Four years after the 35th and final California Indian Market in San Juan Bautista, Youth Alliance is hosting a new annual event to honor Native Americans with a day of traditional singing, dancing, storytelling and drumming, to be held on July 15 at the football stadium at Hollister High School.
“We’ve been very pleased with the support from Hollister High to be able to host the event for our first time here,” said Youth Alliance CEO Diane Ortiz. “And we’ve got amazing dancers and vendors coming out from all regions of the area, including Sacramento.”
While the Native American Gathering is not considered to be a revival of founder Laynee Reyna’s Indian Market, she will be present and will be honored for her service to the community.
“I had a vision of a market near where they held the rodeo,” Reyna said. I had a flash of all these Native American people. We had our dancers and drummers and this beautiful array of Native American art and pottery.”
In 2020, scheduling conflicts with the San Juan Rib Cookoff and the pandemic brought the market to an end.
“We haven’t had a local opportunity since the market ended a few years ago to honor Native Americans in this way,” Ortiz said. “We are going to be doing something new and different, a gathering rather than a market. It is going to be an opportunity for the next generation of folks to come together.”
The gathering will honor a group of servicemembers who themselves are devoted to honoring others, the VFW Honor Guard:
- Mel Angel
- Marietta De La Cruz
- Ryan Grimes
- Ellen Herrera
- Gary Hossman
- Dave Lopez
- Ray Lopez
- Adam Mendolla
- Bryan Morse
- George Nava
- José Orosco
- Joe Ortiz
- Bernie Ramirez
- Chuck Spandri
- Maria Spandri
“We’re very excited to do this for them because they have been consistent volunteers for many years,” Ortiz said. They are very active and are looked up to across the region for the support they give not just to San Benito County but to other communities as well.”
Some of the Native American dancers scheduled to perform at the gathering had also performed at the San Juan Market, including Patrick Yana-hea Orozco’s group Amah-ka-tura, which performs in the Ohlone tradition, and Aztec dancers Calpulli Tonalehqueh from San Jose.
Bernice Cuauhxihuitl Aguilera Toney, a dancer with Calpulli Tonalehqueh, said the gathering was much needed in San Benito County to highlight the community and traditions here.
“It was really important for me to bring some of this kind of history in a good way to share it with all of our community,” she said. “We are hoping to bring a more intergenerational voice, more of the youth voice, as a perspective to make it more of a teaching and educational event.”
The gathering is also a fundraiser as part of an overall vision of empowering Native American youth.
“We will be funding scholarships and donating to youth groups and clubs,” she said. “We want to connect to youth and education, which the event is all about, and promote the native communities which are original to San Benito County.”
Hollister Mayor Mia Casey, who will be attending the gathering, said she thinks it’s important to honor the indigenous people of the area.
“We need to keep building on our understanding of those who came before us,” Casey said. “We also need to strengthen our connection to their descendants who are still living among us.”
Hollister Native American Gathering schedule
- 10:00 a.m.: Opening Ceremony with Kanyon “Coyote Woman” Sayers-Roods (Mutsun-Ohlone) and Val Lopez, Chairman of Amah Mutsun Tribal Band (Mutsun, Chumash & Yokuts)
- 10:30 a.m.: Grupo Nauhcampa
- 11:30 a.m.: Amah-ka-tura with Tribal Leader Patrick Yana-hea Orozco, (Chumash/Juaneño Ajhachimen Ohlone)
- 12:30 p.m.: Storytelling & Songs Womyn Nation with Elder Gloria Najera (Purepecha, Chichimeca)
- 1:00 p.m.: Veteran Gourd Dancers
- 2:00 p.m.: Honoring VFW Honor Guard
- 3:00 p.m.: Miwok group with Razzle Dazzle
- 3:30 p.m.: Drumming circle with youth
- 4:00 p.m.: Spoken word
- 5:00 p.m.: Calpulli Tonalehqueh
- 6:00 p.m.: Elder Nation Circle with Linda Lopez (Sailan-Tonguva) and Rick Larios (Ohlone)
- 7:00 p.m.: Event ends
Admission to the Native American Gathering is by donation. A family-friendly event with no alcohol or drugs allowed, it’s being held on the Hollister High School football field. No food, gum or shoes with sharp heels will be allowed on the field.
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