Mehuun Terrux!
Honored by our Community
We’re thrilled that Banning’s Chamber of Commerce tonight (March 27, 2025) is awarding our Elder, Ernest Siva, the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dorothy Ramon Learning Center co-founders President Ernest Siva and his wife, June, the Center’s vice president. (Carlos Puma photo)
Here is what June Siva wrote to be read from the podium:
“Ernest Siva is Cahuilla on his dad’s side and Serrano on his mom’s side. He grew up on Morongo Indian Reservation. His life took two distinct paths.
It all started when his grandfather, Pete Ramon (Serrano) gave young Ernest a rattle made from a milk can, and a bamboo flute. This meant he was giving his grandson permission to participate in his Native Serrano culture. He didn’t appreciate it at the time, and he and his cousins played swords with the flutes. But later it would mean a lot.
“A dragonfly was involved, too. When Grandpa Pete was looking for a missing button, he began singing. A dragonfly was nearby and landed on a rock. When he passed his hand over it, it didn’t fly away. Grandpa said when you sing the song, and the dragonfly stays, this is good. If you have a calm spirit, the dragonfly will stay with you. If not, it will fly away. Ernest passed his hand over the dragonfly, and it stayed. Later this would mean a lot.
Another path started when Ernest and his friends each sent in a cereal box top and fifty cents, for harmonicas. Later, none of the friends knew how to play it, but Ernest was making music on it. Later this would mean a lot.
A Passion for Music
“Ernest was exposed to the Serrano culture at home. His grandfather, mother, aunts, and uncles, all spoke the language, sang the songs, knew the stories. Pete Ramon was a ceremonial leader, so was even more familiar with ceremonies, prophecies, and more. He would tell stories at family gatherings, and after dinner, until the young ones fell asleep.
Due to his mom’s efforts, Ernest and other Morongo Indians were able to go to public school in Banning.
Banning Central Elementary School seventh grade class, 1951. Ernest was the spelling bee champ.
(Banning Library District photo)
“There he made friends and later discovered more about his musical ability. The school offered eighth-grade students the chance to learn an instrument. His mom recommended the tenor saxophone because she heard one on radio, so that’s what he chose. He excelled early.
“The Banning Woman’s Club gave him a scholarship to Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts summer program, where he met other musicians. He got interested in singing and other arts there as well. From then on, he was at ISOMATA every summer for many years, working odd jobs to participate.
Young Ernest Siva playing guitar at ISOMATA. (Courtesy of Idyllwild Arts)
Freshman class, Banning High School band. He played in the marching band four years. (1953 yearbook photo)
“He [also] played in a jazz band through Banning High School, graduating in 1956.
Senior class photo, Banning High School yearbook, 1956.
“Ernest went on to study music in college, earning a bachelor’s degree in music education, and master’s degree in choral music from University of Southern California. He also played in the Trojan Marching Band, sang in choral groups and operas, and taught music classes. He met his wife, June, a biology major, who was also singing in the USC Concert Choir. The sopranos sat in front of the basses, so June heard his voice even before meeting him. They have been married for 55 years.
Ernest and June Siva (Carlos Puma photo)
After college he taught music at a junior high school in Palm Springs, where he started choral groups, and at a high school in Los Angeles. He directed choirs in churches and was director of the Pass Chorale, a community chorus in Banning that performed two concerts per year with orchestra, featuring the masterworks of classical composers. He later added Native American music to the performances.
“He wanted to study ethnomusicology so he could do more with Native American music. That led him to UCLA and the American Indian Studies Center. He ended up teaching classes there in American Indian Music as well as World Arts and Cultures for 12 years. It was always interesting especially during football season when the students discovered that he was a Trojan! One year when UCLA beat USC, he composed a song in Serrano congratulating them.
