The City of Riverside Parks Department hosted a meeting in the Mayor's Ceremonial Room on Tuesday to begin creating a plan for recreational development along the city's points of interface with the Santa Ana River. How do we honor the river's significant role in the Indigenous communities' history and culture while increasing Riverside residents' access to the river?
Parks officials, historians, museum curators, and media members joined representatives of local Indigenous communities to discuss what needs to be considered in planning spaces usable for recreation and respect the cultures that hold the river and its banks as sacred.
Rosy Aranda, Director of Pá'Čapa: A Mt Rubidoux Story Documentary fifth generation Riversider and Cahuilla/Serrano descendant along with Michael Negrete and Manuel Camarena of the Shiishongna Tongva Nation, Corona Band of Gabrielino Indians explained the ancient connections with the river held by local native groups and expressed concern for progressing in a way that respects but doesn't exploit the cultures, expands ceremonial access to sacred sites, and addresses current public safety conditions.
Riverside has a river problem. The Santa Ana River gives our city its name but not much else. We don't use the river, and many of us never see it. The Santa Ana River is 100 miles long, the longest in Southern California. Riverside has incredible riverfront spaces, but years of neglect and lack of planning have resulted in much of that space being unusable. Homeless encampments have made it an impossible destination for families looking for an outing.
The city's plan to create usable spaces along the river is a positive thing. I spent countless hours rustling through Arundo Donax, looking for the most beautiful bend and beach the river offered. I've been run up a tree by a mother pig protecting her babies. I love the river and am excited to see the city commit to improving the public perception of the river that gives the town its name.
As the city looks to beautify the riverfront and create safe, developed, and programmed public spaces, it has invited local tribal groups to help create something that honors the history of the people who relied on the river, allows ceremonial access to local tribes, and recognizes the need for a modern space that promotes community use.
Including Indigenous communities in the process is the right thing to do and adds a layer of culture and community. Creating spaces for people to gather and enjoy the river adds a layer of history and culture to recognize that we are part of an ancient tradition of people gathering and enjoying the river.
"Residents in this community should know who the first people are and how and where they lived." Manuel Camarena-Shiishongna Tongva Nation, Corona Band of Gabrielino Indians.
