My own involvement with Native American peoples began when I answered the telephone one day in 1989 and an advertising agency hired me to produce still photos for a Sycuan Kumeyaay reservation tribal brochure.

The Sycuan tribe and their casino management kept me busy for the next 10–plus years photographing all their events, historical documentation, powwows, and some of their advertising, including their university, D–Q University at Sycuan, which has now evolved into the Kumeyaay Community College.

It was at the university a decade ago where I began working alongside Shirley Murphy, and her Native American staff. She brought me onto her team as an independent consultant and they introduced me to traditional thinking and values through education, ceremony, teamwork and leadership.

Mrs. Murphy, the university's administrator and founder, was beginning the move to the world wide web, the internet, and so we later created www.kumeyaay.info to build on her life's work of saving, nurturing the Native American cultures and languages, the people before they disappear forever.

Today, it is with good hearts that we launch www.kumeyaay.info — the people's Information Village — and taking the opportunity, I do hereby dedicate www.kumeyaay.info to Shirley Murphy for her lifetime of hard work for Native peoples, her strong leadership through tough times, in accordance with the traditional, academic and Native American cultural values.

I have spoken with several Kumeyaay elders and received their permission and active participation to publish this site.

Lastly, as a non-native webmaster, I am bound to make (a lot of) mistakes and misrepresentations, so please bear with me, help me get it right, and be assured, I am giving the KI website my very best personal effort.

I would like to again invite you to participate and enjoy your web site.

Sincerely yours,