Anawakalmekak and California Bilingual Educators (CABE) launched the first-ever California   Languages of Indigenous Peoples Institute (CALI) on March 29, 2025 on territory once called Puvunga by First Nation Peoples, now called Long Beach. The convening was grounded in prayer offered by Nick Rocha, Co-Chair of the Gabrielino-Shoshone Nation of Southern California and songs offered by Joshua Andujo of the Gabrielino Sawtvit Shivavit. We made space to acknowledge the horror and history of genocide and colonization and recognized our very presence as a form of resistance and our gathering as a declaration of strength.   Our community of Native organizations, Tribal leaders, educators, and organizers across Southern California, Mexico, and Canada addressed the linguicide of Indigenous languages in compulsory education.

Presentations and break out sessions by leaders in the movement for self-determination laid a path forward for achieving these educational goals. We collectively formed a strategic plan to address the gaps and failures of government in respecting the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples to an education that reflects their culture and maternal language. We committed to giving shape to the Decade of Indigenous Languages as declared by the United Nation in 2022 through this movement. "This is not the time to run away and hide. This is the time to organize." – Marcos Aguilar, Executive Director, Anawakalmekak
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