In Episode 94 of "Red Hoop Talk," host Jennifer Robin sits down with Michael Ramirez (Konkow Maidu, Hupa/Yurok, Wintun), a Native educator and passionate activist, to unpack California’s dark colonial legacy. Michael leads listeners through a deep and powerful reflection on the formation of the state of California—what he calls ground zero for many of the United States’ most brutal policies against Native Peoples.

From a firsthand perspective, Michael reveals the government’s calculated efforts to erase California Indians from the land, including the “hidden treaties” that were never ratified by Congress and the openly genocidal campaigns funded by the state. His account is more than historical—it’s personal. As a child, Michael was taken on a school tour of Sutter’s Fort, where he saw a sign above a cannon that read “INDIAN KILLER.” That m ...