Time to Celebrate!

Come to the Dragonfly Gala!

Dorothy Ramon Learning Center's annual Dragonfly Gala is flying in. At the Aug. 10 Gala, we'll celebrate our 10th birthday, along with Southern California's American Indian cultures. The city of Banning also is marking its 100th birthday and will join in.

Come eat, sing birds, dance, and yes, shop at the amazing silent auction. Our Galas are like big family gatherings. Sometimes more than 400 people join our community of commitment to Native American cultures. This year's theme is Heritage Keepers, important to Dorothy Ramon Learning Center since 1993, when we began saving and sharing cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts. 

Don't miss: 
• A fabulous dinner with samplings of native foods
• To-die-for desserts!
• Cultural exhibits highlighting our Native American heritage
• Flute music
• Traditional bird singing and dancing
• Our famed silent auction, and we mean epic
• Special live auction
• Dragonfly Award for high-soaring achievements
• Much, much more!

DETAILS: 
WHO: Proceeds benefit the nonprofit Dorothy Ramon Learning Center's work to save and share Native American traditional cultures. 
WHERE: Morongo Community Center, 13000 Malki Road (formerly Fields Road), Morongo Reservation 
WHEN: Aug. 10. Reserve your spot now!

TICKETS: $40 each. Tables: $1,000, $2,000, or $3,000.
TO RSVP : CALL US, 951.849.7736 or, 951.849.4676 
OR  EMAIL US. 

Visit our website to learn more about the Learning Center.

Meet Southern California's Native American Heroes

Book Launch! Saturday, Dec. 15, 3-6 p.m.,
Free Reception, San Manuel Gathering Hall at Dorothy Ramon Learning Center,
127 N. San Gorgonio Avenue, Banning, CA, 92220
Meet the author, the artist ... and the Native American heroes in this landmark book.

Dorothy Ramon Learning Center’s nonprofit publishing arm, Ushkana Press, is pleased to announce its newest book: This War is For A Whole Life: The Culture of Resistance Among Southern California Indians.  

This landmark work by Richard A. Hanks, PhD, tells the mostly untold stories of Southern California’s own Native American heroes as they waged battle in tumultuous times to secure their Southern California homelands, natural resources, and respect. Historical photos, and the voices of Southern California Native American Elders help tell this history that’s been missing from the history books — until now.

Meet the author, Richard A. Hanks, at our reception, and the artist who did the book cover illustration, David Fairrington. Celebrate a book that tells Native Americans' roles in shaping Southern Californian — and national — history.

DETAILS:
This War is For A Whole Life: The Culture of Resistance Among Southern California Indians, 1850-1966.
By Richard A. Hanks, PhD. © 2012. Cover Illustration By David Fairrington.
Ushkana Press, Banning, CA, USA 
ISBN: 978-0-9754496-4-6. Softcover. 240 Pages.
Retail: $30. Wholesale & Institutions: email us

Order a copy! Send $30 + $2.33 sales tax if applicable + $6 shipping fee payable to Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, P.O. Box 1510, Banning, CA 92220. Please include your name, shipping address, phone number and email.

Illustration by David Fairrington; Design by Pat Murkland

Ushkana Press, The Center's nonprofit publishing arm, is pleased to announce that its newest book, This War is For A Whole Life: The Culture of Resistance Among Southern California Indians, 1850-1966, is arriving soon. 

This landmark work by Richard A. Hanks, PhD, tells the mostly untold stories of Southern California's own Native American heroes and follows the paths of leadership as American Indian people waged battle in tumultuous times to secure their Southern California homelands, natural resources, and respect. Historical photos, and the voices of Southern California Native American Elders (including several who have since passed away), help tell this history that's been missing from the history books. 

Stay tuned for information on how to get your copy.

Inland Flute Society Presentation

On August 30, I was a guest of the Inland Empire Valley Flute Society as a presenter of the Native American Flute. The members of the society who owned NA flutes were asked to bring them while others could borrow flutes from me or Jackie Aronowitz, the host and President of the Society.

As June and I approached Jackie’s home, we could hear strains of a flute choir in rehearsal. What a treat for us! They were preparing for next month’s Flute Festivaal special concert featuring internationally recognized contrabass flute artist Paige Dashner Long. (For further info: inlandempirevalleyflutesociety.com) We hope to attend this event, on October 10.

