About

Chicano Indigenous Community for Culturally Conscious Advocacy and Action is a grassroots organization committed to educating and implementing Indigenous philosophies and ideologies into the modern society that surrounds our community.  It was founded by San Bernardino Valley College Staff member Mary Valdemar. Mary states that "The vision for ChICCCAA is to transform our urban population once again, into a community that flourishes with greater wisdom, inspires activism, assists with basic needs and encourages a balance between all living beings and nature. The goal is to build a network of self-sustainable and economically independent community members that respect all cultures, and engage in advocacy with the intent of solidifying the values gained from our programs and services." I first began collaborating with CHICCCAA in 2019 as they aided me in constructing a space for my Public Speaking Students to decolonize the modalities and formats in which we public speak. Since then, we have hosted open mic, community building events that seek to serve the the Inland Empire  such as IE-centricity, Transcending Borders, The Intersectional Garden, and Chicanism@s. Even after moving to New Mexico, I have continued to collaborate with them via hybrid methods. Unfortunately, most of the video footage of these events were lost, except one of our first ever collaboration.