At Friends of the Inyo, we work to protect and care for lands that have been, for over ten thousand years, and still very much are, inhabited by the Paiute (Nuumu), Shoshone (Newe) and Timbisha peoples. Many of these lands are now known by names recognizing people who never set foot here. These lands are called Payahuunadu or Panawe by the Nuumu and Newe peoples, respectively. This land acknowledgment is a recognition of the original inhabitants of the Eastern Sierra, and is intended as a show of respect for Native peoples and to surface the often-suppressed colonial history of our country.

We would like to begin by respectfully acknowledging that the Town of Mono resides within the traditional territory and ancestral lands of the Tionontati (Petun), Attawandaron (Neutral), Haudenosaunee (Six Nations), and Anishinaabe peoples.

We also acknowledge that the Town of Mono resides within the treaty lands named under Treaty 18: the Nottawasaga Purchase of 1818;

These traditional territories upon which we live and learn, are steeped in rich Indigenous history and traditions. It is with this statement that we declare to honour and respect the past and present connection of Indigenous peoples with this land, its waterways and resources.

Riverside County: We would like to respectfully acknowledge and recognize our responsibility to the original and current caretakers of its land, water, and air:

• The Cahuilla
• Tongva, Luiseño, Serrano
• Chemehuevi peoples and all of their ancestors and descendants, past, present, and future.

San Bernardino County: We would like to respectfully acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory and homelands of:

• Luiseño/Payómkawichum people

For more information please go to www.csusm.edu/cicsc