Sixth Annual California Indian Cultural Awareness Event

Judge Abby Abinanti is a citizen and Chief Judge of the Yurok Tribe. She holds her Juris Doctor Degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law. Judge Abby is the first Native American woman to be admitted to the State Bar of California and the first Native American woman to serve as a State Judicial Officer for the San Francisco Superior Court. In 2007, she was appointed as Chief Tribal Court Judge of the Yurok Tribe, jointly serving as judge and commissioner until 2015.

Councilwoman Catalina R. Chacon is a citizen of the Pechanga Band of Indians, where she has served on the council since 2012. She has served as Vice Chair of the California Tribal Families Coalition, Vice Chair of the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations, and currently as a member of the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. She is active in advocating for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis, the Feather Alert, and Indian Child Welfare.

Rose Mary Salgado was a beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and tribal leader, born and raised on the reservation of the Soboba (so-BO-bah) Band of Luiseño (loo-SWEN-yo) Indians, of which she was a member and where she served on the council for 28 years. She served on numerous nonprofit and educational boards as an advocate for educational equity for American Indian students. She was a Trustee of the San Jacinto Unified School District, where next month, in August, SJUSD will open its newest school, “Rose Salgado Elementary School,” in honor of her profound impact and legacy in education, especially for Native American students. (Posthumous)

Chairman Frederick Quinton “Bo” Mazzetti was born, raised, and lived on the Rincon (reen-cone) Band of Luiseño (loo-SWEN-yo) Indian Reservation, where he served as Tribal Chairman since 2007 for five consecutive terms, and was President of the San Luis Rey Indian Water Authority Board of Directors until the day he passed, surrounded by his loved ones, on May 1, 2025. Chairman Bo Mazzetti served in the United States Navy and graduated from California Polytechnic University, Pomona, with a B.S. in Behavioral Science. He created the statewide Tribal Chairpersons Association and the Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association. (Posthumous)

Bella Garcia

Jennie Rocha

Ethan Molin (Class of 2024)