The Soboba Tribal TANF Program organized a visit to the 2024 National UNITY Conference in Portland, June 29-July 3. The impactful five-day youth-led annual event is held every July in a pre-selected region of the U.S. About 2,500 Native youth and advisors attended this year’s event, 17 were from the Soboba program.
The conference offers general sessions, regional caucuses, workshops, a career/education fair, and fun evening activities that provide hands-on leadership development activities and where the National UNITY Council conducts elections and its annual business meeting.
The national conference is a place where Native youth voice is encouraged and valued. This year’s conference theme of “Revitalizing Our Roots” was reflected in several of the breakout sessions held each day. The UNITY (United National Indian Tribal Youth) conference provides attendees an opportunity to attend a variety of workshops each day while activities and special guest speakers are interspersed throughout.
Shania Guacheno, 12, liked hearing about different people’s stories and plans to share what she learned with friends and family. David Marquez, 16, attended the conference for the first time and enjoyed meeting new people and participating in the activities that were offered.
“I learned more about the culture and that Native filmmaking is a cool art and there’s a lot of things we can do for our communities,” David said. He attended workshops on making films, beading and “Breaking the Generational Curse of Silence” presented by Elise Lamas, which aimed to educate Native youth on sexual assault and harassment, especially on how they can break the generational curse of silence in their community. When talking about the subject of sexual assault and harassment, it is often treated as a taboo in their community and is often swept under the rug. This workshop was designed to be a safe space filled with educating and sharing resources that the youths can implement in their communities.
“Carrying Stories to the Screen” was presented by Mariah Hernandez-Fitch and provided participants with a concise overview of filmmaking basics, from storytelling fundamentals to post-production essentials. Through collaborative exercises and guidance on story structures, attendees were able to refine their skills and develop a clear vision for their potential cinematic creations. The workshop also explored “how cinema has a unique ability to reflect our identities and serve as a cultural vessel, allowing for deeper connections and understanding within our communities.”
Zachary Guacheno, 17, attended the same workshops as David and said he also enjoyed seeing and hearing the different songs and dances of other Indigenous Tribes. “I learned that there’s a lot we can still do for our community and people to thrive even more,” he said.
This was the first UNITY conference for Exequiel Minott, 14, who liked learning “more about our culture” and whose favorite part was “when they started singing songs and banging the drums.”
Andrew Salgado, 17, also attended the “Beading New Beginnings” workshop presented by Jalen Harvey which highlighted the importance of Indigenous youth to balance their social, physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Attendees were encouraged to collect beads throughout the event to complete a friendship bracelet, a new UNITY tradition.
Another workshop Andrew attended was Jori Cowley’s “Level Up Your Leadership!” which featured games and activities to help youths uncover their individual leadership style and abilities. The goal is for them to gain insights into their personal values and motivations for leadership success and learn strategies to enhance these skills in group settings. He also enjoyed Jovi Williams’ presentation of “Glowing Together, Strengthening our Cultural Resiliency.” This workshop touched on the importance of preserving traditional, cultural, and ancestral knowledge that embraces the values and principles of Indigenous Peoples of the past, present, and future. Attendees were given the opportunity to showcase their experiences and knowledge on how they preserve their cultural identity through creative neon drawings under LED light displays.
By interacting with others at the conference, Andrew learned things he plans to share with family and friends such as the problems other reservations have in their communities with drug use and blood quantum issues. Blood quantum simply is the amount of “Indian blood” that an individual possesses, and many Tribes still use the calculation to determine citizenship/membership.
Nowaniiki Resvaloso, 13, was at the youth conference for the first time and enjoyed the UNITY DJ dance held on Tuesday, July 2. Nowaniiki is a Soboba Youth Council officer and attended the workshop on filmmaking and one on Native wellness. Ginger Valazquez, 15, chose to attend those two workshops as well and said she learned that UNITY has many opportunities for youth and for their future careers. She added that it is also a great way to meet other people and make friends.
Her favorite part of the conference was learning more about other Tribes and getting to know about more options for her future. She also liked hearing the different songs and seeing the different dances of other Indigenous Tribes.
While youth leaders meet, advisors and adults who work with youth are also involved in intense training and networking activities. Adult training included building rapport, peer-to-peer sharing, conflict resolution, approaches to youth work, and more. Each day of the conference is focused on a different area of development for young people: spiritual, physical, mental and social.
Harold Arres, Mayra Campos and Annalisa Tucker from Soboba Tribal TANF attended and accompanied the youth on sight-seeing activities during their free time.
A highlight for Arres was going to the Multnomah Falls with the youth. “We were able to ride the train to Multnomah Falls and hike up to the falls,” he said. He also enjoyed watching the kids actively participate in the breakout sessions at the conference.
Campos said they had the opportunity to visit the Nike World Headquarters and shop at the company’s store.
“The highlight of the conference for me was when all the youth were able to participate in the cultural dances,” Campos said. “Some of our youth got up to participate in the round dances.” She added that she hoped that their attendance emphasized that they should take pride in their culture and embrace their traditions.
Tucker also found cultural night to be a highlight of the conference because it gave her the opportunity to experience other cultures.
UNITY offers unique youth programming through its UNITY Spirit Room and UNITY Drum. The Spirit Room, led by alumni, is used for social and prayer purposes and provides conference attendees an opportunity for support, healing and spiritual nourishment. The Spirit Room is meant for all beliefs and religions to share their “Good Medicine” with other participants. The UNITY Drum, also led by alumni, is an open drum with roots in the southern style of powwow singing.
“I hope the youth learned the importance of being a peer leader by attending this year’s UNITY conference,” Arres said. Tucker added, “I hope the youth learned the importance of being advocates for their communities and that one voice can make a change.”
For more information, https://unityinc.org/national-conference.
