2017 Article: https://www.randomlengthsnews.com/archives/2017/10/12/harbor-gathers-call-elders/18134
Harbor Gathers to the Call of the Elders
ByZamná Ávila, October 12, 2017
By Zamná Ávila, Assistant Editor
(see 2023 Press Release after this article below)
Columbus Day was a flash point on the 525th anniversary of his voyage to the New World. Recently, the Los Angeles City Council voted 14-1, Councilman Joe Buscaino opposed, to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. But the struggle isn’t over for indigenous people. The education system still largely ignores native histories.
“The history of this country is not told properly,” said John Funmaker, a community activist and spiritual Ho-Chunk leader. “It’s often ended in violence.”
For Native Americans, oral history is and has been a way to heal and reconnect with their ancestors. It offers a pathway to generations through time, identity and culture. Many Winters Elders’ Gathering, Oct. 12 through 15 at Angels Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro will offer that opportunity for Harbor Area residents.
“The elders will bring their history through words, songs, dance,” said George Funmaker, John’s son. “We wanted to come back to the earth and return back to our culture through our elders…. Being in the city, we are disconnected from a lot of the culture. That’s why it’s important to have this event.”
The mission system, for example, still is venerated in California, ignoring the thousands of families torn apart when children were displaced and forced to assimilate Eurocentric standards. The Catholic church even canonized Junipero Serra who forced the conversion of many natives.
“For us, the California missions are the equivalent to concentration camps,” said George Funmaker. “There was a lot of abuse through the mission system.”
In fact, indigenous people were outlawed from practicing many of their traditions until 1978, when President Jimmy Carter signed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.
“We suffered a great trauma at the hands of the U.S., the government and the church,” George Funmaker said.
The generational traumas bestowed upon indigenous people by the non-native governments include: mass incarceration, poverty, land stripping, exploitation of natural resources, violence against women and children, failed education, housing issues, inadequate health care, suicide, and the death of culture and language.
Cultural appropriation also continues to add insult to injury.
“It’s offensive to use natives as mascots,” George Funmaker said. “We are the only people who they can do that to. It’s a stereotype that [implies] that we are inferior…. When we are made caricatures, we are made less than humans.”
George Funmaker sees this moment, with the struggle to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day back in the forefront, the rollback of environmental protections and the divisiveness caused by the current administration, as the best time to bring back the gathering
“What better time to start this with the attacks on the environment [and on] the native people,” George Funmaker said.
While indigenous people are diverse in language and culture, there is one thing natives have in common: their respect for Mother Earth.
“All tribes have reverence for the natural world,” George Funmaker said. “Most natives want less development. We want to preserve the natural environment as much as we can.”
The gathering serves as a reminder that native people are still here and are part of contemporary society.
“We are looking at it as a ceremony of healing [and] people coming together to share their medicine,” George Funmaker said.
Their spiritual medicine is in the form of oral history, food, prayer and dance. Funmaker likens the event to a professional conference without the classroom setting. It will include seminars, booths and sweat lodges. Alcohol, cameras or other recording equipment will not be allowed.
“Humanity, compassion [and] respect are shared spiritual values,” George Funmaker said. “When you attend a ceremony there is no schedule. Things just happen. Come sit down and just listen to elders. We have a lot to offer and I think it’s come full circle to where the dominant society needs to listen and learn from the indigenous people.”
Fighting Back Against Genocide
The Many Winters Elders’ Gathering was started in 1992 as a response to the 500-year celebration of Christopher Columbus’ “discovery” of America. John Funmaker was one of the founders of the event.
“They wanted to show he didn’t discover anything,” George Funmaker said. “‘Many Winters’ refers to our survival of 525 years of colonization. We have survived many winters and we are still here.”
The event took place at Angels Gate Cultural Center for about 12 years. The most recent Many Winters Elders’ Gathering took place in 2007. It is possible that the funding, energy and relationships with Angels Gate Cultural Center had changed over the years, but it’s back now. And, it’s needed said John Funmaker.
“The teachings of native people are relevant to what is going on in the world,” he said. “The path that we’ve been led to is very destructive.”
