The Return of the Dragonflies
Dorothy Ramon Learning Center’s beloved celebration of Southern California’s Native American cultures, the Dragonfly Gala, returns on August 14, 2021, to Morongo Reservation Community Center.
The Gala celebrates the Learning Center’s mission: saving and sharing Southern California’s Native American cultures, languages, history, and music and other traditional arts.
The Gala is like a big family reunion. This year, we will be especially grateful and happy to see our Learning Center family again.
The Spirit of Dragonfly
As shared by Elder Ernest Siva in our May 5, 2021, News from Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, Dragonfly only comes to those with an open heart and peaceful spirit. Here, Ernest Siva (Cahuilla-Serrano), president of Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, recalls how the Dragonfly Song was the first song he learned as a very young boy, more than 80 years ago. It remains his signature song.
Dragonfly Exchange
At the Dragonfly Gala, we offer a Dragonfly Exchange. Bring a dragonfly to the gala — art, handmade, child’s drawing, what have you — and take home someone else’s dragonfly. This is offered in the creative spirit of community, sharing the open heart that invites Dragonfly to come to you.
Singing and Dancing
Walter Holmes, leader of the Morongo Bird Singers and Dancers, sings in 2015 after winning the 2015 Dragonfly Award (Aurelio Jose Barrera Photo)
The Gala attendees enjoy:
• Singing and dancing to bird songs and other traditional music.
• Educational booths from different tribal groups that find engaging ways to share Native American cultures. This year our biologist friends from Loma Linda University also plan to return with their desert animals and reptiles.
• Delicious dinner and desserts.
• The Center’s famous silent auction, which offers many beautiful Native American items. All is a fund-raiser for the nonprofit 501(c)3 Dorothy Ramon Learning Center.
Learning Center President Ernest Siva, at left, and bird singers and dancers share traditional bird songs at the 2019 Dragonfly Gala (Carlos Puma Photo).
The overall joy is in our community gathering to save and share Native American cultures. A special Gala highlight is the Center’s Dragonfly Award. This week, News from Dorothy Ramon Learning Center honors our first six Dragonfly Award recipients.
Saving and Sharing
The Gala’s Dragonfly Award honors soaring achievements in saving and sharing Native American cultures:
• 2004, Language:
Eric Elliott worked for years with Elders Katherine Siva Saubel (Cahuilla), Villiana Calac Hyde (Luiseno), and Dorothy Ramon (Serrano) to document and analyze their languages. He captured the languages in stories and memories, recording much valuable cultural material that otherwise would have been lost.
• 2005, Native Plants:
Jane Dumas, respected Elder, teacher, and leader in San Diego, adorned her favorite jewelry to accept her Dragonfly Award: a necklace made of acorns.
Jane Dumas worked with her apprentice, Richard Bugbee, for more than 25 years and in 2009 they were awarded a grant in the Alliance for California Traditional Arts apprenticeship program (Photo courtesy of ACTA)
She was a direct descendant of Chief Manuel Hatam, Kumeyaay leader of a village located in what is now Balboa Park. Kumeyaay was her first language, and she helped keep the language and culture alive by teaching Kumeyaay people and all others. She generously shared her knowledge of medicine and traditional uses of plants. Most knowledge came from her mother, Isabel Thing, Kuseyaay Cha’ak (medicine woman) and midwife, a great healer and expert on medicinal uses of plants. Jane Dumas helped found the San Diego American Indian Health Center in 1981 and worked there as a Traditional Medicine Specialist. She was a humble and kind woman, often described as an anchor, leader, peace-maker, a bridge between Native people and the rest of the community.
•2006, Music:
Anthony Andreas (pictured at right in center photo, with Ernest Siva, in 2006), John Andreas, Robert Levi, Alvino Siva are all no longer with us, but their legacy is a thriving tradition of bird songs that once were threatened with extinction.
Anthony and John Andreas were from Agua Caliente Reservation. The brothers were raised by their grandparents, from whom they heard the bird songs and stories. Influential singers who helped them were Walter Holmes Jr., Lloyd Marcus, Bert Levi, and Joe Patencio. In 1976 Anthony Andreas began leading the singing of Cahuilla Bird Songs at gatherings such as Malki Fiesta. This group consisted of Anthony, brother John, Matt and Gene Pablo, and Walter Holmes III. Anthony Andreas trained young singers and dancers, and soon many were participating, going to public schools and other reservations across California. Read Ernest Siva’s 2006 interview with Anthony Andreas in the July 22, 2020 News from Dorothy Ramon Learning Center.
Robert Levi was from Torres-Martinez Reservation. He went to Sherman Indian School in Riverside, CA. While there he learned to play and became a fine saxophone and clarinet player. His 5-CD recorded set of Cahuilla Bird Songs helped document the traditional music and shared with younger singers and the general public. He obtained a California Arts Council grant to train young singers, and his Intertribal Cahuilla Bird Singers group gave individuals from other tribes an opportunity to participate. Read in the Aug. 19, 2020, News from Dorothy Ramon Learning Center about how Robert Levi taught Ernest Siva a Cahuilla lullaby.
Alvino Siva was from Los Coyotes Reservation. Coming home after serving two decades in the U.S. Army, he realized that many Cahuilla elders were gone. An accomplished singer, he obtained a state grant that helped him teach traditional bird songs to younger singers. His Traditional Cahuilla Indian Bird Singers group performed at many public events.
News from Dorothy Ramon Learning Center plans to share more about other Dragonfly Awardees, including our 2021 winner.
Join Us!
NOTE: There is less seating available this year. Reserve or pay for your seat now, and don’t miss the fun.
Thank you!
It helps us when you subscribe, read, and share News from Dorothy Ramon Learning Center. Tell us what you’d like to read, and how to serve you better. Please EMAIL. Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, saves and shares Southern California’s Native American cultures, languages, history, and music and other traditional arts. Join us at dorothyramon.org and Dorothy Ramon Learning Center on Facebook. Thank you! Pat Murkland, Editor. June 23, 2021.