LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This November, Lake County Behavioral Health Services has been celebrating National Native American Heritage Month.
“Our vision here at the Circle of Native Minds is to help support members of our Tribal Nations in finding paths to wellness that value and embrace cultural considerations,” said Thomas Brown, cultural specialist, Circle of Native Minds, part of the Peer Support Center of Lake County Behavioral Health Services.
Presently, there are seven tribes in Lake County that celebrate their cultural ways with dancing, songs, ceremonies and prayers.
They are federally recognized tribes under the United States government and maintain their own governments as sovereign nations.
Lake County’s tribal nations are Elem Indian Colony, near Clearlake Oaks; Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake; Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, near Lakeport; Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, near Lakeport; Robinson Rancheria, near Nice; Koi Nation of Northern California; and Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California, near Middletown.
Lake County Behavioral Health Services’ Circle of Native Minds serves Lake County’s Native American population in need of mental health, housing, and/or substance use disorder services, although its doors are open to all.
For more information on services available in Lake County, please contact the Circle of Native Minds at 707-263-4880, or stop by, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 845 Bevins St., Lakeport.
To learn about National Native American Heritage Month, and view the most recent Presidential Proclamation, visit the following links:
– History: https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/about/
– Public laws and official documents: https://www.loc.gov/law/help/commemorative-observations/american-indian.php
– 2020 Presidential Proclamation: https://www.indianaffairs.gov/as-ia/opa/national-native-american-heritage-month