California's first Cultural Guardian

Native American scholar Siva honored as 'Cultural Guardian'Ernest H. Siva of Banning, president of Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, Inc., has been honored with a statewide award for his dedication and work in saving and sharing Southern California's American Indian cultures, languages, history, and music and other traditional arts.

In ceremonies on July 10 in Anaheim at the 9th annual For All My Relations: Conference for Indian Families, the California Indian Museum & Cultural Center gave Siva the inaugural “Cultural Guardian” award.

The selection process for this first-ever Cultural Guardian award required that board members of the Museum & Cultural Center “review the activities of individuals who have demonstrated a powerful commitment to protecting, preserving, and enhancing the cultural integrity of Indian tribes of California,” according to Nicole Lim, executive director. “The recipient must have demonstrated a dedication to tribal language enhancement and preservation activities that assure an intergenerational connection to culture and tradition.”