Press Releases

SACRAMENTO—Educators and tribal members shared practices that further the success of Native American students and gaps in resources that hinder adequate support for these pupils during a joint informational hearing on Wednesday. It was less than a week after a video went viral of a white high school teacher wearing a fake Indian headdress hopped around her classroom while teaching math concepts.

The Assembly Education Committee and Select Committee on Native American Affairs, which scheduled the hearing months earlier, took note of the teacher’s actions.

Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland

SACRAMENTO—Governor Gavin Newsom today signed six wide-ranging tribal bills introduced by Assemblymember James Ramos (D-Highland). They aid tribal foster youth, create a new monument to Sacramento-area tribes on state Capitol grounds, bolster students’ right to wear tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies, allow a paid holiday for state court personnel on California Native American Day and streamline access to emergency response vehicles on tribal lands. Newsom signed the legislative package on California Native American Day.

In a news release issued by the governor upon signing the Ramos

SACRAMENTO— Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland), chair of the California Native American Select Committee and California Native American Legislative Caucus, joined other lawmakers in voicing concerns about a classroom incident at John W. North High School in the Riverside Unified School District. The incident went viral on Wednesday.

A news account described the incident as a mathematics teacher dancing before her students in a “faux Native American headdress” while chanting “SohCahToa” to help students remember trigonometry ratios.

Ramos is the first California Native American ever

SACRAMENTO—A measure to grant state Judicial Branch employees the first-ever paid state holiday on California Native American Day will head to Gov. Gavin Newson after the Assembly concurred today in Senate amendments on a 73-0 bipartisan vote. The bill, AB 855, was introduced by Assembly James C. Ramos (D-Highland).

Ramos, a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe, is the first California Native American lawmaker elected in the state’s almost 171-year history. He has labored to enact a California Native American Day since 1998.

“I was a San Manuel council member when I started working toward this

SACRAMENTO—California’s State Senate today approved placement of a monument honoring Sacramento-area tribes in Capitol Park at the former site of a sculpture commemorating Junipero Serra, controversial founder of the state’s mission system. The bill, AB 338, authored by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) was approved on a bipartisan vote of 28 to 2 and will next go to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Ramos said, “AB 338 will honor the Native people on whose land the Capitol now stands. It also allows us the opportunity to hear more about the devastating impact of the mission period on California’s

SACRAMENTO—California’s Senate Governmental Organization today approved placement of a monument honoring Sacramento-area tribes in Capitol Park at the former site of a sculpture commemorating Junipero Serra, controversial founder of the state’s mission system. The bill, AB 338, authored by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) was approved on a unanimous and bipartisan vote of 12-0.

“We do not condone the vandalism that resulted in the toppling of the Serra statue,” Ramos said. “However, it did provide an opportunity for us to explore why this figure from California’s founding has become a

SACRAMENTO –A measure to help ensure Native American students may exercise their right to wear items of spiritual or cultural significance at high school graduations was approved today on a bipartisan vote of 64-0. The measure, AB 945, by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) will be sent to the Senate.

“Despite existing protections in state law, local school officials continue to object when students wish to wear items such as eagle feathers, sashes with basket designs, basket caps or beaded medallions during graduation ceremonies,” Ramos stated. He noted that in 2018 former

SACRAMENTO—The Assembly today unanimously approved a resolution designating May as California Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Awareness Month; it was introduced by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland).

“California has the sixth highest death rate of indigenous women in urban cities – and our state has the largest Native American population in the country,” Ramos said. “Native American women face a pandemic of violence against them, and we must be persistent and consistent in increasing awareness, increasing preventative measures and in resolving these cases so loved ones

SACRAMENTO—California’s state Assembly today approved a historic measure to grant state Judicial Branch employees the first-ever paid holiday on California Native American Day, which falls on the fourth Friday of September every year. AB 855, by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland), heads to the state Senate on a unanimous 72-0 bipartisan vote.

Ramos, a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe, is the first California Native American lawmaker elected in the state’s 170-year history. He has been laboring to enact a California Native American Day since 1998. “I was a San Manuel council member

SACRAMENTO—With approval today by the Assembly Appropriations Committee today, a measure to allow state and local court employees to receive a paid holiday in celebration of California Native American Day will go to the full Assembly.

Assembly Bill 855 introduced by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) said, “This is one more step forward in statewide recognition of the history, culture, and contributions of California’s Native Americans.”

AB 855 would amend the Code of Civil Procedure to recognize California Native American Day as a judicial holiday to provide proper recognition for