destinythelegacy 2017, Dine/Navajo, Uncategorized

Destiny’s First Experience at Wishtoyo!

This is my first time at Wishtoyo and I already have a feeling that I’m going to like it here. When we arrived, everyone was so nice and welcoming. Later we learned about sacred geometry. It was really cool because it was math, which is my favorite subject. It also had art and science and I thought that was interesting. It was so interesting that I really wanted to learn more. After that, all of us went to the beach and that was fun. At night, just looking at the stars made me feel like i was back at home. That made me feel homesick, but my friends were there to make me feel better. 35863476952_b0ec291337_z

The next day, i woke up to a nice scenery of the ocean on a cool morning. Then we learned how to make traditional jewelry and I had fun making my bracelet. On the last day, I didn’t want to leave. I felt so sad, but there is always next year and I’m defiantly coming back to Wishtoyo.

tyvongrey2001 2017

Wishtoyo

by: Tyvon Greyeyes

I want to point out first that Wishtoyo was very beautiful mostly due to its people and the scenic view of the ocean and the village which was a very nice experience that I will certainly remember for a very long time. At Wishtoyo we learned so much like the culture and tradition of the Chumash people that is very touching because they have so much respect and grateful for everything they have and they love what they have which is very rare to see. We also learned some fun activities like making bracelets, necklaces, learning sacred geometry, surfing, and so much more all of these activities have created a strong bond with everyone of us, to me we are all family even if we aren’t blood related  we are spiritually related. My experiences here at this program are indescribably amazing which I have never experienced at any other program, So for whoever reads this I thank you for reading what I am currently thinking about.

nauielaztecaflaco 2017

Day 5 Naui

  We started the day off with learning about Aztec battle strategies and formations we used in war. We learned about the diamond, inner and outer circle, straight line, and another one that supposedly intimidated the spanish. Tata Hector and John  were our teachers and they taught us discipline, self control and strategy and the knowledge that comes with it. I feel it is mentally and physically challenging and i feel it is physically challenging because of this thing we do that is kind of like horse stance called Pyramid. Its where you do a horse stance position and you left hand grabs your right. I when my legs start to hurt and i feel like collapsing, I prayed to my great grandma, but it was weird because I didn’t have any intentions of praying and i was so sudden like i closed my eyes and started praying. After that we did aztec math and we learned about the divinity of the nepohuantzintzin and how important the nepohuantzintzin was to the aztec people. Nepohuan means to count and tzin is a way of expressing endearment and its kind of like spanish where ito/ita is used to express endearment for example, you can say abuela, but abuelita would show that she extra special to you. We also weaved baskets after lunch and mine came out a lot better than i expected, although not complete, it looks nice and i thing the weaving techniques are from a tribe that is native to the pitzer college area.

johannawinss 2017, Uncategorized

Johanna – Day of Connecting My Life

What can I say about July 15, 2017, it was energetic, relaxing, and as any other day a learning experience. Waking up so early to have indigenous games with Hector Pacheco and his younger brother, John Pacheco. It is crazy how they get my adrenaline pumping and have my mind thinking about how today would be and I did not think it would turn out the way it did. I can easily connect the indigenous game I have been learning from my brothers, Hector and John because at the moment we are learning moves of martial arts from the mexica people. Since sixth grade I have been taught martial arts from Hong Kong, China from an instructor from Bejing, China. So, having the experience to learn different forms of martial arts is very exciting because it always makes me happy and it is something I loved from the very beginning.

Now to the learning experience of the day, was with Shelva in her class of academic writing and common application. Throughout her class we brainstormed about our personal statement we would be writing for the time that we are in this program. I already had the experience of writing a personal statement on how I have helped my community and made a difference. Ever since I wrote that personal statement, I have been excited to write another and now that I am getting the chance to, it is giving me the chance to get ahead in my education. 

Now comes the relaxing portion of the day, aztec math and basket weaving. Aztec math brought me back many memories from my childhood at my elementary school, Academic Semillas Del Pueblo. Every day for about six years, I was taught many different ways to use the Nepohualtzintzin, but being in a class with Vicente has taught many different stories that I did not know and also other ways to use the Nepohualtzintzin. I never had the chance to do basket weaving, but doing it today, relaxed me very much and gave me the chance to connect with my peers a lot more. It was a way to bond and concentrate at the same time and it is rare that you get in one activity. I am very glad that mother earth gave us such a beautiful day to do all this exciting activities that I was very prepared and pumped to do. 

always happy, Johanna Osuna

 

 

