Northern Nevada International Center 3rd Annual Summer Camp
Global Kids: Explore Nevada’s Native Americans

Highlights:

• Full Day camp for grades 1-8
• Monday-Friday, July 28-August 1
• Billinghurst Middle School
• 8:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
• Cost $180 for the first child, 10% discount for each additional child

Exploring Nevada’s Native Americans

This past summer, our cultural summer camp spotlighted Northern Native Americans, specifically those from the Northern Nevada area. Our goal was to teach and excite children, both native and non-native, about the rich cultures in the surrounding areas as well as attempt to break down stereotypes to better show the realities of different Native American communities. This week-long camp was an excellent way to expose children to the Paiute, Shoshone and Washoe cultures through their languages, art, food, stories, history, archeology, sports, dances, music and other aspects of the tribes.

THIS YEAR’S PARTICIPANTS

The summer camp program focused on Native Americans teaching important aspects of their own identity and traditions that they are trying to preserve from cultural extinction. Some of our participants included:

• Ralph Burns, storyteller, language teacher, and member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe who taught history and told stories about the Paiute Tribe at Pyramid Lake
• Ben Aleck, Director of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Museum and Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal member who discussed the history at Pyramid Lake
• Lois Kane, Paiute tribal member and Language/Culture Coordinator of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony who presented traditional dance and discussed some of the aspects of life on an urban Native American reservation
• Arlan D. Melendez, Chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and Paiute tribal member who presented a welcome speech at our opening ceremony
• The Eagle Wings Dance Group, a Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe children’s tribal dance group from the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony presented in our opening ceremony and taught our campers traditional dance
• Mike O’Daye, Pyramid Lake Paiute tribal member and archery instructor, who taught the techniques and history of the bow and arrow and how it was and still is used in native life
• Darleen Graham, Duckwater Shoshone tribal member who discussed ancient plant healing medicines
• Suzanne Williams, renowned children’s book author who has lived with different Northern Native American tribes who told stories from different tribes in the United States
• Tia Flores, local Reno artist with Navajo and Aztec ancestry, who interweaves themes from different indigenous cultures of the Americas and helped the campers make their own story sticks
• The Nevada Rock Art Association, a preservation organization who taught the history of ancient petroglyphs at Grimes Point as well as respect for the artifacts.
• Ivy Brian, Pyramid Lake Paiute tribal member and former tribal court juvenile judge who presented different aspects of the tribal judicial systems
• Kathy Wright, Pyramid Lake Paiute tribal member and counselor at Sumunumu who taught different aspects of Native American respect ideas
• Sherry Rupert, Executive Director of the State of Nevada Indian Commission and Project Director for the Stewart Indian Cultural Center is both Washoe and Paiute, and a member of the Benton Paiute Tribe. Sherry presented the history of the boarding school era, focusing on the Stewart Indian School, the only off-reservation boarding school in Nevada.
• Ben and John Rupert, a father and son traditional dance pair who are Paiute and Washoe, enrolled with the Duck Valley Paiute Tribe and whom presented in our closing ceremony
• Christina Thomas, member of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and Paiute, Shoshone and Hopi who presented a traditional opening ceremony song

SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

We offer need-based scholarships. To apply, send a letter explaining why your child would be a good candidate to receive our scholarship to Educational Outreach Coordinator Natasha Majewski at majewski [Email address: majewski #AT# nnic.org - replace #AT# with @ ] or to the International Center at 821 N. Center St. Reno, NV 89501 or call 784-7515 ext. 225 for more information. There is a rolling deadline, but the sooner you apply, the better.

FIELD TRIPS

We offered two field trips to give kids the chance to experience first-hand how native people live today on their land in the Northern Nevada area. One trip explored the Paiute Tribe at Pyramid Lake, learning about the history, myths and legends, and modern-day culture that surround the lake. We also visited ancient petroglyphs at Grimes Point; some of the oldest and best preserved in our part of the country and investigated a mock on-sight archeology excavation inside a Hidden Cave.� Our other field trip took us to explore the Washoe tribe at Meeks Bay, allowing the kids to see first hand how the culture and environment intermingle with the native peoples’ lives.

PAST SUMMER CAMPS

For the past two years we have hosted a cultural summer camp for children, focusing on Latin America by investigating its geography, history, culture and Spanish language through dynamic, hands-on activities. In addition to a week-long, intensive basic Spanish course, the campers participated in different activities including cooking, arts and crafts, sports, mural painting and theater to celebrate the various Latin American cultures and the accomplishments of great Latino people, both in Latin America as well as in the United States.