AMELIE SEDLACK / FEATURE EDITOR

Many students are familiar with the land acknowledgement at the start of most USD events and classes. This pays respect to the Kumeyaay land that USD was founded on and acknowledges that the land was stolen from the Kumeyaay people. The month of November marks Native American Heritage Month. The Center for Cultural Development partnered with the San Diego American Indian Health Center to put on an event titled “Sweet Talk” to spread awareness about the history of the U.S. and this land. 

The event, located in front of the SLP, attracted students on their way through Mother Teresa Plaza on their way to the Student Life Pavilion (SLP). Tamales and donuts were served as students came by and pamphlets were available for students to pick up and learn more. Gourds and paint were provided for students to grab and paint with friends, beads for bracelet making along with sage bundles to take back to their dorms.

This flyer was posted on the Center for Cultural Development’s Instagram to advertise their event. Photo courtesy of @usd_ccd/Instagram

USD junior Raphael Gardner attended the event. 

“I kinda wanted to see what they had to offer,” Gardner said. “They had food, everyone there was really nice and it was right next to SLP so I thought, ‘why not?’” 

Gardner explained what he learned by attending this event that he wished was spoken about more. 

“To be fully honest, I didn’t even know that there was a Native American month,” Gardner admitted. “So I think that was definitely something I should have known but just didn’t. That’s definitely something I learned that was pretty important. I do know, if I’m correct, USD is built on some Native American land. I remember that was something they talked about thoroughly during OLÉ! weekend. I would say it’s something they should talk about more because it’s part of our history and it’s part of California’s history, too, like very, very extensively. I do think it’s something that we should be talking about more.” 

Other students shared Gardner’s sentiment of feeling they don’t know enough about the month. 

USD sophomore Leah Nash shared her thoughts on the importance of USD devoting a month to spreading awareness about Native American heritage. 

“I think it is [important to have a Native American Heritage month],” Nash said. “The fact that I don’t know that much shows that students probably aren’t as educated as we should be on it and I think it can only be helpful.”

USD junior Salvador de la Rosa explained why he thinks it’s important to have this month and events for Native American Heritage month.

“I think it’s important to acknowledge that different kinds of people share cultures as well,” Rosa explained. “Where people can express their cultures without being criticized, where they can express it freely and share what it’s about. Especially for those people who are interested in learning about new things.”

USD first-year Kitty Ayotte also added why she thinks this month is important to spreading awareness. 

“The Native Americans were here before us and they have culture and history that’s important to understand and know and learn about,” Ayotte shared. 

While the event provided flyers and pamphlets for students to take and learn more, some students feel that they have only learned a minimal amount about Native American history and culture since coming to USD. 

Nash has only learned about Native American history through the land acknowledgments read at the start of her classes. 

“I know most professors will say the land acknowledgement that USD was built on land that was previously Native American Land,” Nash said. 

Ayotte shared what she learned during her orientation weekend.

“All of our orientation we talked about land acknowledgements and the land we’re on, in my Christianity class we talked about Saints and Tekakwitha and how the name is split because of the land it was on and — I forget specifically — the saint, the two different saints who colonized it,” Ayotte said. 

USD first-year Jake Long shared about what he has learned about Native American history in his own classes here at USD. 

“I’ve learned about how this land was on Native American Land and because of the land acknowledges we do and parts of other classes that I’ve taken,” Long explained. “In art history we have a small little section on it.” 

Rosa remembered an event he attended that spoke about the genocide of Native American people in the U.S.

“I’ve learned that there’s a lot of genocides that happened in the past,” Rosa shared. “A lot of history about Native Americans in the U.S. as well as what happened to the indigenous people in other countries like Guatemala. I attended one of the lectures with Professor Julia Medina and a professor for UCSD talked about the genocides that happened in America as well.”

Because the event took place in front of the SLP, many students were attracted to it simply because it was there. However, some students did not know the event was occurring and would have liked to attend if it was better advertised. 

Gardner described what the attendance of the event was like. 

“Honestly, I feel like it was pretty good,” Gardner explained. “We saw people coming and going like crazy. A lot of the women that worked there too were talking to a lot of other people. I was there for maybe 15 minutes, but I saw a lot of people coming and going. Overall it was a really good event. I really liked the people there. It was a really good vibe.”

Long shared his willingness to attend the event had he known about it. 

“Yeah probably,” Long said. “If I was around and knew about it.” 

Nash explained that there should be more events simply to accommodate students schedules who may not have been able to attend the first event. 

“Students are busy and to assume that student’s schedule will align on one day,” Nash explained. 

Rosa shared that he wished there were more events to spread more awareness on this topic. 

“Maybe have one event per week for the whole month,” Rosa suggested. 

Overall, the event provided a good start to what could be an event filled month to spread awareness about a group so close to USD. While the “Sweet Talk” event attracted a lot of students who passed by, students who do not often find themselves outside the first floor of the SLP felt left out of the fun and learning. For those that were able to attend, they learned more about Native American Heritage month and the land their school stands on. 

Members of the Center for Cultural Development pose behind their table during the ‘Sweet Talk’ event. Amelie Sedlack/The USD Vista