November is Native American Heritage Month and the Great Basin region is home to many local tribes who have been sharing their culture and legacy with different events.
The event at the Mesa Rim Climbing Center, organized by Nevada Urban Indians, was a way to highlight the long standing heritage and culture of Indigenous people in the greater Reno area.
Stacey Burns, the language and culture coordinator for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony spoke and presented a slideshow about native land in Nevada, honoring sacred places, and traditional language. She is also the Paiute language teacher for the Washoe County School District.
Reno has many outdoor activities like biking, hiking, and snow sports, which attracts a very outdoorsy and adventurous population. Considering this, Burns encourages the community to educate themselves on Indigenous land and culture.
“Even if you just learn our traditional names and know that the spaces you are in may be sacred spaces. And just be more respectful, stay on trails,” Burns said.
Following Burns’s educational presentation, she drummed and chanted as five members of the Eagle Wings Pageant Dance Group performed traditional ceremonial dances.
The dancers wore long animal hide dresses, mock shoes, and elaborately beaded necklaces and bracelets.
They danced three cultural dances: the bear dance as they formed their hands to mimic bear claws; the basket dance with hand-woven baskets over their heads; and the friendship dance of holding hands and rhythmic movements in a circle.
The girls who performed the dances were all from Spanish Springs High School where they started a club for Indigenous students. They said that Burns taught them all they know about their ancestors’ language, beading practices, and dancing.
Burns stressed how important it is to pass down the knowledge of traditional culture and language to future generations.
“I think our future generations will be stronger for it. They will move forward with that cultural knowledge and that center, and they will prosper. They will succeed. They will move forward and hopefully our communities will move forward as well,” Burns said.
The girls recognize the value of learning from their elders and keeping their native spirits alive.
“It’s important to teach the young ones and to keep it going. A lot of people forget about Native Americans. We need to bring it back because we want to keep that going and we’re the next generation,” the girls said.
At the University of Nevada, Reno’s Joe Crowley Student Union, Rayelle Sims, the Indigenous Student Services Coordinator, set up a craft space inside the multicultural center as a way for Native American students to feel a sense of community and connection. She said that students tend to feel overwhelmed and out of place in the busy university environment.
“I know that there’s other students, especially like me, that come here and might feel a bit of culture shock coming from a smaller community,” Sims said.
Sims understands firsthand this feeling of dislocation coming from the small rural town of McDermott where she is a member of the Duck Valley Shoshone Paiute Tribe.
The craft space had bins overflowing with colorful beads, ribbons, and other crafting materials. Students could make ribbon skirts or traditional beadwork projects to create hand-sewn designs.
Sims said that resources for education and youth empowerment can be a challenge for Indigenous students.
“I’m also trying to reach out to those communities to let them know they’re remembered and they still have a place here, even if they feel like they could sometimes be forgotten with having so many people coming in and out of their classrooms,” Sims said.
Native American Heritage Month is a time to acknowledge the Indigenous people who have been on Reno’s land for centuries and reflect on their heritage and their community, Sims said.
“Reno is built on ground that was originally resided by Indigenous people, regardless of the city growing to what it is and continuing to grow, they’re here and making their mark,” Sims said.
You can learn about Native American traditional craft making at The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony Native American Craft Fair on November 29th and 30th.