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anselrdgz25 2017, Chumash, Native Culture, Native Youth, Wishtoyo Village

Ansels Wishtoyo recap

From the moment we got there to the moment we left everyones energy was exhilarating. Hearing our Chumash relatives sing us in with their beautiful songs made me feel right at home. Seeing elders that have so much influence on my life sing with so much pride and joy to see us, reassures just how much they truly care about the indigenous youth that come to visit their beautiful village. Aside from all the ancient knowledge that we learned at Wishtoyo the most empowering experience was participating in my first sweat with my brothers. Feeling the sweat sprint down my face like it was running a hundred meter dash along with my prayers bursting out my heart was one of the most amazing experiences I ever had. When I crawled out of the payet with mud, sweat, and honor all over at 5AM; the cold water that my brother tekpatl poured on me just brought me back to life. A couple hours later we went down to Zuma beach where we received surf lessons from some cool dudezzz. Sweating, Surfing and learning were the best parts of my trip to Wishtoyo; before I wrap up my experience at Wishtoyo I just want to say I am extremely grateful for all of the amazing things the village does for the native and environmental community, truly inspiring.

 

 

benjaminalv 2017, Wishtoyo Village, writing

Benjamin is back Pitzer!!

Being back at Pitzer is nice but I miss Wishtoyo. We started off the morning with Hector and John, we all played the best game in the world. The game was a good way to start off the morning. I had a good time with Shelva with writing. Aztec math was once again the best activity, Vincente has so much knowledge to teach us and we love to hear his words. I had such a great day back at Pitzer.

destinythelegacy 2017

Destiny’s back at Pitzer!

After we got back from Wishtoyo, we had a lecture about music scoring for movies and video games. It was really cool because I didn’t know that there has to be specific music at certain scenes. Today I enjoyed learning new songs from Josie Montes at the Talking Circle. I have never felt comfortable singing around people, but the songs made everything feel natural. The songs that we learned today made me feel closer to to my sisters and I’m really glad to have this opportunity to be here at Native Youth to College. 35196769164_1ed6597425_z

MeDiego Uncategorized

Diego’s Wishtoyo Take Away

Upon arriving into the Wishtoyo Chumash Village, I immediately feel welcomed by their whole family. Singing and dancing as we walked up to them, waiting for the song to end, anxious to say hello and hug everyone. We had no idea what was waiting to come the next few days. Mati and Luhui were amazing hosts, they could not have made our short visit any better. I was able to experience my first sweat along side with all the males in the program. It was a new experience being able to cleanse everything my body has been through. Throughout our trip, I was given chances to practice spear throwing using a traditional atl atl. Learning the techniques of moving your arm in a smooth motion, not to rough to break the spear. We were given the chance to go to the beach to document the sea level rise. This was important to me because I understand the lack of awareness relating to climate changes and other problems our ocean is facing. This gave me a clearer explanation of what is going on and I am am able to express myself in new ways and spread awareness to my friends and new people who I am yet to encounter.

alyssasaige 2017, Wishtoyo Village

My Time at Wishtoyo

Every time I get the privilege of going to the Wishtoyo Chumash Village I feel blessed to be there. It’s always a powerful experience when there is native people on native land. Each and every time I come back i’m learning new song new words and new teachings. I love the fact that this place always seem to be the place where every one tends to connect more with each other. This year I learned and experienced something powerful. I was taught about a women’s moon cycle. I learned how powerful a women is when she son the cycle. The words of Luhui ” If the moon above can move the waves so can a women when shes on her moon”. I was one of the young women that was on the moon cycle and we were treated with great respect from every single person there. We weren’t able to serve food nor prepare food nor walk into the kitchen or circle. It was pretty difficult adapting to these ways. I hope my mother is reading this so that when i’m on my moon I wont have to go into the kitchen. Meaning I wont have to wash dishes nor help cook yayyy.

On the second day we went to Zuma beach were we boogie boarded and swam in the water. Later on that day we had sacred geometry with Joe Clues he was a great instructor. i learned about the golden number and how it relates into almost everything it was mid blowing what i learned from him. Than we had surfing class it so much fun as of now this is the best thing I did. It sure is really difficult to get up and ride a wave the first time, but i came very close to it. Most of all the best thing about going ti Wishtoyo is the food. OOO man the food is the best and made with love by Nana and Sergio. The food made me feel like I was at home. I had the best time being here and I hope that I’ll be back soon.

