Julia Louise Bogany (July 16, 1948 – March 28, 2021) was an American community leader. She was a

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...

elder, educator, and cultural consultant.

Early life

Bogany was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

Career

Bogany taught preschool for 35 years. From 2000 to 2021, Bogany was cultural affairs officer of the Gabrieleño-Tongva San Gabriel Band of

Mission Indians Mission Indians are the indigenous peoples of California who lived in Southern California and were forcibly relocated from their traditional dwellings, villages, and homelands to live and work at 15 Franciscan missions in Southern California and ...

. She taught Tongva language, beading, and basket-weaving classes, and conducted cultural workshops throughout southern California. She worked on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder awareness in Native American communities. She was founding president of Kuruvungna Sacred Springs, president of Residential Motivators, and vice-president of Keepers of Indigenous Ways, all non-profit organizations. She was active in the Children Court L.A. Round Table, the Santa Monica Conservancy 21st Century Task Force, and the California Native American College Board.“With RESPECT: Julia Bogany.” 2021. ''News from Native California'' 34 (4): 49–52. via EBSCO Connect She was Elder in Residence at

Pitzer College Pitzer College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. One of the Claremont Colleges, the college has a curricular emphasis on the social sciences, behavioral sciences, international programs, and media studies. Pitzer is k ...

and

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...

. Bogany received the Heritage Award from the

Aquarium of the Pacific The Aquarium of the Pacific (formerly the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific) is a public aquarium on a site on Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, California, United States. It is situated across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center, Shor ...

in 2010. The National Indian Child Welfare Association named her Champion for Native Children in 2019. Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission recognized her with the Spirit of Tradition Award in 2020. In 2021, she received the California Missions Foundation's Chairman's Award.“With RESPECT: Julia Bogany.” 2021. ''News from Native California'' 34 (4): 49–52. via EBSCO Connect Bogany wrote a children's book, ''Tongva Women Inspiring the Future'', and contributed to the compilation of a Tongva dictionary. At California State University Dominguez Hills, there is a mural depicting Bogany under an oak tree, by artist iris yirei hu. Bogany was also featured on a billboard as part of artist Erin Yoshi's "Land of We" installation, and is depicted with her great-granddaughters in a mural by Audrey Chan, at the Little Tokyo/Arts District metro station in Los Angeles.

Personal life

She had four children. When her children were grown, she married Andrew Bogany. Bogany died in 2021, after a stroke; she was 72 years old.

References

External links

"Community Conversations: Tongva representation in public art"
a 2019 audio presentation featuring Julia Bogany, posted by Metro Los Angeles to YouTube
"Indigenous L.A.: Cultural Revitalization"
(2020), a short video featuring Julia Bogany, posted to YouTube for Native American Heritage Month, by the

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. Its collections include nearly 35 million specimens and artifacts and cover 4.5 billion years of history. This large coll ...

The Little Tokyo/Arts District station mural
by Audrey Chan, from the artist's Instagram
Julia Bogany, Megan Dorame, iris yirei hu, ''Pakook koy Peshaax (The Sun Enters the Earth and Leaves the Earth)''
','' Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (ICALA); an installation in memory of Bogany, at Los Angeles State Historic Park {{DEFAULTSORT:Bogany, Julia 1948 births 2021 deaths Tongva People from Santa Monica, California Native American women