EXECUTIVE SECRETARYLarry Myers, Executive Secretary915 Capitol Mall, Room 364 |
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| Executive Secretary, Larry
Myers was appointed in July 1987 by Governor Deukmejian. Prior to
this appointment, he held several management positions in the Department
of General Services and the Department of Education.
Mr. Myers was born and raised on the Pinoleville Indian Rancheria outside of Ukiah California. He is the son of Tillie (Myers) Hardwick. Ms. Hardwick filed and won a lawsuit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs to regain tribal status, which was lost under the California Rancheria Act. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from San Jose State College. He received his Master’s degree in Management from the University of Utah. Mr. Myers served in the US Army. Governor Pete Wilson appointed Mr. Myers to the Sesquicentennial Commission to ensure that Native Americans were not left out of the process and that the gold rush history was truthfully told. He was a member of the Department of Forestry’s Native American Advisory Council. Mr. Myers has taken a leading role in facilitating the unification of Ishi’s remains by providing testimony to the legislature and assisting the Attorney General’s office. He also provided testimony before state and federal agencies regarding Indian issues. He assisted in the development of the Federal Oversight Hearing on Native American Legislation. Mr. Myers is a member of the Committee on Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) for implementation by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Mr. Myers has assisted and provided training to State and Federal agencies as well as Native Americans on NAGPRA. Mr. Myers is a member of the Commemorative Seal Advisory Committee. This committee is working on a commemorative seal to be placed on the west steps of the State Capital that will memorialize California Indians. |
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COMMISSIONERS |
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James Ramos |
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Commissioner Ramos to the Native American Heritage Commission on November 14, 2007. Commissioner Ramos is a member of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and current Chairperson. Commissioner Ramos is the Cultural Awareness Program Coordinator and previously held the positions of Treasurer and a Business Committee Member for San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. He has served as Chairman of the San Manuel Gaming Commission. Commissioner Ramos is currently a member of the San Bernardino Community College District Board of Trustees.
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Laura Miranda |
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Commissioner Miranda to the Native American Heritage Commission on November 14, 2007. Commissioner Miranda, a member of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, received her J.D. from Cornell Law School, and her B.A. in Philosophy from UCLA. Prior to joining the Pechanga Tribe's Office of the General Counsel Office, Ms. Miranda was a founding Partner of Miranda, Tomaras & Ogas, LLP, and Directing Attorney at California Indian Legal Services, where a large part of her legal practice was focused on assisting tribes with protection and preservation of their cultural resources, sacred resources and Native American human remains utilizing federal and state environmental laws, and historic preservation laws. Her interest in such issues began as a student at UCLA where she helped organize community efforts to urge the University of California to repatriate Native American human remains and sacred items to the culturally affiliated Indian tribes. Commissioner Miranda's notable accomplishments include legislative work on a number of cultural resources protection laws, including the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act sponsored by Assemblyman Steinberg, and both bills introduced by Senator Burton to protect sacred sites, SB 1828 (2002) and SB 18 (2003). Ms. Miranda has been successful in negotiating numerous agreements and settlements on behalf of tribes with local government agencies and land developers concerning adequate protections for cultural resources and Native American human remains. Ms. Miranda has given numerous presentations on cultural resources protection to tribes, government organizations, universities, and interested organizations. Ms. Miranda has testified on cultural resources protection issues at federal, state and local hearings. As Deputy General Counsel for the Pechanga Tribe Ms. Miranda’s work continues to focus on cultural resources protection, as well as numerous other tribal issues. Commissioner Miranda is one of her Tribe’s elected representatives to the Luiseño/Cupeño Inter-Tribal NAGPRA Coalition (LINC), which is a coalition of Luiseño tribes charged with repatriation of tribal cultural resources. Ms. Miranda is also a board member of the Riverside County Tribal Traditional Resources Advisory Committee. |
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Julie Tumamait-Stenslie |
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Commissioner Tumamait-Stenslie to the Native American Heritage Commission on November 14, 2007.
Commissioner Tumamait-Stenslie is a respected Elder, Singer, Storyteller, and Cultural Resource Consultant/Advisor . She holds the position of Sales Representative for the Ventura County Museum of History and Art. Commissioner Tumamait-Stenslie currently serves on the Ojai Valley Museum Board of Trustees as well as the Oakbrook Chumash Interpretative Center Board. Commissioner Tumamait-Stenslie is an artist that uses native materials to create her jewelry, musical instruments, and basketry. She continues to practice and teach her native language. |
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Leslie Lohse |
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Commissioner Lohse to the Native American Heritage Commission on November 14, 2007.
