Decolonial Initiative Task Force

Decolonial Initiative Task Force

Decolonial Initiative Task Force proposes a civic intervention that centers Indigenous-based forms of dialoguing, authentic narratives, and decision-making to address colonial monument landscapes. The task force was imagined by Joel Garcia (Huichol), founder of Metztli Projects and a long-time Los Angeles-based community organizer in the wake of a community-powered movement to remove and deaccess the Columbus statue in Grant Park. Garcia’s larger vision for the task force aimed to address two distinct but related issues: the erasure of Indigenous voices in pressing conversations around public memory and the need for inclusive and community-centered approaches to the removal of racist and colonial monuments across Los Angeles City/County. The initiative assembled Tongva, Tataviam, and Chumash leaders in cultural practices. In conversation with the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission and the Los Angeles Department of Arts & Culture, the task force strived to create a “just and communal processes to address the inequities and lack of inclusion of Native Peoples of Los Angeles ... and civic art that upholds white supremacy.”

With the toppling of racist and colonial statues (including several to Spanish missionary Junipero Serra) across the state of California, Garcia collaborated with the LA County Department of Arts & Culture (Fall 2020) to launch “Memory and Futurity in Yaanga,” a series of conversations and public programs led by Tongva artists Cindi Alvitre and Mercedes Dorame to uncover and commemorate the history of Yaanga (Downtown Los Angeles). Garcia was also named the Artist-in-Residence at the city of Los Angeles’ Cleantech Incubator (LACI), a program addressing ecologies of place.

With the removal & relocation of various Junipero Serra (Olvera, San Fernando Mission, San Gabriel Mission, Loyola Marymount University) and the Columbus (Grand Park) statues the City of Los Angeles has adopted a policy to address these issues and develop a holistic approach to removing harmful monuments and other honorifics that create erasure and harm to LA’s Indigenous Peoples.