I figured this presentation would be mainly to introduce the flute (to the new members) and give them a few examples of the indigenous music of southern California. I think it went fairly well, after all, these are fine musicians with a new toy in their hands. I reminded them  that some flutes are better to look at than to play while others are easier to play. I recommended the flutes made by Marvin and Jonette Yazzie, my friends and collaborators. The Yazzie’s are local and one can rely on their creations. (yazzieflutes.com for further info)

I explained that by my desire to play our traditional music led to the system I devised, which is employed and demonstrated in Voices of the Flute. (Ushkana Press, 2004)

We were treated to a wonderful potluck dinner which we enjoyed. Flutists are hardy eaters!

Ernest Siva

 

Dragonfly Gala 2009

Here's a micro version of a poster for our Dragonfly Gala on Aug. 8, featuring the stunning artwork by Gerald Clarke, Jr. of Cahuilla Reservation. The brands are but a few of those used by the region's Indian cowboys. Our artist is also an Indian cowboy.

Dr. Ernest Siva

With the Arts Dean before the ceremony © Pat Murkland

In ceremonies Saturday at California State University, San Bernardino, 

Ernest H. Siva was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.

He told the crowd he was guided by two family leaders:

Francisco Morongo, who told the People in the early 1900s that they should learn the new ways of their Younger Brothers to adapt and cope with the changing world. At the same time, the leader said, never forget your culture: your language, your stories, and your songs, for these are what and who you are. 

Otherwise, he said, you will become Lost People. Your roots will be like those of shallow grass instead of those of a mighty oak. 

Those words, Ernest Siva said, have guided him throughout his life.

The second person was his mother, who encouraged him and his sister to pursue higher education. Both did. (Ernest Siva received bachelor's and master's degrees from USC.)

Ernest Siva remembered, his mother would say, "Are you going to be a Bruin or a Trojan?" 

(This was before Cal State San Bernardino was an option, he noted.)

"Today, I'm a Coyote!" he said, the crowd applauding him.

And a happy one!

Voices of the Flute

Mountaintop Music and Arts

The rising temperatures remind us that summer is coming, and so is the annual Native American arts festival on the (cooler) mountaintop in Idyllwild. 

Every July, aspiring flute-makers  explore the creative and inspirational  Native American flute workshop at Idyllwild Arts with Marvin Yazzie (Navajo) and his wife, Jonette, and Ernest Siva, president and founder of Dorothy Ramon Learning Center. 

The Yazzies teach how to make a beautiful wooden flute in the Plains style.

Ernest Siva (Cahuilla/Serrano) then teaches the basics of flute-playing. He shares stories and songs from Southern California's Native American nations. 

But much more happens. 

A community forms. People make lasting friendships, discover their inner flute player, and share discoveries and the wonder of our region's Native American music.

Discovering Voices

Our Voices of the Flute book and CD, our first publication from Ushkana Press, got its start on that mountaintop.

Each year, Ernest Siva shared a handmade, hand-written, photocopied, stapled-together work with the students that this Indian elder had entitled as a spoof, "Ten Little Indian Songs and More."

 

Much, Much More

Ernest Siva had written western music notations for this centuries-old music. It was the first time anyone had done this. He also wrote down the words in Indian for the songs. In some cases, Ernest Siva was the lone, known remaining Native American singer who was singing these ancient songs. Sharing them with the flute workshop was a way of saving them.

Saving and Sharing

When Dorothy Ramon Learning Center formed to save and share Southern California's Native American cultures, languages, history, and music and other traditional arts, publishing this work seemed not just a natural, but instead, a responsibility. Ushkana Press, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit's publishing arm, took on the project. 

But the title?

June Siva, Ernest's wife,  simply said: "Voices of the Flute."

Subtitle: "Songs of Three Southern California Indian Nations."

In the Chumash stories that have been passed down to us from J.P. Harrington, there is a Lizard who plays a flute.

He plays his flute to listen to the Voice of the World.

Each of these songs is the voice of a culture, a people.

Each time we listen, we can discover something new from something that is very old.

Websites

We're sorry, our websites are still down. We hope for their return soon.