  

johannawinss 2017, Uncategorized

Johanna – Combination of Two Powerful Days

The most impacting  activity that occurred on the day of July 13, 2017, was the blanket exercise with our elders, Gary Scow, Sylvia Scow, and Aunty Julia, also Scott Scoggins and Gina Lamd. This blanket exercise was to give us a better understanding to our brothers and sisters in Canada a long time ago. It was also to give us a reality check on how many issues accord to our ancestors are still according to us in this exact moment. Seeing a visual presentation and participating in it was very powerful. I had so many different emotions and thoughts on why we suffer day after day and have struggles because other people decide to take what is ours and take control of us like if we were nothing, as if we were out of this world. All people should be treated the same, just because we do not have the same skin color, same language, same culture, same land, and same tradition does not mean we are any different. At the end of they day, we all have a mind, a body, a soul, and a heart and that should bring us together, not drive each other apart. Sadly, as this has occurred already and unfortunately I do not have the power to go back and change how things occurred, but I truly believe have the power to change things now.

After we finished the visualization presentation of what occurred to our ancestors in Canada, we sat down and debriefed our thoughts on this exercise. Everyone had very similar feelings and soon our elders told us stories about their struggles that occurred to them when they were younger. One that stood out the most and I related to quickly, was Gina Lamd’s story, very powerful. Hearing the rest of the stories that each youth individual had was very hurtful, but powerful at the same time. It was not easy for a lot of us to share our stories to people we just met three days ago. I, personally could not share my full story because till this day I deal with the issue, but I am extremely grateful for those who did share their story because it shows what type of person they are, how strong and brave they are. To think that this exercise lasted about two hours, it was the most impactful and inspirational activity I ever experienced. 

Now, on July 14, 2017 we had the absolute privilege to have about a three hour class with Vicente Candonache. In his class, he explained so many different traditional items from the Aztec Dance culture. Honestly, even though I been around Danza my whole life, I learned new words and their meanings. The part I enjoyed the most from his class was when we all came together and danced four different danzas aztecas. I learned a new dance, but I also learned new moves to dances I know by memory and that is the beauty about this culture, you may think you know so much, but when you go somewhere and find people who have the same culture it turns out to be different. I appreciate how some people that never practice danza, danced with us and caught on pretty quickly even though most of us did have some experience with danza azteca. So far, this program has been very inspirational, a great learning area, and respectful program. I hope each day tops the previous day, but I will not forget what I learned it day. 

always happy, Johanna Osuna

bpinger 2017, Events, Haudenosaunee, Media Studies, Native Culture, Telling Your Story

Day 2 Spirit Game

Today was full of wonderful moments! It started for me at 6am waking up and walking outside to find Cuauhtli and Jasson ready to run. We ran around all the campuses and then went to Indigenous games with Hector. It was fun starting the day off in the early golden light and finding the energy in ourselves to run and run and run. Throughout the day we toured Pomona College, ate delicious food, swam in the pitzer pool and then watched Spirit Game. The movie was very inspiring and it just so happened that one of our mentors my amazing friend Phil who I love is from one of the 6 nations, whose team the film followed. I loved the movie because it had me hanging off my seat hoping the Iroquois team would win and taught me a lot about the history of the 6 nations and how colonization continues to affect them today. There was a moment in the film where the Canadian Coach was sitting next to one of the Chiefs. They were sitting in the tribal councils log building. The film had just discussed how the Kanadian team refused to get their passports stamped. The coach said it was just a big misunderstanding and laughed it off. There are subtitles during this sequence because the chief’s words are a muffled by one side of his lips. He explains that he recently had a stroke. The Kanadian coach says some words about how canada needs to treat its Native people better. It seems like he is trying to seem progressive, even though his team just refused to respect the sovereignty of the nations by getting their passports stamped. The chief doesnt look at the coach, but with clear eyes describes how men come to him and think they can spent a couple minutes with him and learn the history. They come to him without knowing anything about his people. They expect his people to sit down and tell them the history, quickly and then they leave. The subtitles roll across the screen and the coaches eyes flicker behind his fake smile. The chief continues describing the ignorant men who come. His eyes do not look in the coach’s direction.

The coach at the beginning of the interview smiles at the chief sickly sweet as if telling him youre just a sweet old man. But the chief smiles and shows that the coach and the country of canada are ignorant fools. Such ignorant fools. But so dangerous.

It was a great day. I cant wait for tomorrow.

johannawinss 2017, Haudenosaunee, Media Studies, Native Culture, Telling Your Story

Johanna – Day Two of Expanding My Knowledge

Today, on July 12, 2017, we the students of the Native Youth to College Program at Pitzer College, had the privilege to view an amazing film, Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation created and directed by Gayle Anne Kelley. Gayle was adopted into the Onodaga Nation because of the amazing work she has been working on and demonstrating her love and passion through the variety of events and ceremonies she has participated in. Her creating this film and sharing it with the world is very inspirational because it contains so much information that youth can see what our fellow natives went through. This film was not only focused on the game of lacrosse, but focused on everything that was connected to one another. 

