CNNCTS Supports SDSU’s 6th Annual Native & Indigenous Research & Arts Symposium
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Updated: 5 hours ago
On March 12th and March 13th, 2026, the San Diego State University (SDSU) Native Resource Center (NRC), in collaboration with the Collaborative of Native Nations for Climate Transformation and Stewardship (CNNCTS), hosted their 6th Annual Native & Indigenous Research & Arts Symposium (NIRAS). CNNCTS held a panel discussion with Ana Gloria (Martha) Rodriguez, Gabriella Lassos, Johnny Bear Contreras, and Andrew and Lisset Pittman, who shared their inspiring projects and community work in arts and media.
By Vanessa Hernandez and Kara Conner
Students, faculty, staff, and community members convened on Kumeyaay lands at the San Diego State University (SDSU) Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center on March 12th and 13th, 2026 for the SDSU Native Resource Center’s (NRC) 6th Annual Native and Indigenous Research and Arts Symposium (NIRAS). In collaboration with the Collaborative of Native Nations for Climate Transformation and Stewardship (CNNCTS), this event brought together students of all disciplines, dancers, community members, and professionals to present, share, and discuss various topics related to Indigenous issues and the NRC’s core pillars: Decolonization & Sovereignty, Truth, Education, & Growth, Indigenous Philosophies & Identity, and Health & Wellness.
As the symposium began, attendees moved into the presentation space as emcees Aerin Scalco and Malaya Pojas welcomed everyone and invited SDSU Tribal Liaison Jacob Alvarado Waipuk to the stage. Waipuk read the SDSU Land Acknowledgement, then invited fellow bird singers Blue Eagle Vigil and Jamie LaBrake to join him on the stage. Together, they blessed the space with their bird songs, and Kumeyaay dancers joined them in offering prayer through song and dance.
Throughout NIRAS, five student panels were held, each with topics relevant to one of the NRC’s core pillars. Students across SDSU and the local community presented on various topics pertaining to Indigenous issues not only across Turtle Island, but the whole world.
The first student panel titled Truth, Education, and Growth, touched on a typically underrepresented, yet incredibly important topic, traffic safety for Native American youth. Following this presentation, attendees viewed a screening of Sacred Salmon and learned about the filming process directly from the creator Skylar Tillman. The student panel concluded with a touching first-hand account and discussion on navigating personal grief as a student.
NIRAS welcomed Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy, this year’s Keynote Speaker, to the stage for her Keynote presentation. Dr. Risling Baldy is a recipient of The 2025 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award as one of the Co-Directors of the Rou Dalagurr: Food Sovereignty Lab & Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute at CalPoly Humboldt and is author of her renowned book, We Are Dancing For You: Native feminisms and the revitalization of women's coming-of-age ceremonies.
In her keynote presentation “Finding Strength Through Adversity,” Dr. Risling Baldy spoke about her experiences with decolonizing academic spaces. She highlighted the journey she took fighting the academic system, working alongside her students and the community to bring the vision of The Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab to life at Cal Poly Humboldt. The Food Sovereignty Lab is dedicated to revitalizing Indigenous food systems and fostering community-based food sovereignty through hands-on learning, research, and collaboration.
Following Dr. Cutcha’s keynote presentation, two more student panels took place. The second panel, with student presenters Eliana Hernandez, Elita Brannigan, Amber Jones, and Juan Gallegos, focused on the NRC core pillar Decolonization and Sovereignty. Their presentations powerfully signified Indigenous sovereignty through art and oral storytelling, rebel archives, alternatives to AI, and efforts of decolonization on a global scale.
The third student panel shifted focus to NRC core pillar Indigenous Philosophies & Identity. Student presenters Verlena J. Livingston, Maritza Barley, and Reine Gutierrez spoke on personal and academic narratives across education, art, wellbeing, identity, science, and spirit. Their presentations emphasized the power in honoring identity and self through diverse life experiences.
After the student panels, community organization Native Like Water screened their film Haagua, an Indigenous surf film sharing the story of Great Grandmother Ocean and highlighting the generations of surf as a cultural tradition across Indigenous nations. Attendees heard from Sophia Uribe, Chief Operating Officer at Native Like Water, and engaged in discussion together through a Q&A following the film screening.
