On April 22, the HUB Cultural Center put on Native Fest, a celebration of Native American and Indigenous culture. This event welcomed around 13 different Native organizations to SSU to discuss their programs and what they do for the community. There was also live music from Sonoma State’s own Paul Steward, who has been a Native American Studies professor at SSU since 2016. 

The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center was created to spread awareness to the masses about California Indian history and culture. They offer a multitude of resources and programs for the community, including the Tribal Youth Ambassadors program. 

Laura Inong, who works as a community outreach and education coordinator for the museum, discussed what the Pomo and Miwok youth advocate for in their community. “We attended Native Fest to promote the work of our Tribal Youth Ambassadors program, specifically three of their most current projects: bear conservation, cultural gathering, and Acorn Bites.” Inong went on to discuss what “cultural gathering” entails, “The ‘Culture Card: Tribal Member Education Handout’ is extensive research completed within our tribal community to create a guide to harvesting and gathering safely in public spaces.”

A representative from Pepperwood, which is a local preserve in Santa Rosa, was also in attendance. Their mission is to protect wildlife and encourage people to connect with nature through the different resources they offer. 

In an interview with the SSU STAR, Margaret Boeger, Education Director for Pepperwood, offered more information about their mission, “Pepperwood was honored to take place in the inaugural Native American Heritage Day at SSU. Pepperwood’s mission is to inspire conservation through science, and we strive to connect people with the land through our classes, events, hikes, stewardship days, art programs, and research.” 

Pepperwood has continued to observe the effect of climate change on the environment. Boeger also discussed their affiliation with the local Indigenous community, “Our Indigenous Education Coordinator, Clint Mckay, gave a blessing in his native Wappo language urging young Indigenous folks to continue to study Native American history, culture, and heritage.” 

Senior HUB Program Executive, Shelly Gomez, discussed her collaboration with the Director of Native American Studies, Dr. Erica Tom, to invite Native organizations to attend Native Fest. Tom is well connected with local Indigenous communities, and Gomez said that with Tom’s help she was able to easily contact organizations, and create the first Annual Native Fest. 

The event, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., was free for students to attend. Everyone was able to walk around and check out all of the organizations. Most tables were equipped with free goodies for students to take home and enjoy. This event gave students the opportunity to engage with the Native American and Indigenous communities one on one. 

Student Involvement and the HUB also have a partnership called MOCA which allows for students to get further involved with different cultures. MOCA stands for Multicultural Organization Club Alliance. This allows multicultural clubs to gain more access to resources on campus, and the HUB allows for a safe space to gather as a community. 

The HUB will offer another opportunity to learn more about Native American and Indigenous people with their social justice documentary series on April 26. The film that will be shown is called RISE, which discusses the oppressive concept known as environmental racism. The film screening will be from 3 to 5 p.m. on the second floor of the student center.