In the beginning of the film you see how the Iroquois Nationals from Haudenosaunee had the challenge of not being accepted into the international competition because they were not considered to be a nation. Eventually throughout the movie, you see how the nations come together and celebrate their differences culture and traditions form their nations. One of the moments that inspired me the most in the film, was the scene when the New Zealand nation and the Haudenosaunee nation came together and shared their culture with each other, but also the coach, Rich Kilgour from the Iroquois Nationals exchange a lacrosse stick made by family members of the players. The lacrosse sport was not only a sport to the Haudenosaunee nation, but it was medicine. Medicine for the: players, children, women, family members, but it was also used as a healing medicine, setting a prayer and expressing themselves. 

So with that being said, I want to thank Gayle Anne Kelley for creating such a beautiful and inspiring film to our world. Learning new information and possibly show other fellow youth what I received from this film, because I know some young human beings can not connect to this movie because they do not know their nation and were not raised into learning their culture and language. Hopefully, I can be a leader to them. So once again, I thank you, Gayle for sharing this film and thank Pitzer College for having this connection with inspiring, beautiful human beings. 

always happy, Johanna Osuna

nauielaztecaflaco 2017, Haudenosaunee, Native Culture, Telling Your Story

Blog de El Azteca Flaco Dia Dos: The Spirit Game.

Around 7:30 all of the students gathered up at the Benson Theater because we were going to watch a movie. The movie was called The Sprit Game and it was about the Iroquois tribes traditional game which is what we now know as lacrosse. This game has been a game the tribe has played for thousands of years and is a popular sport in the americas. A group of Iroquois natives started a team and they are from new York and they all come from indigenous communities and reservations where they grew up playing lacrosse. The main goal of the team was to reclaim their own sport and show the world that they represent the game and all their ancestors who played this game before they. One of the most Controversial parts of the film was when the pope came to the United Sates and he eventually came to new York where he and other cultural leaders were going to met up and the chief if the Iroquois nation was suppose to stand amongst the leaders of these world religions and represent the Iroquois nation. He was going to speak about a document the pope has called the Doctrine of Discovery where it talks about how the pilgrims came to this land seeking religious refuge and religious freedom, but it never mentions the atrocities committed against not just indigenous peoples of that region, but they speak for all natives who have had these atrocities committed against them for the sake of their religion. Catholicism and christianity have all had a negative impact on Existing native peoples, cultures and religion and the introduction of these foreign religions has lead to the near extermination of indigenous peoples, cultures and religions and that is why the chief of the Iroquois nation and the people are trying to convince him to destroy the document because of its historical inaccuracy and its wrong ideas. The chief wasn’t allowed to stand amongst the cultural and religious leaders for the stupid fact that he had antlers on his traditional hat and they say that as a threat so they confiscated his has and it was dehumanizing because of the fact that they are taking away one part of your identity and its wrong because you wouldn’t take the popes hat away so that was wrong.

christineee00 2017, Haudenosaunee, Native Culture, Telling Your Story

Christine – Day 2, Spirit game: Pride of a Nation

On July 12, 2017, The youth of the Pitzer pipeline program had such an amazing experience today from learning more upon college and there requirements to ending our day with a new indigenous movie created and directed by Gayle Anne Kelley titled Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation. It was amazing to learn the true history and origin of the game lacrosse and how from a young age the iroquois players would play. I learned that the game lacrosse had more meaning which was for medicine to express themselves instead of a game to just play between each other.

The movie was such an informational movie especially for the youth to inspire them and show them some of there history. The movie was so touching just to see how all 6 nations came together to have this home game in there reservation and how even though they lost there final game they all were still so supportive of each other because at the end of the day the game is just a way to show there creator the respect they have for him and appreciation for the game he created. I hope to see more films like this one day and to just see more of our culture and history being shared to the world.

Peace and Love Christine

MeDiego 2017, Haudenosaunee, Native Culture, Telling Your Story

Spirt Game. Diego’s Response

After watching Spirt Game: Pride of a Nation, I realized this documentary was nothing like any other sports documentary. This movie is inspirational to native youth who do not receive the chance to learn their history that is commonly left out of history books. The Federation of International Lacrosse holding its tournament on iroquois territory was huge for indigenous peoples everywhere. The movie covers the struggles of being native, always having to fight to protect their culture. It follows the endeavor of the path to dismantle the doctrine of discovery. After working years to organize a encounter with the pope, the secret service disrespected native elders and beliefs while destroying the work towards meeting the pope. The movie ended in a way that reflects historical context with the natives continuing to fight to amend and hold up their culture, traditions, and pride.