yellowsunrey 2018, Chumash, Health Science, Indigenous Games, Life Skills, Native Culture, Native Youth, Uncategorized

Ja-Rey in her element

announcement.

My best friend was shipped in last night to start the NY2C program a whole week late. Yeah a whoooole long week but she was at another summer camp so ya know it was all good. This passed week we had been disconnected from the world obsessed with speed and slowed down a bit to ground ourselves with the love of culture. We were invited to Wishtoyo and got to stay 4 great days on the restored village site of the Chumash people. I cant even begin to explain the amount of love I felt leaving those lands on our final day.  Those who have dedicated their lives to the culture and who took time to greet and care for us those 4 days are the most amazing people I have every meet. We did so many activities, like kayaking and snorkeling on Limuw island which is the origin place of the Chumash people. through all of that my most beautiful memory d at Wishtoyo is spending many hours of the day learning Chumash native songs and stories. sitting in front of the fire offering prays  was the best night. It reminded me of the pwoer within our culture and ourselves. It was an amazing experience and ooooh i slept outside every night too. (fun fact: you cant see the moon because of light pollution from the city)

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jimmydean2018 2018, Chumash, Indigenous Rights, Native Culture, Native Youth, Wishtoyo Village

Rainbow by James Fenelon

God_s Rainbow

I am now back from Wishtoyo which means rainbow in the Chumash language. Wishtoyo is one of few places which has managed to preserve much the culture from the natives of that area. For the most part the place is unaffected and tries its best to stay that way. The Chumash people are currently involved in a fight for the channel islands which was originally theirs. Many lessons were taught, but the most important of them was to fight to keep your culture alive. The Chumash like many native nations are still alive and are adapting alongside society with them being ahead in some cases. Many native nations were already aware and grateful for their resources which is something that most countries are having a tough time grasping. This is what makes Wishtoyo (Rainbow) a truly sacred place.

katherinejefferson Chumash, Uncategorized, Wishtoyo Village

Wishtoyo- Kat’s reflections

First, words can not explain how closely related I feel to my Chumash people. Mati, Luhui, Auntie Georgie, Auntie Mena, Uncle Johnny, Nana, Uncle Ray, Leah (and Mateo), Sergio, Sarah, Kotes, Joe, Shoshoy, Sumo, and Ashk’a. Coming from another Coast Salish area and visiting with the Chumash who are also from the coast is absolutely amazing and such a blessing. The last three years in this program, I made a family and a home at Wishtoyo. It truly is a Rainbow, and I could follow it forever. The Turtle and Dolphin clan, I feel are gonna be my forever family. So many stories and teachings are stuck in my mind and I hope I never forget them. Songs, stories, teachings, blessings, prayers, gifts, creations, laughs, FOOD, scenery, history, love, kindness, traditions, and so much more are given to you when you go to Wishtoyo. Humaliwu, also known as Malibu, is the original homelands of the Chumash and we are always welcomed with open arms.

Right after I typed this paragraph above, my computer shut off and I thought I lost all my writing just now. I couldn’t stop myself from crying because I put my heart into it. It was a paragraph I could have written again but it just meant so much too me. The effect that Wishtoyo has had on me, its like I can’t even handle losing just a little piece of it. The memories and people that are now part of my life mean the world too me. I know there are going to be more journeys to Lemu, Wishtoyo, and Humaliwu. Thank you too my family, and friends from the rainbow.

