Press Releases

SAN BERNARDINO— Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) and Presiding Judge R. Glenn Yabuno of the San Bernardino Superior Court today commemorated the first ever paid California Native American Day holiday extended to staff of a state entity – court personnel. This year the holiday falls on Friday, September 23.

Ramos successfully introduced AB 855 in 2021 to permit court personnel to switch Columbus Day for California Native American Day. The Judicial Council sponsored the bill.

The lawmaker, a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe, is the first California Native American lawmaker elected in

SACRAMENTO—Legislation encouraging school districts to collaborate with local tribes to increase knowledge about California Native Americans in their communities and help prevent incidents such as the one involving a Riverside mathematics teacher who last October mocked and insulted Indian culture will be introduced in coming days announced Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland).

“We are fine tuning language in the bill and will introduce it soon,” reported Ramos, the first California Native American elected to the Legislature. He said the new bill will be a first step toward increasing

Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) today issued the following statement following a special board meeting of the Riverside Unified School District aimed at eliminating cultural bias and insensitivity towards Native Americans. The hearing was called after a classroom incident involving a teacher mimicking a Native American dance while wearing a faux Native American headdress to teach math concepts.

"I wish to thank the Riverside Unified School District Board of Education and its administration for committing during today’s board meeting to address insensitivities demonstrated by the

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