Native American youth and their families celebrated Native American heritage in the Free Speech Area of Fresno City College on Nov. 21, 2013.

The event, “Embracing Our Culture Through Education,” started at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast and lasted until 2:00 p.m. Grade school-aged students were required to register, but it was open to the public and was visited by many FCC students.

Families from throughout the Central Valley came to FCC to participate.

Speakers such as keynote speaker Sage Romero spoke to the audience and primary school children were given tours of the FCC campus. Native American dancers performed traditional dances and vendors sold Indian tacos as well as jewelry and other traditional Native wares.

The event was co-sponsored by organizations such as Native American Inter-Tribal Students Association, FCC American Indian Studies department and faculty members, Student Activities and California State University Fresno.

The Casillas family of the Mono tribe traveled from the Table Mountain Rancheria reservation in Madera Ranchos with two of their children dancing at the event. Shania Casillas, a student at Ranchos Middle School, performed the jingle dress dance, which gets its name from the use of tobacco tins rolled into cylinders and attached to the bottom of the dress, making a melodic jingling noise when in movement.

Casillas said she loves dancing, especially fancy shawl, another distinctive traditional dance style performed with elaborately-decorated regalia including a flowing shawl draped over the shoulders.

“It makes me feel different from everybody else so I don’t blend in,” Casillas said “When I’m in fancy [regalia] I feel free.”

For Delaine Bill, a drumming instructor from the Big Sandy Rancheria reservation in Auberry, being part of such ceremonies brings him happiness when he connects with his spiritual beliefs as well as with family and friends.

“It’s an expression of emotions that we have inside,” he said about the experience of drumming for ceremonies.

“We have to be as one in our voice and we try to be as one in our sticks as we drum… unity is a real big part of it.”

Bill also crafted by hand the drum he uses out of cedar and deerskin.

Students from Fresno State’s First Nations club also attended as an opportunity to support the Native community as well as recruit students transferring to CSUF eventually.

Natori Hatfield and Andres Fierro, both Native American studies minors, represented CSUF’s First Nations club and hoped to communicate that “education can revolve around their culture.”

Hatfield, who also practices jingle, fancy shawl and hoop dancing, urges Native students at both FCC and CSUF to “keep heritage and culture close to [them].”