Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
Special to Valley News
Students at the Soboba Tribal Preschool and Noli Indian School on the Soboba Reservation spent November celebrating Native American Heritage Month in various ways. Both culminated the month with luncheons on Nov. 21.
Preschoolers invited family members to the Soboba Sports Complex for a Fall Feast that included entertainment from each of the classes. The event began with a prayer from Soboba Elder Marian Chacon who thanked the Heavenly Father “for all the gifts you have given to us. We ask your blessings on all the children, parents, and family here today and especially on all the teachers and helpers who do such a wonderful job teaching our children; and this food we are about to receive.”
Preschoolers performed two songs they learned about scarecrows and falling leaves, which were partially in the Luiseño language. Pre-K students had songs about leaves on the trees as well as one titled, “Hello Mr. Turkey.” Kindergartners delighted the audience with their “Turkey Dance,” followed by the Cha-Cha Slide, a dance they enjoy in class almost every day.
Preschool staff and teachers scooped out turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce and vegetables as guests made their way along the line of hot serving pans filled with great-smelling food.
The gymnasium walls were decorated with class projects. Teachers shared 18 reasons why they are thankful for their kindergartners such as “Jensen’s leadership,” “Kai’s dance moves,” “Anthony’s singing,” and “Palkí’s kindness to all.” Preschoolers filled up turkey feathers with what they are most thankful for and Brian Chacon III said, “Making rainbows for Violet and mom and dad and grandma.” Willow Valdez said she is thankful for “Mom and dad loving me.”
Cheyenne Chacon, whose son Anthony Ortega is in kindergarten, said she likes the preschool because it is in the community where they live. “And it teaches the children about our culture,” she said.
Hope Chacon, wife of Brian Chacon Jr., said their daughter Violet Chacon graduated from the preschool and is now in first grade at San Jacinto Valley Academy. Their son Brian is in preschool and really likes his teachers. Anthony and Brian III are great-grandsons of Marian Chacon, who has 10 other great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Palki Herrera is in kindergarten and her mother, Alyssa Salgado said she likes the preschool because it is very family-oriented. “They have events like this where we can all come together,” said Alyssa, whose son Gabriel Herrera graduated last school year. “Also, I got to go to school here so my kids get to experience what I did.”
Soboba Elder Alice Helms enjoyed the morning with her great-grandson Jonathan Helms Jr., 5. His parents, Jonathan Sr. and Evelyn said they like the school because they do a lot of things revolving around culture, like teaching the children their (Luiseño) language.
In the weeks leading up to the Fall Feast, the children enjoyed having Carrie Garcia share acorn games and acorn tops with them. Bird dancing and singing were offered every Friday when students were encouraged to wear their bird skirts and ribbon shirts. On Nov. 18, Tashina Miranda Ornelas, Culture Department Coordinator/Instructor at Noli, visited to help the kids make acorn necklaces. Soboba Tribal Member Tekla Diaz, who teaches a Fancy Shawl dance class for the community twice a month, put on a demonstration for the students. Preschool Director Lenora “Ponie” Mojado said it was like a mini-pow wow and everyone loved it. She added that Soboba’s Tribal Council Secretary Monica Herrera comes to the school every other week to work with the students on the proper pronunciation of words in their native language.
A potluck “Honoring Our Elders” was held at noon at the Noli campus with cultural sharing through traditional songs and dances. A combined lunch for middle and high school students allowed all to participate at the same time.
Mrs. Ornelas welcomed everyone to the annual event. “On behalf of all students and staff, I want to personally thank all of our Soboba Elders first for always supporting our students and student programs here at Noli. I’d like to say thank you to all of our Elders who have shared in the past and continue to share their experiences and cultural knowledge and traditions with us here at the school. And I would also like to thank all the elders who are here with us today to continue this tradition of sharing song, dance and food together. And lastly, I would like to honor and thank our Elder relations who are not able to be present with us here today but who still remain here with us in spirit and in memory.”
She then introduced Soboba Tribal Member Damon Miranda who opened the event with prayer, followed by some bird songs. Elders were then invited to be served first, followed by the community, as is customary.
Helping to plate the meals of turkey, dressing, potatoes and more were Noli staff members Tanya Rivera, Seandee Brown and Camille Diaz. They planned on serving 200 meals, half of which were for students. An entire table dedicated to desserts from pumpkin and pecan pies to cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries was enough to satisfy everyone’s appetite.
The Pechanga Singers and Dancers invited students to join them. The Desert Cahuilla Singers and Dancers from Torres Martinez included some of Ornelas’ family members, which was an added treat.
The Elders potluck had been held for many years but was discontinued for a while. Ornelas said she wanted to revitalize it so the students could have a connection to the generations that came before them and started holding it again in 2023.
Leading up to this year’s event, students had been shown portions of Soboba’s heritage video which includes first-person remembrances from Elders about what things used to be like on the reservation when they were growing up. Several came to the school to talk to the students in person and answer any questions they had about the past after viewing the video.
“Some of the Elders came to the classes, sharing their experiences of life on the reservation; what life was like prior to gaming,” Ornelas said. “Many of the students were shocked to hear the Elders share their stories and it was eye-opening for them to compare their lives to how they live today; it helps them appreciate what they have now.”
Caroline Post, mother of Noli Principal Donovan Post, was one of the guest speakers and recalled when you could buy a hamburger, fries and a drink for 40 cents. He said the stories of their lives at Soboba were not negative, just honest. Such as sharing how there was a time when they had to have water trucked in from the city of San Jacinto and now there are 15 or so wells and aquifers on the reservation.
He said, “It’s so great having the Elders come by and talk to the kids and have them listen and be able to ask questions. Many from that generation are gone so it’s important to hear their stories now. There has been so much change and so much progress has been made in the past 25 years. These kids today never grew up needing a lot. I think it’s important for them to hear the stories from when there wasn’t much here to learn what they came from.”
He said the students always enjoy having the bird singers visit and a combined lunch is rare. “It’s nice to have everybody together,” Post said.
