The Bay Area's Native American culture is rich and this holiday recognizes the community's contributions and traditions.
In the City by the Bay, the culture of our continent's first inhabitants was celebrated and honored for Indigenous Peoples' Day.
"We want to convey the understanding of the resilience and beauty of Indigenous Peoples' Culture all over the world," International Indian Treaty Council Exec. Director Andrea Carmen said.
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The local events began early this morning.
A sunrise celebration on Alcatraz Island featured more than two thousand people.
Carmen said it was the largest event the International Indian Treaty Council has hosted here.
"It was all very moving and very inspiring," Carmen said.
Alcatraz holds significant meaning to the communities indigenous to the Bay Area.
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Long before it was a prison, this was Native land, and there have been multiple attempts to reclaim it.
The most well-known attempt happened starting in 1969, when group of supporters occupied the land for 19 months before they were removed by federal agents.
A return for this celebration had great meaning.
"A lot of suffering went on there," Carmen said. "It's an important place to be for a lot of reasons and an important event to commemorate."
Across the water, another event took place at Yerba Buena Gardens.
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Members of the community got the opportunity to see Indigenous cultures come to life with performances and dances.
"We are still here," Men's fancy war dance performer Tank Young said. "The government tried to shut us down. They put our people on reservations. Us performing out here shows the people that we are still here and we are still relevant."
In 2021, President Joe Biden formally recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day - a major step in declaring that this community is, in fact, still here.
Carmen says it has taken centuries of struggle and hardships to get to where they are today and there's more work to do.
"We're bringing to light the history, the truth in history, of what really happened," Carmen said. "But also, calling for a new relationship between all of us that are now on this land that was originally Indigenous Peoples' land."