Big Honors

Ernest Siva, the president and founder of Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, will receive an honorary doctorate from California State University, San Bernardino, at the university's June commencement ceremony, according to university officials. Read about it here.

Websites in transition

Update on Friday, March 20:

Our websites will be down starting Monday, March 23, for a transition to a new server. We'll be back soon. 

Due to some pending changes and transitions on our server, the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center and Ushkana Press websites will go down soon, but we've been assured that the situation will be temporary.  Thanks for your patience!

Dragonfly Lecture Calendar

Feb. 2: Agave.  Daniel McCarthy, tribal relations manager for San Bernardino National Forest, will share Cahuilla strategies for gathering and preparing this traditional food.

March 2: Yucca. William Pink will share traditional knowledge about this superplant that provided food and fibers essential to the First Cultures of Southern California. 

About the lecturer: Mr. Pink (Cupeño/Luiseño) is a Board member of Dorothy Ramon Learning Center. He has worked in California Indian Arts for more than 30 years and serves as a consultant in cultural resources and traditions. His skills include many traditional arts, including basket weaving. He specializes in ethnobotany, and is often a go-to person for many when it comes to native plants and their traditional uses by First Cultures.

April 20: Tell Them Willie Boy Was (Still) Here. Clifford E. Trafzer. Co-sponsored by the Costo Chair of American Indian Affairs at UC Riverside and the UCR Center for California Native Nations. 

Willie Boy, whose story was famously told by Harry Lawton in the book Willie Boy, and then made more famous in the 1969 Robert Redford film, Tell them Willie Boy is Here, was accused in 1909 of murdering William Mike of the Twenty Nine Palms Band and kidnapping and murdering his daughter, Carlota. The hunt for Willie Boy led to what many have called the West's last manhunt. The posse said he killed himself rather than be caught. However, Dr. Trafzer's research, based on oral and archival histories, contradicts Lawton and also Sandos and Burgess (The Hunt for Willie Boy). Instead Dr. Trafzer supports what many Indian people believe: Willie Boy lived. Come discuss what continues to be a controversial chapter of our nation's history, 100 years later.

About the lecturer: Dr. Trafzer is the UCR Costo chair and a UCR history professor. 

May 11: Inside St. Boniface Indian School.  For many years, this Roman Catholic boarding school in Banning served Indian families from Morongo, Soboba, and other reservations across Southern California and from Arizona. Tanya Sorrell shares research and photos, from her graduate work at UC Riverside. 

Details: 

When: All lectures start at 6 p.m. 

Where: Dorothy Ramon Learning Center 17 W. Hays, Banning (Near the corner of Hays and San Gorgonio Avenue).

Dragonfly Lectures are FREE. Donations gratefully accepted. 

Who we are: Dorothy Ramon Learning Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to saving and sharing Southern California's American Indian cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts.

Why dragonflies? Dragonfly Lectures?

The answer is also why we use the name Ushkana Press for the nonprofit's publishing arm.

Ushkana gets its name from an Indian lullaby that teaches how we can interact and learn from animals if we open our hearts and learn to be still — to listen. Like the song, the Press emphasizes the power of communication at all levels. 

So do the Lectures.

This power comes when people are open to learning. We gain levels of enrichment and meaning when we are open to communicating with each other and with the world around us.

Flutes on the Hill

Idyllwild Arts offers a full schedule of Native American Arts classes again this year during the weeklong Native American Arts Festival.

 

We'll be there! Ernest H. Siva, Dorothy Ramon Learning Center's founder and president, will be again teaching Native American Flute Making with Marvin and Jonette Yazzie. 

This class inspired Ushkana Press, our nonprofit publishing arm, to publish our first work in 2004, the book and CD set, Voices of the Flute.

The 3-day flute-making class is a lot of fun. This year it's July 10-13. Students often return to take the class again and again. Each student makes and decorates a beautiful six-holed flute with the talented Yazzies. Ernest Siva teaches the basics of flute playing and students get a copy of Voices of the Flute. For those of you who missed the flute-making workshop that Dorothy Ramon Learning Center offered at the Art Hop, now's your chance! — PM

Scenes from one of our flute-making workshops:

(Pat Murkland Photos, copyright Ushkana Press)