For 20 years, the American Indian Cultural Center has led San Francisco’s Native American Heritage Night—planning the celebration, honoring local heroes, and uplifting Indigenous voices in the heart of City Hall. But this year, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office abruptly ended the partnership. No meeting. No consultation. Just a notice: “We’ve identified a new partner.”

The mayor's staff claimed the Cultural Center couldn’t qualify as a fiscal sponsor, even though IRS records show it’s a valid 501(c)(3). The group wasn’t even invited to help plan the event until after the decision had already been made. The message was clear: Indigenous leaders were being sidelined from their own celebration.

The Native American community has always shaped this city—from the original stewards of the land to today’s cultural leaders. Native American Heritage Night has never just been a party. It’s a statement of presence, survival, and pride in a city that often overlooks Indigenous people altogether. For decades, this event has been organized “for us, by us,” with respect and partnership from City Hall—until now.

Mayor Lurie’s top-down decision disrespects that legacy and undermines the autonomy of San Francisco’s Native community. If this event is truly about honoring Native voices, then those voices must lead—not be invited in as an afterthought.

We call on Mayor Daniel Lurie to immediately reinstate the American Indian Cultural Center as the lead organizer for Native American Heritage Night. We also call on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to stand with the Indigenous community and demand transparency in how these decisions are made.

This is more than an event. It’s about who gets to tell their story, and who gets erased from it. Indigenous San Franciscans deserve better than symbolic land acknowledgments. They deserve a seat at the table—and the right to lead their own celebration.

Sign now to demand the City of San Francisco restore Indigenous leadership where it belongs: at the center.