a lack of support from their own people. Sometimes both. But they chipped away at fears, at business as usual, at symbology, at things that sometimes didn't seem important. They kept the pressure on to be recognized as native people on their own land. It took a toll on their physical bodies. But they never quit.

The first Redbird powwow was held in 1994 in Moorpark, 31 years ago. The 2025 powwow is our twenty third gathering. All but one of them happened in Ventura County. This is the first time the powwow (and blanket drive, and another gathering as of yet undetermined) has been recognized by the County of Ventura. Whose logo no longer includes the presence of missions. (Ironically, the very special Channel Islands which the logo now embodies is presently under threat by an Executive Order).

This (recognition by the County) has been slow in coming. This has been not always easy, and not necessarily embraced by everyone whom you might think would embrace it. The powwow culture itself came from other regions, and when it arrived in southern California, it wasn't always clear what local indigenous people spoke for the land, and if you found them, would the other local indigenous people recognize them as having the right to speak. But however awkward and uncomfortable, the genesis of recognition began within. Native people were the first ones to recognize that other native people were still maintaining a connection to their land. It began there.

What an honor it has been to be able to bring this gathering back (several times now). Redbird's powwow is a true community powwow, independent of sponsorship by an over-arching entity, but very much dependent on the support of individuals within the community, tribal nations, private foundations, governing bodies, the Ventura County Community College District. Independence is, in a sense, really a dependence on a greater matrix of community. And then once the weekend arrives, the powwow becomes an entity of its own. It is the energy that the people bring to it. It is born of that moment. It is a co-creation of those who gather.

May we all come to gather in a good and beautiful way.

* Regarding non-recognition of indigenous people and nations: Ventura was not alone in denying the existence of indigenous people. For Los Angeles County and Orange County, this occurred probably somewhere in the same time frame as Ventura. San Bernardino is a mix of recognition and non-recognition.

Corina Roberts is the founder of Redbird, raised in Simi Valley and currently holding dual residency in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties.

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