NIRAS also showcased performances such as dances, music, and a fashion show. Day one of the symposium closed out with a fashion show curated by Tiffany Wolfe, local Diné and Oglala Lakota fashion designer. Her fashion show was a love letter, as her show was titled, to the ancestors and future generations. Each piece in Wolfe’s collection of handmade fashion held a story, with inspiration from the land, Indigenous ecological knowledges, and traditional practices. Attendees admired her art as models walked the runway showing off Wolfe’s handmade pieces.
The following morning, the Pacific Islander Student Association (PISA) dance group opened day two of the symposium with traditional dances. Then, the first student panel of the day took place with focus on NRC core pillar Health & Wellness. Student presenters Mark Freeland and Woo In Kim reflected on the impacts of COVID-19 on systemic and collective levels, while Alejandra Torres Gomez presented on México’s processed foods epidemic.
Following the first student panel on the second day of NIRAS, CNNCTS hosted a panel with partners Ana Gloria (Martha) Rodriguez, Johnny Bear Contreras, Gabriella Lassos, and Andrew and Lisset Pittman. Titled “Indigenous Stewardship Through Arts and Media,” the CNNCTS panel highlighted digital media, sculpture, basketry, and artistic signage.
Ana Gloria (Martha) Rodriguez, Kumeyaay culture bearer and founder of Tipey Joa Native Warriors, introduced the Hear our Names Project, a visual signage project in collaboration between Tipey Joa Native Warriors and Climate Science Alliance. Together, they designed signs with artwork of native plants in the region with their Kumeyaay names and QR codes that viewers can scan to learn more about the plant and hear the pronunciation of their name in the Kumeyaay language. Rodriguez shared that at the beginning of the project they started with the Kumeyaay language, and are now expanding signage with additional local Indigenous languages such as Cahuilla and Luiseño. She also shared that these signs can be viewed in-person at Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve, Sweetwater Marsh, and Kosay Kumeyaay Market. You can learn more at the Hear Our Names webpage.
Johnny Bear Contreras, Kumeyaay Sculptor and Founder of Eyaay Ahunn Foundation, returned to our CNNCTS Panel at NIRAS and shared more with the audience about the Living Land Acknowledgment Sculpture Series (LLA) and the developments over the year following last year’s panel. The Living Land Acknowledgement Sculpture Series is an ongoing collaboration at SDSU, where he has created sculptures that have been installed at three locations at the main campus, and one so far at the Imperial Valley Campus. The most recent piece, the second rendition of Return of the Kumeyaay Creator, was unveiled earlier this year at SDSU’s Imperial Valley Campus. Contreras excitedly announced that as part of this collaboration and the purpose of his foundation in supporting upcoming artists, he has brought on an apprentice who will collaborate with him to create the next sculpture in the series.
Andrew (Cahuilla/Ipai) and Lisset Pittman, founders of Condor Visual Media, introduced their ongoing digital creation MAATHAAW: The Fire Within Us. Attendees watched a screening of the short teaser trailer, giving everyone a peek into what MAATHAAW is truly about. Andrew provided more insight on the film, sharing that it is not only about putting fire on the land as the trailer displayed, but also opens conversations of what fire might mean across communities. It includes a multitude of perspectives, stories, and heart across the Indigenous lands of San Diego County and continues to develop as active elements of storytelling continue. The Pittmans encouraged everyone to view the extended trailer to learn more about MAATHAAW and see the expansion of storytelling unseen from the teaser trailer.
Gabriella Lassos, Gabrielino Tongva Research and Policy Director at Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples (SPI), represented SPI’s digital team and introduced their recent film Our Water Ways. The audience watched a trailer of the film, which introduced discussions on broader waterway access through examples of the LA, Colorado, and Klamath Rivers. The completed film premiered in early August 2025 on Tongva homelands at the Autry Theater of the American West.
When asked how arts and media function as a way of sharing traditional ecological knowledge, the panelists noted how their work is inherently community-driven and deeply involves communication and learning across Tribal communities. For example, Rodriguez shared that social media has played a role in learning from other Tribes and sharing knowledges across communities. Contreras explained that the Living Land Acknowledgement series at its core is a project of connections, where several people across campus and the local community have been involved in the collaborative process. Additionally, Andrew and Lisset Pittman expressed how their work with partners and communities become a digital archive for relatives and the future as they document conversations with community members in their homelands and their work conveys their knowledges and stories of heart. Lassos noted the importance of communicating with the community every step of the way through the process of SPI’s Our Water Ways, ensuring that they only share knowledges the community approves and that the film communicates the intended story. Andrew Pittman and Lassos agreed that while this step is time consuming, it is worth the investment of time and intentional conversations to honor the storytellers and the trust they put in the production team to ensure everyone benefits from the process.