The senior Funmaker was referring to the lack of reverence for Earth, climate change, the divisiveness that seems to be prevalent in today’s society and the value for materialism, which is often trumped over kindness and a love for nature.
Angels Gate Cultural Center’s Executive Director Amy Eriksen said she was interested in bringing back the event to the center, but waited for the right time.
“What I realized was [that] it will come back when it’s supposed to,” Eriksen said. “Our mission is to bring events to the community that include every culture that walks through our community.”
Angels Gate Cultural Center is a site where members of the Tongva nation came down from the foothills to do different types of fishing. It was a place of sacred gatherings that has remained a part of nature throughout the years, she explained. The site also is connected to three of the four directions: water, land, air and fire. Four is a special number for many indigenous nations.
“We have committed to organize the gathering for four years and hopefully beyond, honoring the four directions, the four colors, the four seasons, the four stages of life and so on and so forth,” George Funmaker explained.
The narrative of the event is simple: empathy, understanding and the courage to share and care for each other, Eriksen explained.
“These are things we really need in this world,” she said.
The event falls into their mission also as an art form, of which oral tradition is in and of itself.
“It’s a time of renewal and a chance to share stories and language that aren’t always used,” she said. “It’s really a handing off to the younger generations.”
Passing of the Torch
As a young man, George Funmaker was teased in school for his long hair and his uncommon surname. He was often the only Native American in his classroom.
“We live in two worlds,” Funmaker, now 34, explained. “For native youth, it’s a constant struggle with identity, having to be part of a lot of other cultures.
Following his father’s footsteps, the younger Funmaker has been active in his community, not only as counselor, but also rallying and fundraising to support issues that impact Native Americans and the environment. This past year, he fought against the Standing Rock Dakota Access Pipeline.
“I pride myself in having a very spiritual, traditional family that is also very humble,” John Funmaker said. “Language, traditions, legends, all of them, I’ve carried them and I’ve passed it onto my son. He knows the importance of our culture. It’s the only way that we are going to survive.”
“This young group of organizers is making their own way,” said Laurie Steelink, the founder of Cornelius Projects, an art gallery in San Pedro. “It’s really grassroots …. There is a newness, freshness.”
For many indigenous people, the gathering is an opportunity to reconnect with their roots. Steelink, for example, has taken the opportunity to reconnect with her heritage that’s she’s been separated from for some time. Her biological mother belonged to the Akimel O’odham nation from Arizona, but she was adopted as child by a non-Native American family when she was 6 months old.
She grew up in a loving home, but she always had a sense of being outside. Being native was never kept secret from her. When she grew up she sought out information about her lineage and was able to find her birth certificate. Later, she met her birth mother after her adoptive mother died. By being part of the Many Winters Elders’ Gathering Committee, she is relinking with native cultures.
She recently hosted Gathering for the Gathering, a fundraiser to help pay for the expenses related to the Many Winters Elders’ Gathering. The fundraiser was an intimate exhibition of donated art works by contemporary indigenous artists. As an artist herself, she is starting to notice connection within her own work.
“I feel like I’m a child in this community and I’m learning, and I want to approach my education with respect,” Steelink said.
And, the learning is not limited to people with indigenous roots in America. Elders from across Turtle Island [i] (Turtle Island a term used to refer to North America) will share their teachings to foster a greater understanding of traditional indigenous values and spiritual beliefs.
“Mitakuye Oyasin[ii], we are all related,” said John Funmaker. “Everything is connected.We humans, animals, plants, trees are all related. Whatever you do to your brother you do it to yourself. When we see each other as separate beings that’s a very destructive way of thinking.”
Angels Gate Cultural Center has made a commitment to host the event for four years. They are expecting between 500 to 1,000 attendees.
The Many Winters Elders’ Gathering will take place Oct. 12 through 15 at Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., in San Pedro. The event is free and open to people unfamiliar with indigenous cultures.
Details: http://angelsgateart.org.
[i] Turtle Island is a term used to refer North America. The term comes from creation stories of some East Coast native nations, such as the Iroquois. According native mythologies the Great Spirit created their homeland by placing earth on the back of a giant turtle.
[ii] Mitakuye Oyasin is a phrase from the Lakota language. It reflects the worldview of interconnectedness held by the Lakota people of North America.