Saving and Sharing
“When Ernest and June moved back to Banning in 1994, he got more serious about preserving Native languages and cultures. His Aunt Dorothy Ramon worked in her final years with linguist Eric Elliott to help save her Serrano language and culture. Ernest joined the Malki Museum board and also became the Morongo Band Tribal Historian and Cultural Advisor. With a grant from James Ramos, Dorothy Ramon’s book, Wayta’ Yawa’ (Always Believe) co-authored by Eric Elliott, was published by Malki Museum.
Voices of the Flute and one of Ernest’s many flutes on display at the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California, which recently awarded the Sivas the “Homegrown Heroes” award for their work with Dorothy Ramon Learning Center and building bridges of cultural understanding between Native and non-Native communities.
“He studied Cahuilla Bird Songs with uncle Alvino Siva and cousin Robert Levi, his passion leading to a deep knowledge of Indigenous music, including the Serrano bighorn sheep songs, which he helped save. He became renowned as a Native American flutist, and developed a unique fingering so he could play Bird Songs and other traditional music. (His great grandfather, Juan Ramon, also played bird songs on an elderberry flute.) He notated some traditional songs for the first time and later published them in his book and CD set, Voices of the Flute: Songs of Three Southern California Indian Nations (Ushkana Press, 2004).
“When his Aunt Dorothy died, he wanted to carry on her work, with help from reporter Pat Murkland, historian Britt Wilson, wife June, and a few others, Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, and its publishing arm, Ushkana Press, began in 2003. The dragonfly became our symbol. The Center saves and shares Southern California’s Native American cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts.
Dorothy Ramon Learning Center
“The Center began in garages and closets, but gradually gained nonprofit status, organized a Board of Directors, and began publishing a newsletter, books, and more. Soon space was needed for activities. With help from June’s IRA, a building was bought in downtown Banning (right across from Super Subs.). Lectures and classes began there. The building next door soon became available. It was once Banning’s Post Office (young Ernest picked up his family’s mail there). With a grant from San Manuel Band the building was remodeled and named the San Manuel Gathering Hall. We discovered during remodeling that it had perfect acoustics for music. Along with Native American cultural events and activities, we began a monthly concert series featuring all types of music and even ballet dancing! The Pass Chorale is still rehearsing there.
“For more than 20 years the nonprofit 501c3 Center has offered regional events, language classes, publications, lectures, and more. One renowned event, the annual Dragonfly Gala, brings tribal members and the general public together for an evening that is highlighted with the renowned Dragonfly Award, presented for high-soaring achievements in saving and sharing Native American cultures. Ernest has helped reawaken and reinvigorate the Serrano language, in carrying on the work of his Elders and aunt, Dorothy Ramon, in saving the language and culture for future generations. He connects generations through storytelling and singing. In tribal communities, he instills traditional values that build respect, resiliency, and reciprocity.
Enjoying a visit with a young bird singer (Pat Murkland photo)
“He is beloved for sharing cultural knowledge tirelessly with all who are interested, building deeper understanding and unity between Native and non-Native communities. When he sings and calls a dragonfly to come to him, he inspires wonder and respect of our relationships with the natural world. And he has emphasized in his teachings at all levels the power of having a calm and open heart. The San Manuel Gathering Hall has become a true Center for cultural and community gatherings and events, an important place for downtown Banning and far beyond.
And it all started with a milk can rattle, a bamboo flute, a harmonica, and a dragonfly.”
Always Call the Dragonfly — From Ernest Siva
“The Dragonfly Song is a Serrano/Cahuilla lullaby. If you see a dragonfly hovering about and you sing this song, the dragonfly will either come to you, or stay away from you. It is a good sign if he comes to you, and not so good if he stays away. The teaching goes, if you are kind and have kind thoughts, he will come to you. Conversely, if you are troubled, nervous, angry, etc., he will leave your presence. The elders say, “Mehuun terrux!”, “Quiet your heart!” In other words, be calm and confident before proceeding with anything of importance.” — Ernest Siva, Voices of the Flute, 2004.
Thank you!
As always, thanks for reading, sharing, and subscribing to News from Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, your FREE online newsletter. We welcome your ideas and contributions. PLEASE EMAIL Editor Pat Murkland. March 27, 2025.
