Indigenous People's Day

Screening at 2 p.m. 

An intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political, and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. Gather follows Nephi Craig, a chef from the White Mountain Apache Nation (Arizona), opening an indigenous café as a nutritional recovery clinic; Elsie Dubray, a young scientist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation (South Dakota), conducting landmark studies on bison; and the Ancestral Guard, a group of environmental activists from the Yurok Nation (Northern California), trying to save the Klamath river. 

 

Screening at 6:30 p.m.

Storytelling at the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center's Lelia J. and David N. Farr Auditorium

Priscilla Nieto & Harvey Abeyta
Presentations occur throughout the day

Priscilla Nieto and Harvey Abeyta grew up and live in the community of Santo Domingo. They both create beaded necklaces and other jewelry from hand-cut stones and shells. Their five children also help in the family business, making for a very hard-working and creative family. 

 

Priscilla learned at her parents’ side, and she remembers the techniques that were used before power tools and other tools were available, including hand sanding beads on sandstone and using hand-powered drills. Steeped in this tradition, the family makes traditional necklaces using materials that were not available to the community in the past, including such uncommon stones as green Russian agate. 

Visitors will learn one way of making cordage from rattlesnake master leaves. Rattlesnake master was used by native cultures, such as the Osage, for a multitude of uses, one of which as a source of fiber. Visitors will gain an understanding and appreciation for the work that goes into processing natural material. This program will be offered from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. 

Staff from Litzsinger Road Ecology Center will be showing native plant collection vouchers, talking about the process of collecting plant specimens and how to preserve them. Discussions will focus on plants and people, the importance between their interactions, and what visitors can do to help preserve and protect wild ecosystems.