Commissioner Lohse has served on the CALFED Bay Delta Advisory Committee. She has co-chaired the Environmental Justice Subcommittee and continues to represent tribal interests in the water projects of California. Commissioner Lohse is a board member of the Ca Tribal Business Alliance as well as a former Vice President for the National Congress of American Indians.
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Marshall McKay |
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Commissioner McKay to the Native American Heritage Commission on November 14, 2007. Commisioner McKay, is a member of the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians and current Chairperson. Commissioner McKay serves as an elected member of the board of directors of Cache Creek Casino Resort, president of the Board of Trustees of the Yocha-De-He Preparatory, and as a member of the Rumsey Rancheria Fire Commission. He previously served as the Rumsey Band’s Tribal Treasurer and Tribal Secretary.
Commissioner McKay also serves as a member of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors Advisory Committee.
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William (Bill) Mungary |
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Governor George Deukmejian appointed Commissioner William (Bill) Mungary of Bakersfield to the Native American Heritage Commission on December 17, 1987. Mr. Mungary served as the NAHC Chairperson from 1990-2008. Mr. Mungary is the Director of the Community Development Program, Resource Management Agency of Kern County, a position he has held since 1975. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations Curriculum from the University of California at Los Angeles. He received his Masters in Business Administration in General Management at the University of California at Los Angeles. He served in the US Air Force and achieved the rank of Captain. Mr. Mungary is on the Board of Directors of the National Association for County Community and Economic Development and founding member of the American Indian Council of Central California, Inc., California Association for Local Economic Development, and the Native American Heritage Preservation Council of Kern County, where he served on the Board of Directors from 1991-1995. He was a member of the Cultural Resources and Economic Development Committees of the Federal Advisory Council of California Indian Policy and the Committee on Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Implementation for the California Department of Parks and Recreation. In March of 1995, Governor Wilson appointed Mr. Mungary to serve as a member of the California Rural Development Council. |
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Katherine M. Saubel |
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Governor George Deukmejian appointed Commissioner Saubel, of Banning, to the Native American Heritage Commission on December 17, 1987. Commissioner Saubel was born on the Los Coyotes Reservation where she is an honored elder of that tribe. Mrs. Saubel, together with her late husband, Mariano, founded of the Malki Museum, the first non-profit Indian museum on a California Indian Reservation. She is the president, curator, and Chairperson of the editorial board of the Malki Museum. Mrs. Saubel was a light machine operator for Deutsch Company from 1964 until her retirement in 1982. She is a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. She has served as a member of the Los Coyotes Tribal Council and the Mothers' Club of the Morongo Indian Reservation. She served for many years as a member of the Riverside County Historical Commission, who in 1986 named her County Historian of the Year. Saubel has lectured widely and worked with many noted anthropologists and linguists. She has testified before the US Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. Commissioner Saubel was the first California Native American woman to be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in October 9, 1993 |
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Jill Sherman |
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Governor Gray Davis appointed Commissioner Sherman to the Native American Heritage Commission on May 2, 2000. Commissioner Sherman is enrolled member of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, located in the remote mountains of northern California. Commissioner Sherman is one of the youngest women elected to serve on the Hoopa Tribal Council. She has two sons, Troy, a traditional singer and Cody, traditional flint-knapper. Ms. Sherman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Humboldt State University and also holds a minor in Native American Studies. Commissioner Sherman is currently the Environmental Director for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indian. Commissioner Sherman is an elected representative to the EPA Regional Tribal Operations Committee (RTOC) for Southern California Tribes and serves on the Native American Environmental Protection Coalition (NAEPC) Board. Ms. Sherman has been a participant with the North County American Indian Education Group and an alternative board member of the Southern California Indian Human Resources Agency. |
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Clifford Trafzer
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Governor George Deukmejian appointed Commissioner Trafzer of Yucaipa, to the Native American Heritage Commission on December 1, 1988. Dr. Trafzer is a Professor of History and Director of Native American Studies at the University of California, Riverside. Trafzer has a special research interest in Native American religions, and teaches courses pertaining to native religions. Trafzer received his Bachelor and Master's degrees in history at Northern Arizona University, focusing on the history of Navajo people. He received his Ph. D. in History from Oklahoma State University. Dr. Trafzer has published many scholarly books and articles on Native American history and has been the winner of three book awards. For the past six years Trafzer has served as Director of the Costo Historical and Linguistics Native American Research Center, a center devoted to community-based research with California tribes and those of the immediate area. He is on the Board of Directors for the Native American Land Conservancy and a member of the Cultural Committee for the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians. |
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Note-Nine Commissioners make a full compliment for the Commission |
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