all right. looking good, boys. looking good.

one more time. big round of applause for our boys grass and dancers and our men's grass dancers. looking good. jingle dress dancers, all ages, come on out. these young ladies represent our thursday night san liandro power of dance glasses. round of applause for all of these young ladies.

good dancing, good singing. looking good out there. all right. here we go. bring it home.

one more time. our jingle dress dancers. omg. they are good. go over to our women's fancy shawl, all ages. make your way into the arena. friendship house drum. kick one out. make them dance. all right. how about these beautiful dancers? dance hard.

all right. [singing] you guys are looking good out there. that's hard. that's hard. -- dnace hard. dance hard.

all right. good singing, good dancing. we are waiting for the mayor. any word on the mayor? this is a real honor to introduce to you and the honorable mayor, edwin lee, the mayor of the city of san francisco. [applause] >> thank you very much for that introduction. thank you, everybody. welcome to city hall. welcome to san francisco. welcome to our seventh annual american indians heritage month celebration, here at city hall.

i just want to recognize and bank kqed for their sponsorship. i want to thank our wonderful spiritual drum corps here. thank you for being here. i wanted thank our wonderful and beautiful ceremonial dancers. thank you for making this such a wonderful, beautiful tradition. thank you very much. in our city, we always cherish our diversity, but we also cherish our origins. i know the native american heritage month, native american heritage month as part of our origin in this country, and we recognize that, and we celebrate it, and we want that heritage to continue each year to remind us of the tremendous diversity that we celebrate in our city. thank you all for coming.

i want to give special recognition to the host committee of agencies that have been working with us so graciously and gratefully. the native american aid projects, thank you. friendship house association. never heard office of -- neighborhood office. east bay native american health center. the indian health center of santa clara valley are here. as i mentioned, kqed. as we celebrate tonight, we have, as i have been honored to have the authority to issue an official proclamation declaring this to be native american heritage month celebration, i would like to ask to be joined by susan jamison. please come on up. joan benet. susan is our native american

help center director. joan executive director of our native americans aids project. however, our chief executive officer, friendship house. please join me. liz hunt, the ceo of the indian center of santa clara. [applause] i want to thank you all for joining us here in santa risk -- san francisco. in the tradition of our city, in honor and recognition of our indian heritage month, i would like to present -- and i am proud to present, in partnership with kqed, the public broadcasting station, friendship house, and indian health

center's santa clara valley, san francisco native american health center, to celebrate four outstanding heroes that we will be recognizing tonight, their work in the bay area, and with the authority i have as the mayor of city and county of san francisco, with the participation of our wonderful and beautiful dancers and spiritual drummers, declaring this to be officially the american indian heritage month in san francisco. thank you all for coming. [applause]

>> local heroes. do what last year's or this year's? [applause]

[applause] dancers, stand by. how about a big round of applause for mayor edwin lee? [applause] mayor lee, i would have voted for you, but i live in oakland. we are good. at this time, i would like to

call up susan jamieson, executive director, native american health center, oakland, calif. [applause] >> thank you, earl. it is my pleasure to introduce our first honoree earl arniconie. he has lived here in the bay area for the past 22 years with his wife brigitte. currently working as the workforce investment act program coordinator and for the united nations -- united in the nations of east bay, earl encourages native american youth and adults to finish their high school, diplomas, as well lead g d's, an enrolled in vocational programs

to further advance their training. he also assist those who want to achieve a higher educational degree by promoting recruit and and retention of native american students throughout indian country. as earl is a veteran of the indicted states marine corps and a graduate of the seattle police academy, he assists native american veterans in the pursuit up careers in law enforcement. he is also known through indian country as a noted and see for powwows and special events, such as the kqed unsung hero award. i would like to quote the words of his wife, in recognition of his unsung hero award. "earl is a legend in his own time. he is well known throughout indian country and gives back everything he can to the

community. through all of his own challenges and life experiences, he has maintained strong ties to his kiowa tribal affairs. he maintains strong principals and manages to always have a positive attitude towards life indirectly, and directly influencing others to be the best they can be. as a role model in the community, girl knows everyone from grandmas and grandpas to newborn babies. he is full of life and likes to joke around, give opinions, provide constructive criticism, and is always giving. he gives with enthusiasm, is a loyal friend, and spreads his wisdom and knowledge, when a corporate and called upon. earl is one of these unsung heroes. often, are most involved

community members are taken for granted. earl is someone who fills a need, creates a bridge, and is able to reach all populations. our community would not be as strongly connected it was not for earl. congratulations on your recognition as a kqed on some hero. please step to the podium. -- unsung hero. [applause] >> i said i was that going to cry, so i won't.