You’re forever my family,

I love you all

Hysh’qe

Panamea

Thank you,

Kat

 

Aolani 2017, Chumash, Wishtoyo Village

No place like home

Well, my spirit isn’t at Pitzer College…it’s at Wishtoyo. Those three days were the best. Anything involving my homeland is just so medicinal for my body, mind and spirit. The moment we got there, I was greeted by my grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, my brother (He’s not really my brother. He’s my cousin’s fiancee who is one of my favorite people.) and MY MOM! I missed my home-girl so much. After greeting, we had ceremony filled with songs, stories and prayer. Then we went out to the cliff and did a prayer for our Mother ocean because she is hurting. Then we went down to the water and people got their feet wet but the tide came in and majority of the people were drenched. We then had a separate Woman talk about the importance of the Moon Time. The ,men had their talk too but i have no clue what they discussed. Then we ate food BROUGHT TO YOU BY NENAAAAAA!!!! Then we went to the beach and I sang some Chumash songs to Anna. Basically the whole entire trip was amazing. The funniest part for me was the way back. So, the night before, the men had a sweat and everyone was sleeping but somehow Cuauhtli managed to stay awake. On the way back to Pitzer, Zaryn, Marissa, Sylena, Violet, Jasson, Aleyah and Kyle were talking and Cuauhtli passed out on the floor of the van. So while he was sleeping, we were messing with his face and stuff like that. Then he started to snore…LOUD! And Kyle laughed so hard. It was hilarious. Anyway, it was dank.

-Aolani

issanda909 2017, Chumash, Native Culture, Tongva, Wishtoyo Village

Wishtoyo~Dancingbutterfly

The three days that I spent at wishtoyo were powerful and i had such a great time. The first day we went down and got greeted with songs, also we had visited a part of the beach that the sea had taken over and their was barely any land to stand on without the water touching you. Afterwards we celebrated my Nana’s birthday (Julia Bogany). I felt special and grateful to still have my great grandparents in my life supporting me and teaching me about my culture. The first night i slept it was just a bit cold by the water, but very outstanding. Another great thing was that my family was their and i felt lucky that they got to see what im up to. When i woke up i had to do my daily things the way that our ancestors did, and it wasnt easy. We also had a sunrise ceremony which woke me up along with breakfast. Later on some kids and mentors went down to the beach to go swimming. It had been a while since i have gotten in the ocean, and felt the strong connection. Afterwards we had classes that groups of kids split up to do. I really enjoyed the oceanography part because it drawed me in, and caught my attention. Then everyone took a moment to look at the stars at night, and see part of the milkyway. The stars caught my attention. The next morning we all were excited to go surfing and or swimming. I was overthinking about wether i should surf or not. I was afraid of wiping out, so for the first half of the time i was boogy boarding because i saw many people falling. After i saw that, each time they got back up, tried again, learned from their mistakes, and got better. So i decided to try it, and the next thing i know i was having the time of my life, and i may have fallen a couple of time here and there. Just remember that its not about how many times that you fall, its about the times that you got up.

~ Marissa Aranda (DancingButterfly)35863449742_fa3ea70720_z

jadeayala 2017, Chumash, Native Culture, Wishtoyo Village

Huitz yo!

WIIISSHHTOOYYOO!!!!!!!!!!! What another great experience man. I had such a fun time and it was really important for me to get away from the city and go out and reconnect with myself as well as with mother earth. I was able to learn a lot from such beautiful elders and also learn from such knowledgeable teachers, I appreciate the whole crew and staff for organizing such a beautiful trip and for giving us the opportunity to visit such a sacred and positive space. My favorite part out of the whole trip was going to the Beach and being able to reconnect with my good friend Edgar, He came out and surprised everyone and spent the last day with us at Whishtoyo  the whole time we were at the beach we TALKED A LOT!!!!!!!!. The conversation was a balance of positivity and negativity and what I mean by negativity is the unfortunate events that go on in our system today sadly but it was very important for me to know especially being the next generation. I thank him so much for contributing to such a great conversation and for inspiring me to protect my people from suffering. While I was staying at Wishtoyo we sang sacred traditional Chumash songs and I thank Mati and Luhui for sharing and for trusting us. The food was very delicious and groovy thanks to Nena, such a beautiful funny woman and hard working I thank her for feeding me such great meals that were filled with love and kindness. So thank you again for letting me visit Wishtoyo again every time is another great positive experience.

