SAN DIEGO — A new elementary school in San Diego has been named in honor of Kumeyaay Nation, Native American tribes that have lived in the San Diego area for thousands of years.
November is also Native American Heritage Month.
Nipaquay Elementary School will serve about 500 students who live in the Civita area of Mission Valley. The school’s name will also represent the Native Americans who once lived on this land and continue to thrive in this region.
“Nipaquay. That really means and translates into the other place,” said Erica M. Pinto, Chairwoman of Jamul Indian Village.
Jamul Indian Village is one of the 12 federally recognized Kumeyaay Nation tribes in Southern California. Pinto is also a member of the naming committee for the San Diego Unified School District. She said the unanimous decision to name the new school in honor of the Kumeyaay is a good way to acknowledge history and build cultural bridges in the community.
“By them choosing to name this name after a Kumeyaay site, I think it honors our people that have been here since the beginning of time in this region," Pinto said.
The school board had several names to choose from including former, Padres Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, activist Dolores Huerta and former First Lady Michelle Obama. The board also got input from the Kanap Kuahan Coalition, an organization that says its mission is to remove statues, rename schools and raise awareness about the negative impact the symbols have on Indigenous people.
“We’re a resilient group of people. We want to protect our own. We want to provide for our own people. One of the things I look forward to with the naming of different areas and different schools is the partnership because our culture is beautiful, and it would be nice if people knew,” Pinto said.
The Jamul tribe of Kumeyaay says they can trace their roots in the San Diego region back at least 12,000 years, long before Spanish and European settlements were established. Tribal history and traditions have been passed down from generation to generation in oral form and pictures that have been preserved to this day.
“One of the recommendations that we had with the schools is to have a culture day. It could be this month or any day of the year, where we come and cook some of our traditional foods,” Pinto said.
The City of San Diego says it built Nipaquay Elementary School because it plans to house 50,000 new residents in Mission Valley by 2050.
Construction of the school is about 75% complete and is expected to open next fall.
WATCH RELATED: National City raises Kumeyaay Flag in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day