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Thursday: Today we visited Cal Poly Pomona (yay!) Dr. Dixon gave us a tour of the campus and Irv Harrison of the Native Center treated us to a nice lunch. I love the campus- its full of living things like cows, horses, ducks, and turtles. I just graduated from there in  June so it was like going back home, I really grew a lot while attending school so being back there brought many good memories back. Dr. Walton showed us chemistry can be fun and exciting- showing us how to turn pennies into  gold and silver. We then took a look at the Native garden near the bio-trek, i love the natural plants- the smell is soothing. After that we walked to the Native Center- a place I practically lived in the last year of school. Mr. Harrison has made some amazing changes and it was good to see a friendly face (Manny)! Then we were off once again this time to drive over to the farm store where Nick and Alex made sure to extol the virtues of Cal Poly’s orange juice. After dinner we relaxed and watch one of my favorite Native films- Smoke Signals based on some short stories titled The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie. I always love the way the movie allows people to see some of the stereotypes placed on Natives . As we draw near the end of our two weeks together I am beginning to reflect not only on what i and the students have learned from the lessons but also the things we have shared and taught each other.

today is officially the last day of the pipe line, 2 weeks came and went ridiculously fast. I enjoyed every minute of this experience, the students and staff members have become FAMILY to me :] after having spent 2 entire weeks together I feel like we have established a bond that is NEVER to be broken. During my time spent here at Pitzer as a mentor, I have learned a lot about myself, we have had several amazing speakers, I must say the ones who had the biggest impact on me were Adrian Pantoja and a gentleman by the name of Hector. Adrian spoke about immigration, this topic really hit home, a lot of times I tend to take opportunities and a lot of other things for granted. Immigrants come to the United States for opportunities, whether it be money or an education, I am blessed to be where I am today and to have accomplished everything I have accomplished thus far in my short 23 years of life. Hector spoke about seeking and fulfilling our purpose here on this earth. I currently hold a bachelor of science degree in Anthropology with an emphasis on Cultural Resource Management as well as a minor in Native American studies, prior to coming to this program I was having a hard time trying to figure out what it is I wanted to study in Graduate school, I now know that…I want to pursue a Masters degree and PhD in American Indian studies with and emphasis on tribal law. It is my way of giving back to the Native community, as well as my way of saying “Thank You” to my ancestors- those who came before me, the ones who laid the foundation for my existence. On a different note, one of the highlights of the program was a day trip to Universal Studios in which we were able to go behind the scenes of movie sets and were able to talk to important executive people who work in the media industry, they talked about the importance of Networking, a lot of times your chances at being successful are increased/facilitated based on who you know! We also had an all access pass to the theme park, all the students and mentors got to ride on the attractions for a few hours, it was soooo much fun, all of the participants in the program, mentors and students alike were able to connect and interact with one another on a personal level. My favorite part of the program was our time spent at the Southwest Museum. It provided the students with insight on the field of Anthropology and emphasized the importance of preserving our heritage/culture for future generations. I also got to see 2 personal friends of mine who are employees of the museum, Karimah Kennedy and Liliam Posadas :] I have not seen them since we worked together doing archaeological fieldwork on Catalina Island last summer! On a final note, I vow to promote and perpetuate my culture today, tomorrow and always! I will use my degrees to fight social injustices within Native American communities ❤

So yesterday we went to Cal Poly which is a very big campus and involves a lot of walking but the experience inspires me too think about going to Cal Poly its definitely on my list of things to do

Yesterday was the day we all drove to Cal Poly. I’ve been exploring Cal Poly since I was about 9. As most of you know my mother works at Cal Poly as a professor in Ethnics and Women’s studies…I love Cal Poly!!! It has a beautiful campus… and the academics are great… Irvin provided lunch for us! I thank him for that… and I thank my mother for giving us that wonderful tour. When we got back there we had tutoring with the SAT guy… shockingly it was pretty fun, because it was i like math… shhhhhhhh don’t tell anybody though! It’s a secret. To save the best for last; the movie Smoke Signals!!! YAH!!!!! 🙂 I loved it!!! It’s one of my favorite movies. I know almost all of the lines… but not only that I love the message it sends out as well…

yesterday we got to watch smoke signals and one super funny part ,i think, is the part where Victor and Thomas sing a round dance song called John Waynes teeth 😛 here is a video of them

i love this movie sooo much 😀

connected through the spirits of mother earth and father sky we share the same path but we all live in our own little world….. we travel in our minds to far away land and time periods looking for answers..

I haven’t blogged in a while so this may be long!

We went to Universal Studios and I felt so dumb because I was like the only one that didn’t know and I got really excited! I went on the Mummy ride three times and the Haunted House twice. I’m pretty sure I almost lost my voice from all the screaming because it was hard speaking the next day.  Anyways, the tour was great! I had no idea there was so much to Universal Studios and now I can really appreciate all it has. It was fun, the city was absolutely stunning that day

Then we went to a museum and did some gardening the next day. Boy was that unexpected! We were hauling rocks and raking up leaves all day! My back was killing me after that and I was another shade darker from a combination of sun exposure (woohoo, tan!) and dirt (booo) but I was glad we contributed to a good cause.  It felt good being able to see how much progress we made after only three hours (and jumping in the pool afterwards!). I was also happy with how I learned about the many different ways I could use sage. I mean I knew it was great but wow! tea for colds!? Amazing!

Then we went to the Gene Autry Museum yesterday, which was amazing. I saw a lot of baskets from my tribe and pottery from my sister’s tribe, it made me miss her but just a little bit! I also saw some beadwork and it surprised how it was in such great shape for being so old; The people at the museum are doing a great job of preserving the artifacts that they have received from the various tribes.

Toodles!

last night was so fun! i really enjoyed everyone’s talent. and i loved how everyone was fearless and they had courage and danced and sing it was so fun! but my neck is killing me today its all that head banging we all did last night but it was worth it :o)  and Jess and Manny.. you guys rocked that mic!!

Alright so today is day 12 of the program and we have really experienced a lot! The amazing people that have taken time to speak with us about their journey to the professional arena has been both insightful and inspiring. Even though I just received my B.A. I now feel like I CAN decide to do whatever I want in this life- i will no longer limit my options to things I think are related to my major. I also realized that everyone is different and perhaps their needs are different from what mine are. It is good to be able to remember not everyone is going to get my personality and to be able to be alright with that. I also am grateful to hear so many diverse voices out in the “real’ world.- Becca

Dear Friends of the Pipeline Community, I have had the most wonderful time living and learning with you all. I WILL NEVER FORGET THE PEOPLE I CONNECTED WITH. No matter how long we don’t see each other. I don’t forget the people who matter to me. We’ve only known each other for a little over a week but i feel like you guys have become so much more than my “room mates”. You guys are the new family! You guys have taught me things i wouldn’t have learned back in my city, I couldn’t be more appreciative. I’ve made so many connections like with Elka, Jessica(m), Rebecca, Alex(girl), Christa, Skyla, Fabian, Kapele, and many others. I never would have thought to meet so many people who are like my personal light houses on a stormy day, they enlighten me so much. I can honestly say I’m going to think about you guys along the way, It’d be a shame to go on and not use the information I received. I’m so thankful for this moment and I’m glad I got to know you all. It’s another chapter in my book, we can’t go back but we can look and there we are on every page, the memories are always safe 🙂 All the times that we shared, every place, everywhere, you all touched my life. I’ll hold you in my heart forever, I’ll always remember you
“Don’t be sad when the sun goes down, You wake up and I’m not around”

We’ll still have the summer after 🙂 I promise to come back next year as a mentor, so you guys better watch out lol..