Indigenous Games was the best way to start this morning. We finally got to play the Flowers of War game and it was a fun, strategical and challenging game to play. After that, we had breakfast then proceeded to our Common Application class. Today in class, I was able to finish my body paragraphs for my Common App. Then we had Aztec Math, which is a class im always looking forward to go to because im always learning something new and the material taught in the class is interesting. We had dinner then we gathered up with all the men and we talked about death and how different peoples of this land address or feel about it and we also sang the Honoring Women song before being dismissed into Blogging.
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)
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.
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
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.
Auntie Josie is the homie
So I’m very, very tired so I’ll keep this short and simple. After dinner the womyn and men separated and had their own talking circle. Auntie Josie showed us some amazing songs and I can’t keep singing the hummingbird song with Huitzlin AT THIS MOMENT. The songs were so powerful that I forgot that I was on Earth. It was so moving and I’m so blessed to have been able to experience that with my fellow sisters at this program.
-Aolani
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.
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.
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.
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
nativeyouth2college.org 