CSULB American Indian Student Council (AISC) and Cindi Alvitre (Tongva)

Part of Native American Heritage Month. Celebrating Culture, Honor, Tradition, and History in the month of November.

Hosted by the American Indian Student Council (AISC) and Cindi Alvitre (Tongva)

Learn about the history, significance, and controversy behind the sacred land known as Puvungna, an ancient village and burial site once populated by the Tongva people. Believed to be the birthplace of Chingishnish, a Tongva prophet, Puvunga is considered sacred by indigenous people. Since the 1960s, the Tongva people have sought to preserve the Puvunga site from development and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. However, the University has constantly challenged this designation. In 1992, when the university began its first attempts to build a strip mall on this last undeveloped portion of the campus, the Tongva people initiated protests and filed a lawsuit which have temporarily stalled any construction. The site remains as an undeveloped grassy area, full of unknown history and cultural significance to Southern California.

For more information about AISC and American Indian student life at CSULB, please visit: www.aistudentcouncil.org