The panelists’ responses led into a discussion on how their work amplifies Native and Indigenous stories in comparison to systems and institutions that have long erased and ignored their stories. The Pittmans and Lassos emphasized that their digital creations amplify Native and Indigenous voices by communicating the real stories of real peoples in the ways that they wish to communicate their stories. Lassos also noted that SPI’s media team serves as a continuation of traditional oral storytelling in the current time. In another way, Rodriguez’s Hear Our Names collaborative project brings Native and Indigenous stories to the forefront by reconnecting the native plants to the community. By asking people to speak the plants’ names in Kumeyaay, their Indigeneity is brought to light and encourages both the plants’ rematriation and for others to recognize it. Furthermore, her work with Tipey Joa Native Warriors directly bridges gaps between binational colonial structures and Indigenous communities as they work with governments for crossborder relations. With a major social justice aspect, Tipey Joa Native Warriors advocate for their peoples whose homelands and traditional ways of life since time immemorial do not adhere to colonial borders.
Furthermore, Lisset and Andrew Pittman pointed out the significance of verbiage as part of amplifying Indigenous voices from the perspective of film or documentation of community members. Terms such as “taking” or “capture” are colonial terms indicating force or lack of permission, to which they suggested terms such as “document” or “create together” along with an emphasis on meaningful engagement including taking time to build relationships and adhering to cultural protocols. Finally, Contreras shared that the LLA sculpture series is intentionally placed in areas of high foot traffic at the main and Imperial Valley SDSU campuses to really encourage students to stop and visit the pieces. He challenged attendees, when on either campus, to visit the sculptures and interact with them, to feel their energy and learn more about them. He also acknowledged the significance of being present in various spaces, such as his sculptures’ presence on campus, or the existence of the Native Resource Center and this symposium, to welcome the next generations. Contreras stressed to students that although they may feel out of place in colonially dominant spaces, that it is crucial they continue to show up and be present to show future generations that they belong in those spaces.
Following the CNNCTS panel, attendees and presenters enjoyed lunch while building connections and continuing discussions about panels and presentations. After lunch, the final student panel of the symposium focused on NRC core pillar Decolonization and Sovereignty began. The final panel held space for heavy discussions within collective and community wellbeing. Student presenters Kenia Vergara Gabriel, Jaime Flor, and Dara Paz spoke on migration, colonial impacts on Indigenous wellbeing in the Philippines and Turtle Island, and decolonization of mental health and paths towards healing.
The 6th annual symposium closed out with the Intertribal Star dancers and Green River drummers sharing song and dance, including a round dance with dancers, attendees, and presenters alike. Good medicine and a strong sense of community enveloped the space as the round dance circled around the presentation room to the elk drum beat. NRC Director Chris Medellin concluded NIRAS with thanks to supporters, collaborators and applause for all the student presenters, performers, and speakers who made the 6th annual symposium a powerful showcase of Indigenous excellence.
Learn more about the SDSU Native Resource Center at nrc.sdsu.edu.
Learn more about the Collaborative for Native Nations for Climate Transformation and Stewardship (CNNCTS) at cnncts.org.
San Diego State University Land Acknowledgement
“We stand upon a land that carries the footsteps of millennia of Kumeyaay people. They are a people whose traditional lifeways intertwine with a worldview of earth and sky in a community of living beings. This land is part of a relationship that has nourished, healed, protected and embraced the Kumeyaay people to the present day. It is part of a world view founded in the harmony of the cycles of the sky and balance in the forces of life. For the Kumeyaay, red and black represent the balance of those forces that provide for harmony within our bodies as well as the world around us.
As students, faculty, staff and alumni of San Diego State University we acknowledge this legacy from the Kumeyaay. We promote this balance in life as we pursue our goals of knowledge and understanding. We find inspiration in the Kumeyaay spirit to open our minds and hearts. It is the legacy of the red and black. It is the land of the Kumeyaay.
Eyay e’Hunn My heart is good.”
