The Soboba Tribal TANF program (STTP) is offering cultural activities throughout the month and the turnout from families has been impressive. The kickoff event was Native Cooking with Chef Anita Morillo who led a hands-on workshop cooking rabbit stew as attendees learned about traditional ingredients used.
Tony Soares offered a two-part pottery class, beginning on Nov. 5. About 50 eager learners watched his demonstration before creating their own pieces. The younger children were given Salton Sea peach ware to fashion pinch pots while older participants were using Pechanga brownware for making bowl forms.
“My grandmother taught me how to make a pinch pot when I was five or six years old, and that was 50 years ago,” Soares said. After rolling a hunk of clay into a golf-ball size, he used his thumbs to make an indentation in the center and pinch the clay against his fingers on the outside of the piece to thin it out to the desired thickness. Using a popsicle stick to smooth it out as they went along, it took a lot of repetition for the students to get the pot even and just right.
Chairs were placed on either side of long tables to make it easier for family members to assist each other throughout the lesson as Soares and STTP Regional Prevention Manager Harold Arres made their way around the multipurpose room to answer any questions and help as needed.
When five-year-old Paa’kal Vega-Castello finished her pinch pot, she noted that it resembled a turtle’s shell. Her twin brother Kut said, “I’m making a teacup” as he started to add a handle to his pinch pot.
Soares shared the different traditional tools that are used to shape the bowls, such as the paddle, anvil, and dogbane bark that is used as a type of scouring pad. Paddles and anvils are ancient hand-building tools used in the paddle-and-anvil method to shape, thin, and strengthen clay vessels by striking the exterior with a paddle while a smooth stone or fired clay anvil supports the interior. This technique is used to compress clay, eliminate coil seams, and create specific forms.
It is a lengthy process just to get the clay ready to use. After digging up the earth, Soares dissolves it in a large bin full of water, stirring it occasionally. Then it is poured through a mesh screen into another receptacle and whatever passes through is what makes the body of the clay. It takes about two weeks to get to that point at which time grog (crushed unglazed pottery) and sand is added. After it settles, and excess water is poured off, the clay is poured into plaster troughs to draw any additional moisture out of it. This step takes one to two weeks.
Although it is very labor intensive, Soares said, “It is something I love doing.”
Soares, of Joshua Tree, has been teaching since 1993, starting with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and all the River groups. He also shares his art, techniques and knowledge on Instagram @tonysoarespottery and on his YouTube channel @tonysoaresnativeclays1434. He regularly makes ollas for many different Native events. The Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians has been pleased to present his ollas to students at its annual Academic Achievement Awards ceremony and various sporting events such as the recent N.I.A.A. fastpitch tournament it hosted in September.
He has an upcoming class at Oasis Elementary School in Twentynine Palms, where his wife Tyronza Soares teaches Transitional Kindergarten. All the TK classes will be involved, and he is expecting 40 students plus their parents to attend a class similar to the one he was teaching at Soboba.
The second part of the STTP pottery class includes a Pot Firing at The Oaks where the created pieces are fired over an open flame, as it was done by their ancestors. This is done after the pottery has had time to dry out. Soares will lead that class as well.
In between the two-part pottery series, Soares led a class on making leather pouches, where students also learned about the many uses of them. In the past, he has taught classes at Soboba on making bows and arrows and arrowheads. For 15-plus years he taught in the Native American Arts Program at Idyllwild Arts Academy. Soares is a much sought after instructor who is willing and eager to share what he has learned with others.
Carrie Garcia attended the Nov. 5 class with her three children: Clementine 10, Clover 8, and Cygnus Swan 6. She was invited to join her cousin Emma Nevarez and her three daughters.
“This is the first time I have attended one of Tony’s classes,” Garcia said. She found it interesting to learn about the hand work that it takes to mold and create the olla/pot. “Finding the right pressure to use but also seeing how if you use the different portions of your palm, it will help you mold the olla. I kept having to tell the kids to be gentle with their pots and it should smooth out.”
She had her two younger children start with the pinch pots before they moved onto the brownware. “I had them start with that so they could get used to working with the clays and using their hands to form their pots,” she said.
Garcia and her children are looking forward to the pot firing on Nov. 22. “I’m excited to see how everyone’s piece came out,” she said. “I guess it’s the anticipation to see if it survives the firing. I hope mine does. If not, I hope to get a chance to try again sooner rather than later.”
More than 60 participants enjoyed the Fry Bread Making class on Nov. 6. Frybread Kitchen cooks taught everyone how to make frybread, also known as Indian tacos, from scratch. Working with gourds was also a two-part series that began with painting and designing gourds. The second class, taught by Blossom Maciel, showed how to turn those gourds into beautiful centerpieces.
Families were invited to create a Thankful Tree to display for all to see. STTP Transportation Coordinator Nancy Gallegos said each family member is given a leaf on which to write what they are most thankful for and then all the leaves are added to the tree they have made and will take home. It serves as a reminder of the importance of sharing gratitude and thankfulness with—and for—others.
Other activities for families to share include a Family Movie Night and Fall Activity classes dedicated to the youngest members. On Nov. 25, children ages 3-11 will be making Pony Bead Ornaments while those 12 and older will be preparing for the holidays by doing Ornament Beading.
“We signed up for all of the TANF activities,” Garcia said. “It’s good for us to do things together. Plus, the kids like hanging out with their cousins.”
Ongoing TANF events, such as Fancy Shawl Dance with instructor Tekla Diaz and Bird Singing with Mike Mirelez teaching traditional birdsongs and the Cahuilla language, are offered throughout the year and continued to be taught during Native American Heritage Month.
For more information, please visit www.sobobatanf.org.
Photos courtesy of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
