Discussion
Civic DisPlace
Shaping the Past
Part of a three event series, Yaangna, Beyond LA. Indigenous Frameworks, presented within the context of the project Shaping the Past.
How can Indigenous frameworks and methodologies help cities and counties change policy to address the lack of visibility of Native/Indigenous Peoples? Focusing on three Los Angeles locations significant to Native/indigenous peoples, this series of events brings together artists, Elders, Tribal Members, scholars, and activists into dialogue about authentic narratives, strategies for policy change, the future of public/civic art, civic memory, and memory culture: “What must we not forget?”
How can the Los Angeles city and county parks , specifically Olvera, MacArthur Park, Grand Park, and Brand Park, play a role in developing civic memory and authentic stories of place?
Guests:
Julia Bogany is an elder member of the Tongva Tribal Nation -- the original Peoples of Los Angeles County -- and serves on the Tongva Tribal Council and as the Tongva Cultural Consultant. Ms. Bogany is also an active member of the greater Native/Indigenous community of Los Angeles and is involved in a variety of sectors from the arts to issues of land use.
Pamela Villaseñor is an enrolled citizen of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and Executive Advisor to the Tribal President. Villaseñor is also an artist and mother informing national efforts on cultural equity from a tribal perspective.
Joel Garcia (Huichol) is an artist, arts administrator and cultural organizer with over 20 years of experience working transnationally focusing on community-centered strategies. His approach is rooted in Indigenous-based forms of dialoguing and non-hierarchical decision-making that uplifts non-institutional expertise. Joel uses art and organizing to raise awareness of issues facing underserved communities, inner-city youth, and other targeted populations.
Moderator:
Rosten Woo is an artist and designer whose work connects people to place and builds community agency. He works in long-term collaboration with community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and governments to develop projects that help people situate themselves in complex systems and make group decisions. His inquiry considers how culture creates the groundwork for social cohesion collective capacity for democratic action in Los Angeles. He believes that building and shifting culture is one of the most important means we have of working towards the world we want to live in and preparing the ground for the world that can’t yet be built.
Shaping the Past is partnership of the Goethe-Institut, Monument Lab, and the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education). The project connects to the activist and artistic work of local, national, and transnational movements as a reflection of memory culture and discusses new perspectives on forms of memory.