Indigenous Peoples’ Day at Cal Poly

Oct. 9 marked Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a holiday that celebrates and honors indigenous Americans and commemorates their histories and cultures, and Cal Poly took part in this day.

On the lawn outside the yakʔitʸutʸu dorm buildings, the Cal Poly Native American and Indigenous Cultural Center (NAICC) hosted an event honoring the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini  Northern Chumash Tribe of San Luis Obispo County and Region. 

Booths at this event included a language booth, an artifact booth, a land booth and an information booth run by the NAICC. 

At this event, members of the yakʔitʸutʸu community gathered to share parts of their culture, educate others, and perform. 

“It is our job to pick it up and keep going and teach it to the next generation,” yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini Tribe member Kelsey Shaffer said. “And then it’s their responsibility to make sure it keeps going. Its huge for us, that’s what today is about honoring our family, the struggles that they went through for us to be here,” 

Shaffer is a member of the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini Tribe and attended Cal Poly’s Indigenous People’s Day with her family. 

“For our families here and the families of the YTT tribe this is a really special day for us to be able to share with the community, share pieces of our culture, pieces of our language, pieces of our family homeland here with people who cal San Luis Obispo their home,” Shaffer said. 

To learn more about the yakʔitʸutʸu Tribe, visit here.