Gala Celebration

In many Native American cultures, the Morning Star provides guidance through a complex world, reminds us that renewal in life is possible, and shows us that we each carry a light to illuminate the darkness. Our award recipients use their powerful light to create paths for those that are lost. We recognize that their work illuminates our community as brilliantly as the Morning Star. In celebration of our 2025 Gala, we’re excited to honor Assemblymember Mia Bonta with our Morning Star Award.

In our ceremonial world, the fire is cared for like an honored relative. The fire must sustain even in the most challenging elements. The Fire Keeper ensures that the flame endures so those participating in sacred exercise are safe and confident in their environment. Our recipients ensure that community life continues in a safe and sacred manner. We recognize that their work in the community burns with the intensity of the ceremonial fire. In celebration of our 2025 Gala, we’re excited to honor Patricia Shirley with our Fire Keeper Award.

When Helen Devore Waukazoo was taken from her family at 13 and put into a Federal Native American Boarding School, she saw how the trauma of separation led many Natives down a cycle of addiction, poverty, and family disconnection. She dedicated her life to helping her community recover and reconnect with their cultural ways. NAHC created the Helen Waukazoo Spirit Award to highlight local organizations that exemplify that same commitment to uplifting the Bay Area Native community. This year, we’re honoring our Flicker development partners, Satellite Affordable Housing Associates, Nibbi Bothers General Contractors, SmithGroup, and Pyatok.

Jackie Keliiaa, a Bay Area comedy regular, has performed at San Francisco SketchFest, Punch Line, and Cobb’s Comedy Club. Featured on Comedy Central, Team Coco, Netflix, and Illuminative’s “25 Native American Comedians to Follow,” she has opened for Judah Friedlander and Nikki Glaser, and appeared on First Nations Comedy Experience streaming on Amazon Prime.

The Elem Pomo Dancers, founded by Jim and Elvina Brown from Elem Indian Colony in Clearlake Oaks, CA, have shared Pomo traditions since the 1970s. Performing across the U.S.—from Washington D.C. to San Francisco—they honor their heritage through the Shakehead and sacred Hesi dances, preserving cultural stories, values, and ancestral connections for future generations.

Founded in 1997 on the Big Pine Paiute Reservation by Sage Romero, AkaMya began as a safe space for youth to learn dance and song and has grown into one of the first Native-owned nonprofits dedicated to living culture, preservation, and multimedia arts. With the new Margaret L. Romero Cultural Studio, classes, exchanges, and international performances, AkaMya honors the past by teaching the future.

Bay Area native DJ KG has performed at iconic venues like the Paramount and Yoshi’s and events including Art and Soul, Black Joy Parade, and Hiero Day. Since 2016, he’s been known for blending genres to create unique experiences. Beyond the stage, he teaches recording arts in Bayview-Hunters Point, driven by a lifelong passion for music and community.