Noli Indian School at the Soboba Reservation held its 19th annual Gathering of the People, uniting students, staff, families, and community members through culture and camaraderie. Principal Donovan Post welcomed attendees to the April 2 event.
“Thank you for always supporting the school and our students,” he said. “I’m always happy to see so many of you turn out year after year for nearly two decades. I really believe this event will outlive us all.”
Post introduced Culture Department Coordinator and Instructor Tashina Miranda Ornelas, who has been at the school for more than 20 years, and was instrumental in starting this annual event.
“When we were preparing for the first one, it was a big thing and we didn’t know if people were going to come out,” she said. “We thought maybe it would only be for one year, but it continues to build thanks to support from the school board, staff, students and the community.”
Ornelas said she is happy to see former students attend, some of whom have children who are now attending Noli.
“It’s been a great thing to pass on,” she said. “The main reason we wanted to have this event at the school is for cultural education purposes and bringing the community together. This school is not about just one Tribal nation or reservation. Many students who come to this school have family and community members from all over Southern California and beyond.”
Damon Miranda provided the blessing and invited everyone to “come together and enjoy each other’s company and share traditions with one another.” He then led three social bird songs before the festivities got underway.
The event also highlighted the hard work that students put in through their involvement in ASB and AVID. ASB Vice President Nevaeh Ochoa, a junior from the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, served as emcee for some fun games.
The first was a watermelon eating contest. After a few tense minutes, sophomore Johnathan Gladin was declared the winner. His prize was a hand beaded watermelon slice necklace created by Victoria Boiso. He happily presented it to his sister, Samantha Gladin, who is a freshman at the school.
The water balloon toss attracted about half of the student body, which is approximately 100 students in grades 6 through 12. Teams of two were required to toss water balloons back and forth as the distance between the two rows was steadily increased. Emerging as winners were eighth-grader Su-Kutt Morreo and sixth-grader Meeqas Soto.
After a team sack race and egg balancing race, Nevaeh used the opportunity of having everyone’s attention to recognize the AVID program’s 8th Grade Standout, Monica Rivera.
“This award honors a student selected by their AVID teacher for outstanding academic performance, leadership, and commitment to their school community,” she said. “This student consistently shows up ready to help, both in the classroom and at school events. She excels academically, takes on leadership roles with confidence, and is never afraid to speak up or take on challenges. Her determination and positive impact truly make her, and AVID, stand out.”
The final game is one of the most popular. With a balloon tied at the ankle, participants must pop the balloon worn by their opponents, using only their feet. The goal is to be the last one standing with an inflated balloon. The first round, played by older students, saw brothers Edgar and Johnathan Gladin facing off with the latter emerging as the winner. Younger children were then invited to play and seventh-grader Angel Olaez won gobs of candy and snacks for winning that game.
The Nuukwanish Singers and Dancers from the Pechanga Band of Indians have been attending the Noli Gathering for many years. Rob Villalobos explained the cultural significance of each song that was performed. Dancers in colorful bird skirts, most of them Noli students, continued to join in throughout the morning.
Featuring traditional bird singing, dancing, and games throughout the 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. event, guests were also treated to a lunch of grilled hot dogs and chicken provided by Tribal Chef Anita Morillo and her team. Local vendor Frybread Kitchen offered delicious accompaniments of homemade frybread, tortillas, chili beans, and rice, all served by Noli staff members.
Culture students helped construct ramadas to provide shade for elders and others who were seated around the perimeter of one of the school’s central courtyards. Beading class students also donated some beautiful items to be raffled off, as did members of the Beading Club.
Education was also evident with a table filled with free books offered by teacher Jacquelin Phillips. Also present were representatives from various colleges sharing the programs they have for Native American students. UCR and Cal State San Bernardino were among those that offered information as well as lots of takeaways from their tables.
“It’s extremely important to have this experience for the students to participate in,” said CSUSB Specialized Outreach Counselor Emily Clarke, who is Cahuilla.
Mt. San Jacinto Community College’s Native American Student Support and Success Program was explained by its director, Cuauhtli T. Ramos, who works at the San Jacinto campus. He said the program helps Native students with technology needs as well as financial support through grocery and gas cards if needed. They also host culturally relevant events on their campuses.
Elizabeth Shulterbrandt is assistant director for outreach and access for Native student programs at the University of Redlands. She said the school has a very comprehensive business program as well as its well-known Conservatory of Music department.
Grand Canyon University Admissions Counselor Adana Garrett said her school is the largest Christian university in the nation with 26,000 students attending in person at the Arizona campus and more than 100,000 who are enrolled in its online programs.
Noli science teacher and AVID co-coordinator Sabrina Smith said three juniors were accepted into the College Horizons all-Native program being held at UC, Berkeley in June. All expenses are paid aside from transportation so AVID students were hosting a chia lemonade fundraiser to help. Seniors also held a basket raffle to raise funds for their end-of-year senior trip.
Soboba Elder Marian Chacon has a niece at Noli and she enjoys attending each year. “I like to see everybody getting together and seeing the kids dancing and participating in different events,” she said.
Leandrea Armijo is a former Noli student and looks forward to the Gathering every year. Her niece, Aydreean Rose Garcia, is in eighth grade there. “It’s definitely gotten a lot bigger over the years,” she Armijo said. “There are a lot more youth participating in the dancing and it’s great to see traditions getting passed down.”
