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People of diverse backgrounds and ages gathered at La Pena Cultural Center in Chochenyo /Ohlone territory (Berkeley CA) November 24th to participate in the 6th Thangs Taken: Rethinking Thanksgiving. The event sold out quickly and brought artists, activists and communities together to explore the complex history of Thanksgiving and to acknowledge the legacy of U.S. colonialism and genocide against Native Americans. Produced by the Free Land Project and curated and hosted by Ariel Luckey, Thangs Taken featured live music, dance, film, spoken word poetry, hip hop theater and visual art installations from Native and non-Native artists.

The Vallejo Unified School District board voted Wednesday to drop Vallejo High School’s long-running mascot, the Apache, after it received complaints from Native American activists "Indian peoples, like all peoples, are not mascots. We should not be categorized in sport or entertainmentarena as a mascot,” said Antonio Gonzales of American Indian Movement West. “Apache is a derogatory name, another name given to us by cowboys.”

The Native Americans joined the rally to save the park because Ulistac (pronounced OOH-le-stack) was once home to an Ohlone village and is named after an Ohlone chief. The park is believed to lie atop an Ohlone burial ground.

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