In a show of unity, the Four Directions club from San Jacinto High School hosted its third annual Gathering of the People at the campus on Nov. 16. Although the event celebrates Native American Heritage Month, this multicultural event invites all San Jacinto Unified School District students, families and residents to share all the cultural pieces that make up the community.
Food vendors, cultural exhibitions, bird singers and dancers and special guests kept visitors busy during the six-hour event. Students belonging to the Mariachi Club and Black Student Union performed and the Hawaiian dance group Hula Halau o Kealohilani and Folklorico dancers also entertained on the campus’ quad.
Guest speaker Vanessa Brierty was recently named 45th Assembly district director by Assemblymember James C. Ramos. She has served as a senior consultant to the California Native American Legislative Caucus, which Ramos chairs, for the past year. She is an enrolled tribal member from the Pueblo of Laguna and is one of the few Native American staffers serving in the Legislature.
She shared that Ramos has always been a big advocate for Native Americans and was able to successfully pass key legislation that led to the desert conservation program for more than 22 million acres spanning six counties in the state, conserving the cultural heritage, the landscape and those traditions for people to enjoy for years to come.
“On the fourth Friday of every September, we celebrate California Native American Day and this year, the governor signed seven of Assemblymember James Ramos’ bills into law,” Brierty said. She added that Ramos knows it’s a community effort and it’s the voices of the people that have to be at the table to ensure that Native Americans are represented accurately.
“He always encourages our youth or anybody to engage in different levels of government,” she said. “At the end of the day, representation does matter.”
Brierty presented members of the Four Directions club with a Certificate of Recognition for its support and dedication to celebrate the diverse culture of the area. It read, in part, “Your vision has created a space of respect and unity while honoring Native American culture and heritage. Your tireless efforts and contributions to San Jacinto High School are appreciated.”
Gerald Clarke is a visual artist, educator, Tribal leader, and cultural practitioner whose family has lived in the Anza Valley for time immemorial. As an enrolled citizen of the Cahuilla Band of Indians, he lives on the Cahuilla Indian Reservation and oversees the Clarke family cattle ranch. He is currently a Professor of Ethnic Studies at UCR where he teaches classes in Native American art, history, and culture.
Clarke describes himself as not just a Tribal member but a citizen. “We have a very special political and legal status in this country that is different than anybody else,” he said. “I’m the first California Indian to be a three-year full professor in the UC system.”
He said he doesn’t make Native American art. “I make Cahuilla art; art that’s relevant to our people,” he said. Clarke ended his talk the same way he ends all of his classes, “Be well, be safe, be good to each other and be good to the earth.”
One of his two daughters, Emily Clarke, is a poet who shared two of her works with the receptive audience. She graduated from UCR with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing. The first was called “Land Acknowledgement” and the second, “Beneath the Oak Trees,” was about basketry. “The Cahuilla people are basket weavers, especially the women,” she shared. The final line was, “This poem is a basket, too. Woven, continual, created to make our carrying easier.”
The Four Directions club is a student-led organization that functions to support public awareness of Native American pride through the sharing of culture and heritage of First Peoples of the region and country. In addition, the group is an advocate for Indigenous students/peoples’ political, social, and welfare concerns. The club provides its members with an opportunity for camaraderie as well as public service.
Four Directions club members who attended the event were President Rhianna Salgado, Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians; Vice-President Moyla Arviso, Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians/Cahuilla Band of Indians; Secretary Reese Elliott, Woodsinatee Tlingit; Treasurer Andrew Valazquez, Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians; Member-at-Large Ginger Velazquez, Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians; and members Raya Salgado, Kimani Sanchez, Su’un Nelson, Roslyn Valenzuella and Ushla Resvaloso, all from the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians.
“We want to explore all cultures,” Rhianna said. Reese said the club is all about inclusivity and bringing everyone together. “We show appreciation for the cultures all around this area.”
Moyla said she likes how the club is welcoming to others. “Our club is like a family,” she said.
Aside from the cultural performances, the club also held a successful raffle and a cake walk with the numbers in Cahuilla as a way to share the Native language with guests.
The club had hosted bird singers who came out during lunch breaks in November to provide lunch exhibitions at the school. Members have also arranged to have bird singers perform before graduation ceremonies.
“It’s good to have diversity; our club is open to anyone who wants to learn,” Rhianna said.
San Jacinto High School alumna and former club president Su’la Arviso was also on hand, performing Fancy Shawl dances with Tekla Diaz and many of the students Diaz teaches at her bi-monthly classes at Soboba.
Glen Begay led the Bearspring singers and hand drummers for a couple of social songs and also for a healing Round Dance where everyone in attendance was invited to participate. “The drumbeat is like a heartbeat. Native Americans are people of community, we need one another for healing, to pray together, to dance together,” he said. “That’s why we hold hands for this dance; to help each other heal. Take that blessing home with you.”
The Four Directions club receives a lot of assistance from the SJUSD Indian Parent Committee, also known as the Native American Parent Advisory Council. It was established by the district to ensure that planning, development, implementation and evaluation of the operational and supplemental programs for Native American students occur in a consistent and sustained manner.
The advisory council’s next project is a collaboration with the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians to create a Soboba curriculum for district schools.
Soboba Tribal Council Chairwoman Geneva Mojado has served as the committee’s Chairperson since its inception in January of 2022. Other officers are Vice-Chairperson Melissa Vera-Arviso, Secretary Marie Fonsaco and Tribal Cultural Resource Officer Rhonda Valenzuella and Tribal Community Relations Officer Tara Placencia. The committee works closely with club members to coordinate the annual Gathering of the People.
“This is a great event that provides cultural awareness and sharing of different cultures,” Mojado said. “It’s also a major fundraiser for the Four Directions Club.”
SJUSD Title VI Liaison Delia Vasquez and club advisor/English teacher Richard Burton work directly with club members on a regular basis. This is the largest event that the club organizes but there are other activities throughout the year. Members are already looking ahead to their participation in the San Jacinto High School Holiday Lights Festival on Dec. 13 from 5-7 p.m.
Photos courtesy of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, except for the first one
