coyo135 2017, Wishtoyo Village

My 3 days at Wishtoyo – Coyotl

At Wishtoyo, It was a good feeling there because the people there were very welcoming and happy. The host Mati Waiya and Luhui isha are the ones who were awesome in doing this. They said it was a huge group with so much good energy. They took us to the beach down there. It was COLD!!!!!!!! All the rocks were very annoying but over all, it felt excellent to be soaked in ocean water. When we weren’t learning, all of us had fun in the evening. The dogs were so FLUFFY!!! The new one was named Ashka and the others were Sumo and Sheshoi. It was a blast and so much went on. The food was sooooooooooooooooooo good it was like my mom was cooking. Still drooling. It was the best memory I could ever had.

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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