Thanksgiving weekend offers everyone the opportunity to pause and reflect on the history of the country's Native American population.

To this end, James Ramos delivered a speech on Native American heritage at the San Bernardino Democratic Party Headquarters on Friday, Nov. 21. Ramos is the chairman of the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians, and great-great-grandson of Yuhaviatam Tribal Leader Santos Manuel. This was one of Ramos' various engagements geared towards creating awareness on the history and heritage of California Native Americans. Ramos recently participated in the 10th Annual Native American Day celebrations that were held at Cal-State San Bernardino (CSUSB) in October.

“The name San Manuel came to be because of our leader, Santos Manuel. When people say the San Manuel Tribe, that's really not the case. We are Serrano and Cahuilla -- that's my family, that's the tribe that we are. The reservation is named after our founder, our spiritual leader, Santos Manuel. That's where the name San Manuel comes from,” Ramos said, “There are many clans of the Serrano people.”

Ramos not only discussed the culture and origins of his tribe, he also highlighted the tribe's government and progress to date.

“After the reservation came to be in 1891, poverty was still high on our reservation. That continued for some time,” Ramos said.

Ramos said that residents of the reservation had to work hard to eradicate poverty. It wasn't until 1986 that the reservation raised enough money to pave roads. This was followed by water pipes and sewer lines connected to the East Valley Water District. The tribe also initiated home-loan programs as a way to help members of the reservation build houses. Eventually, they ventured into gaming in the mid-1980s. More recently, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians diversified their economy through ventures such as the San Manuel Bottled Water Group and the San Manuel Village. The reservation's commercial enterprises kept expanding and with time, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians grew into one of the largest employers in the Inland Empire.

“We are able to share our culture with you today because of what our ancestors went through. For me to sit here and be called a California Indian, and to be a leader, it's not because of what I've done, it's what they went through -- and that's what we always have to remember,” Ramos said.

Ramos was elected to the office of chairman for the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians on March 1. He is a cofounder of the Cultural Awareness program at San Manuel and serves as director of the annual California Indian Cultural Awareness Conference at CSUSB. In 2005 Ramos was elected to the San Bernardino Community College Board of Trustees. Serving as the board's vice president, Ramos is the first Native American ever elected to the board.