About Kelly
Míiyu! Miyiiha!
Notúungup Kelly Leah Stewart. Miyu Payómkawish pí Tumamkawish. Hello! My name is Kelly Leah Stewart. I am the daughter of Lane and Dolores, granddaughter of Calistro and Carmelita, great-granddaughter of Louis and Ramona, and great-great-granddaughter of Francisca and Loretto. I share this lineage to situate myself as a California Indian and offer reverence to my Luiseno and Tongva ancestors.
I grew up in the Tongva village of Awingna, known today as the city of La Puente. I am a proud descendant of the original inhabitants (the Tongva and Luiseno) of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and northern San Diego counties. I can trace my lineage precisely to the villages of Tobepet and Jaibepet. The third of five children, I grew up in an extremely close family.
A first-generation college student and the first of 13 grandchildren to attend college, I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly), a Master of Arts in American Indian Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a Doctor of Education degree from the Joint Degree Program in Educational Leadership at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM).
I am currently an Assistant Professor at California State University, Long Beach. Additionally, I am a freelance Archival Researcher and Copy Editor. My hobbies include baking, beadwork, painting, archival research, genealogy, and writing. I have two cats: Alecs & Zerene.
