GILROY—For the first time in the histories of the two nations, a member of Amah Mutsun Tribal Band met with a resident of the White House, and came away inspired and encouraged.
“Everyone was excited for me to go,” said Julisa Lopez, 18. “It wasn’t just me, I was going with my whole tribe with me,” said the University of California, Santa Cruz, sophomore.
On July 9, Lopez was one of 1,000 people who attend the first-ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering hosted by first lady Michelle Obama, from whom she received a big hug.
Two days later, nearly 200 members of the tribe met at Mission San Juan Bautista in San Benito County, under the leadership of Chairman Valentin Lopez, for a prayer and song vigil.
It was one of several gatherings that Amah Mutsun from around the state have held to urge Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church to halt plans to canonize Jesuit priest Junipero Serra later this year.
The tribe and others believe the church, and Serra in particular, treated the indigenous people in horrible ways that led to the deaths of tens of thousands.
Julisa Lopez’ involvement in the White House event was the idea of Valentin Lopez, formerly of Morgan Hill and a distant cousin of Julisa. Currently living in Galt, he is chairman of the Tribal Band, descendants of the indigenous people that inhabited Gilroy and its surrounding area prior to the arrival of Europeans.
“This is very significant for our tribe,” said Valentin Lopez. “Julisa’s invitation to this national gathering at the White House is evidence that our Amah Mutsun Tribal Band is recognized by the federal government.”
The idea of a tribe member being officially part of a White House event is a special moment for all in the tribe, said Julisa, who lives in Fresno.
“It was very exciting and a very proud moment,” she said. “We are a small tribe, we are not (officially) federally recognized, and we are spread out (geographically), but through all those obstacles we are still learning and relearning our culture.”
Brother and sister Josephine Prado and Al Lopez, both of Gilroy and siblings of Valentin Lopez, agree that the young woman’s attendance at the conference was a boost for the tribe.
“For us to get the recognition we deserve, I think it’s wonderful,” Prado said.
“(Julisa) represents what we want the future of our tribe to be in terms of being educated and able to carry the torch for the tribe,” said Al Lopez.
For her part, the White House-sponsored gathering was a revelation in many ways for Julisa Lopez, who is majoring in psychology and race and ethnic studies.
“It was definitely an eye-opener,” she said. “I am a California Indian, and it was good to see kids from all over the country talking about their histories, from urban Indians to Indians living on reservations,” she said.
“We all had something to bring to the table. I had not really talked about historical trauma (suffered by the Amah Mutsun and other tribes); it was good to talk together about that.”
Other ideas new to her clearly were on her mind after the gathering, including sobriety pow-wows and drug abuse among Indian youth.
“I also told them, why not try group therapies. As a psychology major, my focus is on wellness and wholeness,” she said.
For Prado, the idea of putting the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band on the map, for all to see and know about, is important.
“Lots of people have t-shirts that say where they are from, and I say, we are from here, we are from Gilroy, we are indigenous to this area.”