 

vickeycohen 2017, Azteca, Mexica

Victor: Wishtoyo

We arrived to Wishtoyo and were welcomed by the Wishtoyo family. We all gave each other hugs and greeted each other. We then all had lunch together and talked to each other and enjoying the food. After that we had some free time, I decided to just gaze off into the sunset and write some things in my journal.we then had dinner which was delicious and after that, Mati talked about the Chumash culture all the way through until bedtime, which I enjoyed and took in every moment of it. Woke up the next morning, we went to the beach, didn’t do much but chill out and catch some California sun. After that I did 2 different activities before dinner which were Sacred Geometry, Which i was really into and I also made a traditional abalone necalce. We had burritos for dinner, which made me feel at home again, I was starting to grow a connection to Wishtoyo. Unfortunately I did not go to the sweat lodge due to not hydrating enough prior to it, so I just watched the stars and thought about people in my life for a bit and went to bed.I felt somewhat emotional the next morning because we were leaving Wishtoyo, but before we left, we got to surf at the beach, which for me resulted in getting a bad sunburn on my back and neck and also before we left, we had one final lunch in Wishtoyo… We said our goodbyes to everyone there and has we were going out the gate of Wishtoyo, the people we had met there sung a song and prayed for us, It made me emotional in the inside. We got back to Pitzer College and we were late for dinner… Soooo while we were in Music Scoring class, our mentors got us all In-N-Out!!! So right after an hour spent in an awesome music class, we had our food and went to bed.

zarryx55 2017, Chippewa, Native Youth, Ojibwe, Uncategorized, Wishtoyo Village, writing

My Wishtoyo experience

The village of Wishtoyo, is located between the dry and burning mountains of southern California and the cold pacific ocean. The briny ocean waves crash up and the mountainous heat bleeds down, and amalgamatein Wishtoyo, one of the most sacred places I have ever set foot on.

When we arrived I was welcomed by the amiable and smiling Chumash people. the keepers of Wishtoyo. We greeted and then entered this circular structure, partially submerged in the earth. The place was incredibly traditional, and when I entered, it felt like I was back in the past, and all that existed outside of this erection was miles and miles of wilderness, that expanded to the boundaries of all of turtle island. I camped at Wishtoyo for 3 days and 2 nights and during this time Mati, a wise chumash elder, and his people treated us to their enthralling stories and congenial ceremonies; all of which profoundly affected me. However, the sweat we had is of particular significance. The sweat consisted of all us men, and the reasoning for this, was for us to be completely comfortable and open. We all stayed up until midnight, and then prepared the grandfather rocks to be heated. In this process we had to be meticulous, because there was only a certain way in which we could set up the rocks. After they were lit, we sat and talked with one another, for a few hours. Here everything was realized, and in the lodge everything was manifested. At that fire I thought about my mother, my culture, and my relationships. Ar the lodge I sang for my mother, the person whom I owe my existence and everything to, and my culture, the crucial part of me which I finally began to truly reconnect with, all singing surrounded by my brothers and the spirits of my grandfathers. I am so grateful for my Wishtoyo experience, it will not be forgotten.

-Zaryn Prussia

aleyaht Uncategorized

Wishtoya- aleyah

I had a really bless time at wishtoyo. I met new people and i will forever be grateful for the up close and personal experience i got to have on the chumash grounds . When we first arrived, they were singing the welcoming song. As we all unloaded from the cars we greeted them with hugs and words of wisdom. Then we settled into our tents and ate lunch, Nena was a bomb chief. Tbh. While we were there it was kinda feeling like Pitzer weather once the sun started glaring hard later in the day some of us got burned. Sleeping in the  tents was really fun, to be paired up with people was interesting. My tent had the girl mentors and it was me destiney and Marissa, me and Destiney had some good times tho, lots of laughs. The next day i was super exhausted but i took a nap while some people learned sacred geomatry . We also went down to the beach, it was real rocky tho so as a result i got some scratches from the rocks, again the food was really good. They separated us into groups that had to do the dishes. I was in group 3. In the morning after we got there they opened us with the sunrise ceremony in the saleek. That day we also learned about climate change and ow if we dont hear about it now we will not be prepared for the future. Us as growing and maturing women learned about the moon cycle and how it was a blessing and we should not feel that its a punishment, We were told that this is the time were were most powerful and sacred and we were just so valuble. That meant that the girls that were on there moontime couldnt go in the kitchen or hug other men or even go in the saleek. but the rest of the time was realy enjoyable

lalamilk 2017, Azteca, Azteca, Chumash, Mexica, Nahuatl, Native Youth, pipeline program, Uncategorized

A trip to the Place of the Rainbow

In the Chumash language, Wishtoyo means Rainbow. When arriving to the place of the Rainbow, I heard such beautiful voices coming from the entrance way. I seen Mati, Luhui, Sarah and the rest of their family with such big and wide smiles. I felt like crying when seeing such wonderful people once more. After getting off the van, I witness such positive energy and a great aura emanating from them. Once they sang to us, I went up to every single person and hugged them with so much joy, that it was overwhelming. Then we had a ceremony for our arrival to Wishtoyo that gave such a good feeling and positive energy. Hearing the voice of Mati and sharing his teachings, made me feel at home. Wishtoyo does feel like a second home.

Throughout the day of arrival, spent a lot of time settling into our tents and the feel of the place. That same day, Joe Clues showed us Sacred Geometry that interested me to be involved in. He taught me how to the Geometry is involved and connected to patterns and things in the universe. Since I have such a great love for mathematics and the universe, I was one hundred percent focused on his words and what he was teaching me. I spent the first night of sleep outside looking at the stars with my friend Cuauhtli and opening up to each other like I’ve never done before. The sound of the ocean was so soothing and beautiful that it made the even better.

The next day, I made a necklace using a plant called Yaka. I hit the plant with a rock until the strands of fibers started to show and part. Then, I pulled the strands of fiber apart in half and began to time the strands of fibers into a necklace. I was unable to decorate the necklace, but I did finish and let it dry. Again, we had another class of Sacred Geometry that taught even more. At the end of day, I went to the bottom of Wishtoyo where we created a fire with rocks for sweat ceremony. It took about two to three hours for the rocks to get fully heated. We entered the area for the sweat ceremony. The first round began and it felt good but very hot at the same time. We sang and had prayers which made me feel united with everyone in there. I excited after the first round but I felt like I could’ve lasted more. The ceremony did not end until around six the next morning. I only had about two hours of which made me feel tired and exhausted throughout the rest of the day. When we left, I felt so sad but so happy to have gone to Wishtoyo and been around the elders and everyone else.

 

 

jassonmurgo Uncategorized

Jasson’s Catch Up Blog: Wishtoyo and Today

Wishtoyo:

Wishtoyo is always an amazing experience. I learn so much about tradition and culture. Like always, the Wishtoyo village welcomed us with a song. I forgot how it went, but I remember it was pretty cool. During these three days, we cooperated with each other in every way, except the dishes. For some reason nobody wanted to the the dishes. I learned a few songs here and there, but I can’t take too much knowledge so I forgot some stuff. My favorite experience at Wishtoyo was the sweat. In the beginning, I didn’t think it would be too hard and I almost died (Not literally). I don’t know how hot it was in there, but I didn’t matter because the hotter the better. I got to bond with my brothers in a very special way. I can talk more about this, but I want to respect the experiences and events that happened in there, whatever happened at the sweat stays in the sweat. Still can’t believe I was at Wishtoyo’s first sweat! It a really huge honor to be there with such amazing people, especially Mati and Luhui for making all of the Wishtoyo experience possible. I wanted to thank all the elders that were there, they taught us many things. I like how they didn’t really repeat the thing we did last year, but instead they had new activities for us prepared. My favorite activity was surfing. It was my first time surfing and I don’t want to brag, but I’m kind of a pro (Besides the fact I fell like 5 times). I also want to thank the cooks for making such awesome food. My favorite was the little macaroni thing that was in the huge bowl. It was so amazing I wanted a third bowl! Anyways Wishtoyo has taught me so much in terms of traaditio  and the ways of our people. It also gave me a bad sunburn behind my neck and back, but it doesn’t matter because every once in a while now it reminds me of what happened at Wishtoyo.

After Wishtoyo:

Yesterday when we came back from Wishtoyo, there was a class of music scoring for films and video games. This was one of the best ones. The guy Ben Florio was really awesome. He really made me think more about the films and video games. I never really noticed the music behind these things, I just kind of thought they were thrown in there. In reality, there is a place for every string, drum, or flute. Its all about timing. He also used one of my favorite scenes from One Punch Man, an anime, as an example for his class. I also had a good laugh while he played the scene of Harry Potter when Dobby died. He’s such a funny elf! Then today, Indigenous games was really fun. I hardly ever want to wake up for indigenous games because I am not a morning person, but whenever I am there, he finds a way to wake me up and keep me energized. We played the game called Flower Wars where we had to capture the staff from the person holding it. There was a lot of running involved in that exercise and I love running. It is one of my greatest talents. After that, we did the common applications workshop with Shelva, but I don’t know what happened so the seniors were sent off to another activity to learn about college admissions through the common application. Then I ended the day with a good talk with my homie Vicente, the creator himself. He told us story and he showed us the medicine here at the college.