2023 MWGOE PRESS RELEASE
Source: https://mwgoe.org/2023-mwgoe-press-release/
Media Contacts MWGOE: Stephanie Mushrush, 562-265-8323 gatheringofelders92@gmail.com AGCC: Jasmine Williams, 310-519-0936 jasmine@angelsgateart.org
September 15, 2023
The 17th Many Winters Gathering of Elders
October 12, 13, 14 and 15 at Angels Gate Cultural Center
San Pedro, CA., September 12, 2023 – The Many Winters Gathering of Elders (MWGOE) Organizing Committee is excited to announce its 17th MWGOE, scheduled for Thursday, October 12 through Sunday, October 15, from 11 am to 6 pm at Angels Gate Cultural Center (AGCC) in San Pedro, CA on Gabrielino-Tongva territory. The MWGOE is a four-day gathering where Native/Indigenous Elders and knowledge-keepers from across the country gather to share teachings through oral tradition with the community. The Gathering also hosts Native ceremonies throughout the four days. MWGOE is held in partnership with AGCC, open to the public, free to attend and family friendly.
The MWGOE plays a vital role in the Native community of greater Los Angeles, with the participation and support of the original peoples of the land. The vision of the Gathering is to host a sacred space for people to come together, with the intention to learn, pray, support Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, and to inspire a healthier future for Native people.
RED EARTH GAZE, a multidisciplinary exhibition featuring Indigenous relatives from local California Nations and the broader urban Native community across Tovaangar, will be on display at the AGCC Gallery in Building A. At the center of this exhibition are Contemporary Native voices and visual narratives that merge past and present techniques, alluding to the notion that Indigenous people do not live in the past, but the past lives within them. The intention of Red Earth Gaze is to share and celebrate the expansive diversity of Native peoples that continue to thrive and evolve in a sustainable way so that Indigenous cultural expressions can continue into the next generations to come.
The 2023 MWGOE Logo Art was created by Jackie Fawn (Washoe Tribal Citizen, Yurok, Filipina).
Elders from local tribes including Gabrielino-Tongva, Gabrielino Shoshone, Acjachemen, Fernandeño Tataviam, Chumash, and other California tribes have attended in the past and will join this October. Tribal elders from other regions (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, South Dakota and others) are expected, as well. The Gathering takes place under an arbor which serves as the traditional place of teaching and learning – where Elders pass on knowledge to the younger generation, and is part of intergenerational healing from historical trauma.
History of MWGOE
The first MWGOE was held on October 12, 1992, in response to the false narrative represented by the quincentennial celebrations of Christopher Columbus’ “discovery of America.” Today, the Gathering continues to be an important occasion for the Native/Indigenous community, to reconnect to and practice ceremony, and to celebrate over 530 years of spiritual survival. It also gives opportunity for the general public to learn, acknowledge, and honor the traditional knowledge and values that have supported and sustained Native lifeways.
During the Many Winters Gathering of Elders, no alcohol, drugs, cameras, pictures, video or other recording equipment are allowed; the MWGOE Organizing Committee requests that attendees respect and observe ceremonial protocol, including no pets. Angels Gate Cultural Center is located at 3601 South Gaffey Street, San Pedro, CA, 90731.
For more information regarding the 17th MWGOE, please visit the MWGOE site or call (562) 265-8323.
This event is presented through generous support from the Department of Cultural Affairs City of Los Angeles, the Pechanga Foundation, the Perenchio Foundation, the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, Pala Band of Mission Indians, and The Associated Students UCLA. We would also like to thank the local San Pedro Neighborhood Councils including Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council, Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council as well as individual community members for their support.
About Angels Gate Cultural Center
Angels Gate Cultural Center (AGCC) emerged from a group of San Pedro artists in the 1970s that created art studios and exhibition space within the WWII era army barracks of Angels Gate Park near the Port of Los Angeles. Today, AGCC hosts over 50 artist studios in addition to a variety of programs to engage the diverse communities of the Los Angeles Harbor region, including arts education in local schools, community classes, cultural events, and exhibitions of contemporary art. More information about AGCC is available at angelsgateart.org.
Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St. San Pedro, CA 90731 310.519.0936 | www.angelsgateart.org