johannawinss 2017, Chumash, Native Culture, Telling Your Story, Wishtoyo Village

Johanna – Adventure in Paradise

After hearing so many stories from my friends experiences at Wishtoyo in Malibu, I could not believe that I would finally step on Chumash Village reservation. July 16, 2017 to July 18, 2017 were days to meet new people and connect with them, but also have a deeper connection with people I met on July 11, 2017. Arriving to Wishtoyo, with the sun being at its highest point, the wind blowing our hair and hearing the rattles and voices singing made me feel so welcomed and made me run and automatically hug everyone, filling up my heart with complete love and happiness. Throughout the weekend, we had different activities such as; sacred geometry with Uncle Joe, traditional crafts with Uncle Ray, traditional archery with Mati Waiya, women’s circle with Luhui Isha, climate change with Nicole and Kote, and we even had time to get surfing lessons at Zuma Beach. It is so amazing how we did all these different activities, but still had time to learn from each other and to admire the nature around us because most of us do not have the opportunity to see natural beauty at its finest. 

So thank you, thank you Mati for sharing your songs and culture with me and showing me a way to hunt our sacred animals that sacrifice their lives to keep ours going. Thank you, Luhui for teaching about the moon cycle every woman has each month, reminding that it is such a powerful time for us and that we should not see it as a punishment as most of us do and for taking such good care of me. Thank you grandma Georgie for sharing the wisdom story, being so funny and energetic was extremely beautiful to see in an elder. Thank you Mena for sharing the story about your people, how they crossed the rainbow bridge and how they had to work together. Thank you Nena and Sergio for being such amazing cooks, making me feel at home with my family with the delicious traditional foods that was provided to me. Thank you Lia for been a great conversationalist and listener with our conversations early in the morning while everyone is sleeping, you will be such a great mother to Mateo. Thank you Sarah for being an inspirational person and always giving people positive energy Thank you, Uncle Joe for being a great teacher and teaching me about something that I have never heard about, sacred geometry. Thank you Uncle Ray for helping me created a necklace or choker from only black string and one bead. Thank you Kote for being such a cool person that I related to so much and very quickly, just shouting out our stories to each other and giving each other such a positive vibe that both of us blew us away.

I could not believe the experience I had with these amazing peers, mentors and staff at such a beautiful place. 

always happy, Johanna Osuna

zionra7 2017, Chumash, Native Culture, Wishtoyo Village

Wishtoyo zion

wishtoyo was great. as we arrived the Chumash people welcomed us with open arms and i greatly appreciate that. all the knowledge they trusted us with was life changing such as inviting me into his Temescal and the sacred geometry with tata Joe Clues. I had a great time talking to tata Joe Clue at the beach about music his art and his participation in the native american movement. had a great time with Mati he invited me into his Temescal i will never forget that. tata Candonache shared very sacred and dear knowledge about or people and i want to thank hims do much. i am so thankful to be there to celebrate nana julians birthday with her.

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vichacon 2017, Chumash, Native Culture, Wishtoyo Village

Violet’s Wishtoyo experience

For my first day at Wishtoyo we were welcomed with a great song that made us feel like family. We got to do activities like secret geometry, beading, and learning about high tides. I thought the secret geometry was really interesting because Joe taught us how to use geometry with art which was really cool because I love art and to see how to incorporate math with art stuck out to me. The beading we did was awesome because, we got to actually make the whole necklaces from scratch and we got to learn about the traditions of the chumash people and how they made jewelry. When we learned about the high tides it really shocked me because i was unaware of how serious the high tides are in the Wishtoyo village. I thought it was helpful that the chumash people educated all of us about all the high tides so we can take that information and tell others about it so more people are aware of the situation and how serious it is. The best part of the whole Wishtoyo trip I thought was getting to go to the beach and swim and learn how to surf. The beach was just so amazing and beautiful and it was a great way to bong with everyone.Screen Shot 2017-07-19 at 9.27.22 PM.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-19 at 9.34.30 PM.png

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.