San Diego officially celebrated it’s 250th birthday Tuesday while also recognizing millennia of Kumeyaay Indian history before the European arrival.
On the hill where Father Junipero Serra blessed the first Spanish mission in California, the Kumeyaay flag was raised alongside those of the United States, Spain and Mexico.
“We are establishing the fact that our Kumeyaay friends and neighbors are part of our past and our future,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
Faulconer was joined by Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastélum, state Senate President Toni Atkins, Sen. Brian Jones, Assemblyman Todd Gloria, City Councilman Chris Ward and Kumeyaay tribal leaders at the public ceremony outside the Junípero Serra Museum.
Angela Elliott Santos, chairwoman of the Manzanita band of the Kumeyaay Indians, said the celebration is both a milestone for the Kumeyaay nation and a “bittersweet” moment because of centuries of suffering.
“For the first time ever, the Kumeyaay have been asked to participate and share the real story,” she said, but only after “our ancestors fought with every breath to save our core values.”
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