By admin 
Anyone checking on court appointments for the day in California superior or appellate courts or the California Supreme Court may have been surprised to discover the court system is closed for a state holiday.
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Courts are closed In observance of California Native American Day, which is celebrated every year on the fourth Friday of September. California Native American Day celebrates the 109 federally recognized tribes in the state. The holiday is among the 14 observed in California, according to the Judicial Branch of California’s website.
While California Native American Day has existed since 1939 as “Indian Day,” the passing of Assembly Bill 855 in 2021 formally designated the day as a judicial holiday—a paid day off for court employees. The holiday was renamed “California Native American Day” in 1998, according to the National Congress of American Indians.
Earlier this year, Assemblymember James Ramos, D-Highland, authored Assembly Bill 1841, legislation urging the date to be a paid holiday for state workers. AB 1841 is currently on the governor’s desk. Ramos, who is citizen of the Serrano and Cahuilla tribes, said observation of the holiday would affirm a mutual understanding and respect between California and its tribal nations, the role tribes play in the state’s development and historic wrongs against Native people.
“We have many worthy holidays, but this bill creates justice for past atrocities toward the California Indian people who have lived on this land we call California,” Ramos said in a news release.
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Calvin Hedrick, the director of policy for the California Native Vote Project, said Indigenous people have “suffered through generations of (state) efforts to eliminate us and erase our history.” Hedrick, who is of the Mountain Maidu Tribe, said the holiday honors the visibility and survival of Native people.
“Honoring Native American Day recognizes that we are still here, that are cultures are alive, our communities are strong, and our young people know, they shape our future and that they are seen,” Hedrick said in a news release.
In commemoration of California Native American Day, tribal leaders are holding a celebration at the state Capitol’s West Steps until 2 p.m., according to Assemblymember Ramos’s office.
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