Dear Governor Newsom and members of the California State Legislature:

We urge you to pass legislation to remove all of the “El Camino Real” mission bell markers from state highways and other lands within the jurisdiction of the state of California. As symbols of the domination and enslavement of Indigenous peoples in the California mission system, these bells do not belong on public display.

El Camino Real bell markers were installed over the past century to boost tourism and promote a fanciful, inaccurate and racist interpretation of mission history. Towering above public roads traveled by millions of Californians, these painful monuments glorify the Spanish mission system that sought to eliminate Native American cultures, spiritual practices and ways of life.

California’s missions led directly to the deaths of about 100,000 Indigenous people and were places of immense suffering and rampant abuse. Today’s California tribes that survived the missions—and subsequent Mexican and American colonization—continue to experience the impacts of historical trauma and most remain landless within their own territories.

Please honor the requests of tribal leaders by requiring that Caltrans, California State Parks, and other state agencies take immediate action to remove these harmful bell markers from public property. As a step towards addressing the damage caused by California’s legacy of installing and maintaining these symbols, please establish a process for consulting with tribal representatives regarding new truth-telling historical markers, signs and other initiatives honoring California’s Indigenous peoples.

Upon signing this petition, an email will be sent to Governor Newsom’s office.