Flutes in January

He's always a crowd favorite. We'll welcome back Antonio Flores to our Second Saturday Storytelling Event on January 14, from 1 to 4 p.m. Learn how to make a Native American flute from local elderberry wood and learn how to play it. Make and take your flute home! Free family fun! Learn about area Native American music. In front of the Center, at the corner of San Gorgonio Avenue and Hays Street in Banning. (We'll move inside if it rains.)

Second Saturday To Be REscheduled

We're sorry to say we'll be rescheduling the basketry program we had planned for this Saturday's second Saturday Sidewalk Storytelling program. So, no second Saturday event on Dec. 10. See you next month.

Come to the Hall

A wreath filled with Native American pottery ornaments hangs in our Gathering Hall, awaiting Saturday's downtown Phineas Festival and Christmas-tree lighting. Join Dorothy Ramon Learning Center during the festival at the San Manuel Serrano Band of Mission Indians Gathering Hall at 127 North San Gorgonio Avenue. The festival runs from 3-8 p.m. and offers lots of free family fun. At the Center's Hall, you'll find flute and other music and arts. See you soon!

Acorns!

Photo courtesy of Michael Contreras, Jr.

Acorns were an important food for Native American people throughout California.
In Southern California, acorn remains a favorite traditional food.
Ever wonder how an acorn is transformed from a bitter-tasting nut filled with tannic acid into a nutritious food?
Come to Dorothy Ramon Learning Center's Second Saturday Sidewalk Storytelling Program from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, corner of Hays Street and San Gorgonio Ave., and find out.
The Madrigal Family will take us step-by-step through traditional acorn processing and preparation.
And you'll get to taste the results.
Free family fun. Crafts for kids.
Information: 951.849.7736

Katherine Siva Saubel, 1920-2011

As Morongo Tribal Chairman Robert Martin stated this week:

"Dr. Saubel was truly remarkable, both as a leader and as a fierce defender of Native American culture, from the preservation of the traditional Cahuilla language to the protection of sacred sites.

"As an author, a leader, an academic and an activist, she displayed astonishing skill, courage and compassion as she worked tirelessly to preserve Native American culture and reignite interest in our rich heritage among the public and our tribal youth.

"We will miss her wit and her wisdom, her ability to inspire others through hard work and laughter, and her enduring commitment to our cultural and spiritual beliefs."

Read about Mrs. Saubel's extraordinary life and her work to save and share Cahuilla culture and language HERE.

Please note: Dorothy Ramon Learning Center will not hold Serrano language and culture class on Monday, November 7.

Traveling Along the Bradshaw Trail

Stagecoaches that rumbled through San Gorgonio Pass in the 1800s continue to spark local interest in the history and mysteries of the Old West.
Come travel along the road to gold, the Bradshaw Trail.

Join historian Richard Hanks as he tells true tales about the trail on Monday, Oct. 24 at Dorothy Ramon Learning Center’s Dragonfly Lecture.
The lecture starts at 6 p.m. at the Learning Center, 17 W. Hays, Banning.

A recommended donation of $5 at the door helps the nonprofit save and share Southern California’s Native American cultures, languages, history, and music and other traditional arts.

Information: 951.849.7736

October

Come fall into fall this Saturday.

Discover autumn at Dorothy Ramon Learning Center.

Our Second Saturday Sidewalk Storytelling is all about October.

Free family fun!

Native American storytelling and songs with Ernest H. Siva (Cahuilla/Serrano).

Free crafts (sage sachets and leaf prints).

Details:

1-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8

Corner of Hays St. and San Gorgonio Ave., Banning, CA

Information: 951.849.7736

Come back at 6 p.m. for our Native American flute class with members of the Inland Empire Flute Circle. Only $10.