i was overwhelmed last year, when i emceed on behalf of tom phillips. he gave me a call and asked him to -- asked me to help again this year. he said, kqed will contact you in one or two days. 10 minutes later, kqed calls, and we are going over some of the things that we are doing today. and her voice said, you know, you were nominated, and you won one of the awards. i said, what? she repeated herself. she did it three times.

before it sank in. again, thank you. for this prestigious award recognizing native americans in the community. my friend joe sent me an e-mail. he said, first off, congratulations. there are two reasons why they give community service awards. the first reason is because they think you are old, in poor health, ready to die, and they want to honor you before you die. [laughter]

the second reason is because you are a nice guy, earl. joe, i hope it is the latter, because i do feel pretty good. in our kiowa language, the best it can possibly be. i want to thank my wife -- we have been together 17 years. happy anniversary. [applause] i said i was not going to cry. thank you for putting up with me for 17 years. hopefully, there are 17 more years. i just want to let everyone know, each and everyone of you, my goal is to inspire you to

dream, and then to go out and accomplish those dreams. thank you. [applause] that was difficult presenting an award to myself. thank you, susan. calling to the stage at this time joan benoit. [applause] >> good evening.

excited to be here to celebrate our honorees. excited to be here with our sister organizations, to prevent -- present this evening, with kqed. it is my great pleasure and honor to introduce corrina gould. she is a leader and co-founder of the indian people organizing for change and peace walk, and title 7 coordinator at the native american child resource center. she was born and raised in oakland, california. the mother of three children. she currently works as the title seven court nader. -- coordinator. she is assisting and directing an after-school program that includes wraparound services for native students in oakland.

she is also the co-founder and a lead organizer for indian people organizing for change, a small native-run organization that works on indigenous people issues, as well as sponsoring an annual peace walk to bring about education and awareness of the desecration of the sacred sites in the greater bay area. in april of this year, corrina, wounded knee decampo, and others, put out a call to warriors to put out a vigil and occupation of vallejo, calif., a secret 15-acre site. the occupation lasted for 109 days and resulted in a cultural easement between the city of vallejo, the greater vallejo recreation district, and two federally recognized drives.

this struggle was victorious and will set precedents for this type of work, going forward, with others working on sacred sites within city boundaries in california. corrina also sits on the california indigenous environmental association board, border directors for the oakland street academy foundation, and is the treasurer for the hoa. she is also an avid raiders fan. i would[applause]

>> i said good day, my name is corrina. noi am honored to be here. and my ancestors were enslaved of mission san jose and at mission dolores and san francisco. it has been my great honor to do the work of the ancestors for the past 15 years. by doing that that means reading about the recognition of the people in the bay area and continuing to allow our ancestors to have a voice here in this land. i was honored by taking part in an occupation we hear about occupation all the time right now. anbut the occupation that happed

in vallejo, calif., was like changing, not only for myself, but for many people. it changed the world of indian people in california by allowing cultural easement. . so this was not just my victory, but a victory of the ancestors and the work they have put us through over the past 15 years reading the peace talks, by walking to each of the sites that have been desecrated by buildings being put on top of them in red robes and bathrooms and bars. by honoring our ancestors that each place we went to, the ancestor found as it to do the work. so i am honored to do that work, and continue to do that work. i am also really thrilled to be a part of this because it is a

humbling experience. i think when people go through humbling experiences, it helps them to seek further and see how they can do more. had i not on the work, i would not have met so many young people who have a passion to do something that it's different. i think that is one of the things i've learned, that when we were asked for 109 days, we allow people to come and live there, but allow them to create a space where they could have community. everyone had a space and job there and felt welcome there. i sing when we look at our lives in the past as indian people that we remember that that is how we lived before. and we're trying to have those things in an urban setting, and not always easy to do. -- i say when we look at our lives in the past as indian people, that we remember that is

how we lived before. and i was actually grocery shopping when i got the phone call asking if i would accept it, and when i talk to ear l before he went to hawaii last week, i set aside for a check to say anything? he said no. i also want to thank all the people out there that are familiar faces. and i hope we continue to support the work of our ancestors in this country, and we do what we're supposed to do in this world. i[applause] >> corrina, you did not get the memo? i was just kidding. [laughter] have you looked at all of these

bios in your programs? i notice all of the other nominees awardees, they are on some board, board of directors. the closest i came to a board was a surf board last week in hawaii. i have talked to you guys. -- my hats off to you guys. wow. at this time i am calling upon ronald rolfwel. friendship house of board of director in san francisco. [applause]

nice to see you here tonight. i am pleased and honored also to be able to bring eddy madrill up here as an award of the american eagle local award. and he is a member of the tribe of southern arizona. he is an active and highly- respected member of the san francisco bay area communities representing and celebrating his culture as a dancer, singer, culture, playwright, filmmaker, artist, and educator. all around renaissance man here yen his