REACH Director Stephanie Van Hoose | Photo by Nicolyn
From Nov. 15 to 17, R.E.A.C.H. Indigenous Advocacy was invited to WSU’s main campus to host its third annual Fest. The Fest celebrates Indigenous culture, food and more while providing informative panels and entertaining events; WSU also revealed a change in name for an Indigenous scholarship.
Brief overview
The R.E.A.C.H. Fest is a festival held by R.E.A.C.H. Indigenous Advocacy with the intent of celebrating Indigenous culture. This year was the third year for the annual Fest.
For the past few years, R.E.A.C.H. would hold its Fest at the Dayton Metro Library in downtown Dayton, but the size of the provided spaces were too small for what the Fest hoped to achieve. With this in mind, WSU was chosen as the venue for its third year.
Planning happens year-round due to the size and nature of the Fest. As it happens during Native American Heritage Month, invites have to be sent out quickly, and spaces have to be confirmed as soon as possible. Nicolyn Woodcock, the Director of the Asian and Native American Center, was invited to the planning committee in January of this year.
“The earlier we can plan the better, because particularly for our speakers, performers we want to bring, vendors we want to feature throughout the weekend… November is Native American Heritage Month, so those folks are being inundated with invitations for November, and so the earlier we can get an invite out to them, the better our chances of them saying yes [are],” Woodcock said.
This year, R.E.A.C.H. was able to invite between 6-8 vendors selling Indigenous crafts, and 6-10 resources, all of which set up tables to conduct their business and share information for Indigenous and non-Indigenous resources around the Dayton and larger area.
Some of the events featured throughout the week included podcast Q&A’s, demonstrations and lessons for certain dances, art galleries, booth demonstrations and even a buffet catered by Indigenous Chef, an Ohio-based Indigenous food truck.
Oscar Ivan Garcia-Pineda, the Vice President for the Indigenous American Culture Student Association, talked a bit about the food and drink options that Indigenous Chef offered throughout the weekend.
“If people aren’t sure of the drink– cause they also have a sarsparilla tea– it’s literally just [non-]carbonated root beer. At least that is how I would describe it, it tastes like [non-]carbonated root beer, it’s very good,” Garcia-Pineda said.
On top of this, the Indigenous Chef’s usual menu includes fry bread, bison empanadas, lobster pumpkin soup as well as the most popular dish, the “3 Sisters.”
The 3 Sisters comes on fry bread, rice or salad and features sweet potato hummus, corn salsa, griddled vegetables, wild rice, black beans and blueberry wojapi. Customers can also choose a protein option of bison, chicken or tempeh.
The dinner itself included guest speakers throughout, something that Woodcock discussed.
“On Friday, we had this opening dinner and that was more of a formal program– we were all sitting at the tables listening to a lot of speeches for the majority of the night. When we were doing the formal things during the dinner, it was striking to see just how many WSU connections were coming through,” Woodcock said.
One of these connections includes Mike Trombley, MS in Electrical Engineering and citizen of Blackfeet Nation. He is the founder of NativeAudio, a Dayton-based audio company that also works to support the Indigenous community, especially the Blackfeet Nation.
“He engineers these affect pedals, he puts his degree to work doing that, and also [he does] really awesome storytelling. What are narratives from Blackfeet culture, history etc. and how can those be shared through sound. And he could go anywhere with that company, but he chooses to stay here and run his company out of the Dayton region,” Woodcock said.
Memorable moments
Both Garcia-Pineda and Woodcock talked about their favorite moments from the event, with the most memorable being the new Indigenous Youth Showcase.
“[The Youth Showcase] was a lot of fun because the goal of IASCA and Native American Centers in general is looking at the seven generations that came before, and the seven generations that come after. So it’s always important to know who is the next generation– of possible Native leaders and performers,” Garcia-Pineda said.
“It was nice to see this appreciation [and] cultural influx, because a lot of the loss of culture happened throughout the last seven generations before, so the seven generations after are rebuilding that culture and taking back what the oppressors took from the Native Americans.”
The Youth Showcase featured a small group of people, with the oldest being a Junior in highschool; this girl taught most of the other dancers. The Showcase primarily featured dancing, but there were a few poetry readings, as well as one girl who submitted drawings.
One of next year’s major goals is to have a larger number of performers during the Youth Showcase, as recognizing the future generations is a vital aspect to Indigenous culture, especially now more than ever.
Overall, the Fest featured a large number of events that worked to entertain and show students and guests on-campus how diverse Indigenous culture is, while informing them on advocacy and general resources.
Importance of advocacy
Advocacy is also a vital aspect to supporting Indigenous culture in today’s world.
“When advocating for the Indigenous community it's important to give Indigenous peoples the room and space to speak openly on the issues that they face and the turmoil they endure,” the R.E.A.C.H. website states.
Those interested in advocating for the Indigenous community can visit its website for a list of ways to help contribute, whether with money or community service.
“There are ways to help, starting with educating yourself on the topic of Indigenous cultures, supporting by donating to Indigenous non-profits [that] are advocating for Native peoples and their rights. [This can also include] shopping at Indigenous business, volunteering with Indigenous organizations and/or supporting public policy that supports indigenous rights,” the website says.
Guy W. Jones Scholarship
One of the largest announcements present during the R.E.A.C.H. Fest was the announcement of the renaming of a nearly 20-year-old scholarship for Indigenous students. It has been renamed to the “Guy W. Jones Scholarship.”
“Mr. Jones embodies what it means to be a life-long learner, and it is my honor to share with you today the re-naming of one of the ANA Center’s existing scholarships, which has supported Indigenous students at [WSU] since 2004. Now the “Guy W. Jones Scholarship,” it will be awarded annually to a [WSU] student who demonstrates support for the mission and vision of the Asian and Native American Center,” the scholarship announcement states.
Jones has lived and worked in the Dayton area since 1981 and has served as a founder, mentor, advisor, author and more throughout his years in the Dayton area.
“Jones, Hunkpapa Lakota, is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation and grew up on the reservation. Variously described as an activist, advocate, educator [and] environmentalist, he is perhaps best described as a mentor and a friend,” the announcement describes him.
Those interested in learning more about Jones or the scholarship can reach out to Woodcock for more information.
