2021 – Culture

Katherine Siva Saubel, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, founded the Malki Museum at the Morongo Reservation in California—the first Native American museum created and managed by Native people. A scholar and activist for the preservation of language and culture, she translated traditional folklore, created the first Cahuilla-English dictionary, wrote several ethnobotanical books on medicinal plants and made recordings of Cahuilla songs, preserving ceremonies, culture and traditions. She was the first Native woman from California to be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993 and awarded the Chancellor’s Medal from the University of California, Riverside in that same year. Saubel is honored post-humously, having passed away in 2011 at the age of 91.

> Interview with Mary Ann Andreas, Morongo Band of Mission Indians (Niece), and Aaron Saubel, Morongo Band of Mission Indians (Grandson), on behalf of Katherine Siva Saubel at the 2021 Induction Ceremony: