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Some aspects of Indigenous Culture that prepares you to have a successful and lead an meaningful life are ceremonies, talking circles, and language. Ceremonies are important to me because they’ll most likely teach you on how to be patient because they can sometimes take a very long time of just listening. However, talking circles are important as well because they help teach you how to be more respective towards others, and what they have to say. Finally language is also very important too because your language tells who you are, where you come from, and your culture.

Cultural knowledge and participation in Ceremony help you prepare for college by helping you understand another language such as your own or it may be easier to learn another language, and ceremony teaches you patients which sometimes you need in class.

Culture helps prepare me for giving back to my community by showing how to give back in ceremonies, and what my community likes to get back from another person, such as cedar.

Preparing myself for a successful and meaningful life:
I could do this in so many ways just by being me. Staying with my culture and not letting it fade away. I’m still learning the songs, dances, and stories. I will continue to carry them on for my ancestors by being apart of ceremonies and speaking Dakota/Lakota.

I think that singing cultural songs are important to me because my family has just started to sing the eagle song. It means a lot to my dad that I learn the song because he knows that one day I will have to teach younger people about it. I also know that respecting the elders is important in Lummi that they eat first. Also that they need everyone listening to them once they start talking. 

I think that being a part of a ceremony helps with the decision if I want to study a culture in college. If that was the point then I would return to my tribe and lend a helping hand with my knowledge.

In the future I would want to give back to my community by volunteering at the baby sitting place by Lummi Nation School or maybe become a helper for the fundraisers children have.

  Trisha Question:

How many phones have you had in your life time :]

I believe the main aspect in charge of preparing you to be successful are the elders. Elders are very knowledgable and wise and there is a reason for that. Through their experiences and teachings they have learned to become who they are. Therefore, they are the perfect ones to prepare you to be successful. Ceremonies are also very helpful because in ceremonies there is a lot of storytelling. Stories often have a teachings that one can learn from. Another great aspect are songs. Songs help getting people involved in the cultural community. Songs can be very uplifting and can morally support someone.

Cultural knowledge and ceremonial participation further prepares you for college because it will look very good on a college participation. Now a days, colleges are looking for students with these sort of backgrounds. They are looking to bring these students to enrich their programs with indigenous knowledge.

With all the teachings that you are given, you learn to share that knowledge with other people. You learn to be who you want and to take all your knowledge to give back to your community. Our generation has the responsibility to make a change in this world and the first step is always giving back to your indigenous community.

Hellooooo All,

Looks like you had a wonderful stay at Wishtoyo – yay!   Thank you for posting images of the beautiful things you made and some gorgeous shots in Malibu.  Tonight we will continue to think about culture…what it means to you and blog about it.

What are three aspects of of Indigenous Culture/Community that prepare you to be successful and lead a meaningful life and why is each one important to you (i.e. talking circle, songs, sweat, ceremony, language, ancestors, etc…)?

How does Cultural Knowledge and Participation in Ceremony help to prepare you for college and furthering your education?

How do they prepare your for giving back to your community in the future?

At Wishtoyo I made a dog bane necklace, a thin one, Mati then carved out my dolphin shaped abalone piece. It was a long process and my piece was the last one to be finished because it was difficult to cut out. I had such an amazing time learning how to make a dog bane necklace and picking out the perfect piece to draw a design. At first I didn’t know what to draw but when I asked Mati he immediately knew what to make. And the color of the Abalone shell was so perfect for the Dolphin design. It turned out beautifully.

The lessons I learned at Wishtoyo was never leave something alone for to long or someone might grab it thinking it was left over. It happened to me last year when I left my tobacco container sitting on the table and this year when I left my dog bane necklace lying on the table waiting for my abalone piece. I mean i got them back but the freaking and looking everywhere for it was enough for me to stop misplacing my things. Another lesson, I learned was to always remember and appreciate the things given to you and the way others react when you give them something, it could mean so much to them that you wouldn’t even understand.

My favorite cultural experience is just being there. Even for one day I still loved being there, it felt like home. When we arrived everyone was just instantly filled with love, happiness, and memories. I wanted to break down when I saw everyone at Wishtoyo and when my old mentor arrived, I felt so much happiness and was so grateful that she showed up. At the beach it was so amazing the water was kind of cold cause of the overcast but it was so fun to just chase the waves and run away from them, even if I was wearing jeans. All the elders speaking and telling creation stories or past memories made me feel like a Native American before the giant disaster of the discovering of America. But the past is not something to regret. The past is something to grow from, something to heal from. It just depends on how we try to heal the hurt that is built around each and every one of us.

1) The crafts that I made were a neckless that I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to finish because my stone broke but I still had fun making it and a clapper stick witch was real easy to make since it wasn’t my first.

2) The lesson that I related to the most when I made the neckless because once Ray showed me I really got the hang of it.

3) My over all favorite cultural experience had to be when we stayed in the ops because I never stayed in something like that and just knowing that he made all of those thing by hand is cool.

What a wonderful day and a half we had at Wishtoyo! I am definitely thankful to have gone back once again because the last time I went was one of the BEST experiences of my life. Learning about the Chumash culture and living in the village for as long as we did was a true blessing. I am also very grateful for the opportunity to return to this program as a mentor for not only my benefit but for the benefit of the students who I have been lucky enough to build a relationship with.

While at Wistoyo, I made an abalone necklace which is very sacred to the Chumash people. The last time I came, I made an abalone shell basket and this time I got to carve a necklace design which was super awesome and enlightening. I also got to make a clapper stick out of an elderberry branch from scratch which was an entirely new experience for me. I have made two clapper sticks in the past but they were already cut out for me (all I did was design it) but this time, I got to carve it out myself in addition to designing it.

One lesson that I will take away with me and share with others is the idea of saying out loud what I am thankful for and what I am looking forward to in the future. It’s not often that I get to do that, which might be one of the reasons I get down on myself sometimes. Even though I occasionally pray to my creator, I do not get to talk to myself about what I am thankful for. So I think it is really important for everyone to remind themselves what blessings they have received in their lives in order to make them hope for greater things in the future.

My favorite cultural experience was morning ceremony. It was the most awake I have felt my entire time at the program and I felt nothing but exciting energy. I came out before 7 AM with my clapper stick and my love…which made my happy to be awake and sharing my happiness with others. As soon as we all stood in a circle, I felt nothing but beautiful blessing and I could not have asked for a better morning (plus the weather was SO BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT that I did not want to leave ever again!!)

I made a really cute heart necklace out of a abalone shell and used dogbane for necklace string. I also made a matching anklet with Jessica, we used dogbane and and a tiny sea shell for a cute detail.

The thing i related to the most is the respect of the sil`i`yik. I relate to it because in the pow wow world I was told by my elders not to walk or go across the arena and to walk in the way of the clock and also was told to enter at a certain part of the circle depending of the season.

My favorite cultural feeling part was staying in the ops. I liked staying in the ops because i kinda got a real feel of how some of the Chumash or maybe my ancestors lived.

This was such a great experience for me. Even though the visit there got cut short, meeting those few Chumash people was a true honor. Sharing their songs and teachings with us and helping us make crafts, Im so truly thankful.

1) I made both the crafts. I made a abalone shell necklace, I carved the abalone into the shape of a turtle with the help of Mati. I also wrapped the Dog bane after I peeled the bark, making the necklace. It took me about 3 hours to make but it was worth every minute. It’s so perfect, I just love turtles so much and I’m defiantly going to cherish my necklace forever. The Clapper Stick was so fun to make, its hard to explain but my favorite part was using a magnifying glass to burn designs into it. I love it!

2) The sacred fire, representing mothers. That was my favorite one, Im feeling a little homesick for my mom right now. So learning about the teachings of the fire defiantly made me miss her 100x more! Im am so thankful for the Pitzer Pipeline Program, its not just helping me prepare for college. Its helping me Appreciate my family much more.

3) I got to share a Peyote song with Kaydee’s father, Dave, and he told me so many things about his culture compared to some of the Sioux Culture. I was so grateful, I love Kaydee (our Western U teacher). Im glad i became close with her)