LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to support a proposal by Supervisors Hilda L. Solis and Janice Hahn on establishing the County’s commitment to the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission (LANAIC).

For over 25 years, the LANAIC served its function under the administrative and operational management of the Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services (WDACS). However, on January 16, 2022, the LANAIC was transferred from WDACS to the Executive Office due to the phased implementation plan to establish two new County departments – the Department of Economic Opportunity and the Aging and Disabilities Department. But since the transfer, it has become clear that the Department of Arts and Culture is better positioned to provide the LANAIC with the unique support that it needs to grow and thrive as the two entities leaned have leaned into a shared mission and a vision of cultural equity.

“The LANAIC has recently worked to combat the systemic and structural erasure of American Indian and Alaska Native histories and culture in partnership with our Department of Arts and Culture,” said Supervisor Solis. “This includes celebrating our County’s inaugural Indigenous Peoples Day in 2018, as well as the development of land acknowledgment and land access policies to advance truth, healing, and transformation. However, we must go further in improving the health and well-being of Native peoples. This can be done more effectively by transferring the LANAIC to the Department of Arts and Culture as a new placement for administrative and operational support, and by identifying the necessary funding for the LANAIC so that they are appropriately resourced to serve our American Indian and Alaska Native communities.”

The motion asks for a report back during the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Supplemental Budget phase on the transfer of the LANAIC from the Executive Office to the Department of Arts and Culture.

“When my father worked with Mayor Tom Bradley to create this commission 46 years ago, it was part of a push by the Native American Indian community to be better heard and represented by their local government,” said Supervisor Hahn. “Today, this Commission is as important as it ever was, and we need to make sure it is in a department that can strengthen it and provide the Commission with the resources it needs to represent, elevate and advocate for the Native community.”

“I applaud the Board of Supervisors for their commitment to ensuring that the LANAIC is appropriately supported and resourced,” said Cheri Thomas, Chair of the LANAIC. “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture in order to effectively deliver services to the American Indian and Alaska Native community.”

The motion also requests a report back on the necessary funding and staffing for LANAIC including:

  • Any deferred Fiscal Year 2022-23 requests.
  • Staffing, resources, and funding that was not transferred from the Workforce Development Aging and Community Services Department (WDACS).
  • Funding all LANAIC critical unmet needs requests that were deferred.
  • Funding for Shared Services and administrative costs.

Read the full motion here.