Yesterday wasn’t anything that I would of expected, my first response was.” this is just a dirt field, why are we here?” After I discovered what it was all about, it made me realize how beautiful it really was. I now know to appreciated these little things and not to take them for granted. It was a way to form a bond with the land and to get close to our ancestors.
DAy7&8&9@NaTIvePipLiNE + Why I am Here Reflection
Well a lot of stuff has happened in the past few days…..
We watched a documentary about Alcatraz and how it is not an island and how A.I.M. occupied the island because of what they believed in…
We went to a live Lightning Cloud concert with international students from Japan…
We went to the Chaffy Community Cultural Center and students helped clean and pick pumpkins at the garden…
We watched the Mar Rover land successfully on Mars…
We went to the farmers market in Claremont and went to the comic book “convention” at the Packing House near the Village…
and so muuuuuuuuuuch more.
Reflection:
Why I Am Here
I came to this program 3 years ago to start getting ready for college and when i left that first year i met a lot of people and wanted more of that knowledge that was given to me. so i came back the second year and made so many connections and gained so much support that i know i wouldn’t be able to find at my high school or at any other place. and now at my third year I’m still learning so much that i believe my head will never be full, just so much to take in and people to meet. Now i can’t wait to come back next year and when i can’t be a student i’ll set my sights on becoming a mentor to help other students and learn from them 😀
Learned
One day Cindi brought goats to the land so they can eat all the weeds that help stop the good plants from growing and now that the goats ate all the bad plants its now easier for plants to grow so now the Natives have a sacred place where they plant all kinds of different sacred plants that we used back in the old days and we still use today but not as much as we use to use. Before they created soap the Natives used a plant that they soaked in water till it got bubbly then they used it to wash clean themselves when they bathed. There’s a plant out there that was once on an island and one day they ate too many seeds and was on life support for a week they nearly almost died. Another thing I learned that there are many more difference sages that also smell very good. Not all animals are a menace to the garden the mole rat helps the garden by eating all the dried grass so the grass will continue growing. The Pomos are very well known for making Pomo baskets. It is acknowledged to be the most complete and detailed study of a single Native American basketry tradition. The plant that was most sacred to us Pomos was the Redwood trees.
Gardening & Traveling-Luna
Yesterday we got to take all the dead grass from pitzer’s garden (which was very tiring) and plant a few trees. Then, we traveled to LA 😀 which was pretty fun because i got to be the dj in Alejandro’s van (: when we arrived to the park it was extremely hot, and there was hardly any shade, i enjoyed when we all got in a circle and started singing because it always puts a smile on our faces. When we headed home some of us didn’t have the best luck so it bummed us out but I’m hoping today will be a better day(;
Corn Nuts!!!!!
Nick and Alex chill’n out eating some bomb corn nuts in the sun,
Good Times…Good Times.
the blessed warmth of the sun Nick lozano
august 6th planted plants and dug holes in the blazing heat but i felt nothing, well maybe a little. also went to LA we did not get hurt from the experience so very good. met all sorts of new plants in the warmth of the sun, i need to get me some salt plants. oh and um i am Luiseño, Pechanga “People of the sun” from Temecula “Place of the sun”. 
LA park
Yesterday it was peaceful day. We all went to a park and had to learn about the native plants, and after we all went in the dirt and sat in a circle. They funnt thing about it was as we were sitting in the circle trucks, people, and trains went on by. I wonder what they were thinking…. have any thoughts?? Hahahaha the other thing about it was at first we all hated the way the park looked like, than after awhile we all liked it. Never judge a book by its cover..
More Things…
Yesterday was a very long day.
In the morning we got ambushed with the task of gardening again…
After that we had free time:D thennnnnn we went to lunch…then had more free time.
We went to LA to see a park and we learned about so many different plans..i cant even remember the names. We sang together and ate in the sand with some ants. On the way home Ashley won 4 Trey Songs tickets but lost them when Micah handed her the phone carelessly and accidentally hung up. SAD DAY! Guess it wasn’t meant to be.
I had no idea that there were so many kinds of sage. My tribe, like most tribes, also uses sage to cleanse.
My First Week Here~Alex
This whole first week was amazing I met many people and learned many things. When I met Red Cloud it opened my eyes to do what I wanna do as a career and that is working in the Music Business. His raps inspire a little spark within me and DJ Hydroe mixing it like I never seen before. Working at the garden, making drums, the songs and dancing that I have learned was fun and I hope I can continue that aspect through my family. It is weird how I see Alejandro and I see my uncle with in him and I feel his presence there and many things that Alejandro does is just like him they both are the life of the party and I miss my uncle rest in peace. This place is great I havent had this much fun in a while and I have to say thank you to everyone that’s is here they changed who I am inside.
nativeyouth2college.org 