To honor the cultural history and support the future of indigenous peoples within the Santa Clarita Valley and surrounding communities in northern Los Angeles County, FivePoint is extending its support of the Caitlin Gulley Memorial Scholarship to help bridge educational gaps and improve opportunities for local Native Americans.
The scholarship was established by FivePoint in 2016 as an important component in a larger collaboration between FivePoint and the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and the tribe’s nonprofit, Pukúu Cultural Community Services.
FivePoint executive Matt Carpenter announced an additional $10,000 donation to the Caitlin Gulley Memorial Scholarship on November 21, 2020 during Tataviam and Pukúu’s 16th Annual Night with the Stars Gala, which FivePoint supported as Title Sponsor (see video here). FivePoint has donated $50,000 to the scholarship since its inception.
Named after an archaeologist and available to Native American and non-native students alike, the scholarship covers expenses associated with participation in Cultural Resources preservation, which includes archaeological field schools or programs, language revitalization, anthropology, and American Indian Studies.
“FivePoint respects the history of the land we work on,” Carpenter said. “We are the current stewards, but we are not the first. We genuinely embrace our place in this ancestral region, and we are working to ensure our new Valencia community understands and stays connected with this rich natural and cultural history.”
FivePoint has also been a major contributor to a new Tataviam Interpretive Village on the grounds of Rancho Camulos Museum, a National Historic Landmark situated within an 1,800-acre working ranch in Piru.
Built entirely by tribal citizens, the new village is utilized by the tribe for cultural and spiritual purposes, as well as a learning space for the public. A dedication event in May 2019 was attended by FivePoint executives and dozens of tribal family members – some of whom descend from people who lived in the area prior to the arrival of the first Europeans in the 1700s.
Pukúu, which means “one” when translated from the language of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, is an appropriate word to illustrate a unified effort to invest in education.
Together, FivePoint and the Tataviam are shining a bright light on Native American culture and ensuring their proud history is celebrated by future generations.