The Idyllwild Arts Academy has extended a special invitation to the community, welcoming all to the special events that will mark Indigenous Peoples Day, Monday, October 14. The free and family-friendly events will happen on campus during the day, and at Harvey House in the evening.

The on-campus events will include performances and demonstrations for the public, and a complimentary luncheon. During the public presentations there will be separate workshops for IAA students, who will be joined by students from Sherman Indian High School in Riverside, one of the nation’s last Indian Boarding Schools. The day will begin at 9:30 with introductory remarks by Michael Madrigal (Cahuilla,) President of the Board of Directors of the Native American Land Conservancy.

The headliner for this year is the Delbert Anderson Quartet. Trumpeter Delbert Anderson’s music blends the sounds of Diné (Navajo) traditional music with jazz, funk and hip hop. Like the other artists showcased, he also weaves storytelling into his work. There will also be a presentation by photographer Eugene Tapahe (Navajo.) Tapahe’s recent project, “Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project,” has taken the Ojibwe healing dance, in which the sound of jingles, shells or metal cones, represent prayers, around the world.

The morning presentations will be followed at noon by a complimentary Indigenous American luncheon (the native bread stand is always a crowd favorite) and a DJ set by IAA alum Kino Benally, (Diné) aka DJ Béeso.

In the afternoon there will be an open studio visit with Hopi glass artists Ramson Lomatewama and Ayen Talashoma, who both teach in the IA Summer Program. Guests will even have a chance to make their own glass flowers. The IA Indigenous Peoples Club will also be selling artwork to support their activities.

Olivia Webb, of the Academy’s Native American Arts Center, told us about the evening program at Harvey house, featuring the Delbert Anderson Quartet. “Something wonderful is going to happen at precisely 6:30 on the dot. We’re going to go live, a live broadcast on NPR, you will be able to hear a pin drop, that kind of environment. It’s going to be very emotional, deeply meaningful to native people, especially Navajo (Diné) people. This is part of a special series, ‘The Long Walk:1674 Days,’ called ‘The 11th Note’ because Idyllwild is the 11th ‘note’ or stop in his series. He is traveling, stopping, having a moment of reflection with music. The public is welcome to come and be part of it.” The work is a commemoration of the forced relocation of Diné people in 1864.

After the broadcast, things will lighten up, with appetizers by native chef Wendy Weston and non-alcoholic beverages. Randy Kemp (Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, and Euchee) will provide flute music as the evening transitions into a 7:30 performance by the Delbert Anderson Quartet, with a more jazz oriented musical set. Webb underlined the Academy’s appreciation for Harvey House: “They are wonderful, they are giving us such valuable support. They are providing a platform.”

This will be the fourth year the Academy has honored the contributions made by Indigenous people in this way, and the fourth year that America has officially observed Indigenous Peoples Day, although it not yet a federally recognized holiday. Our state is among the 29 that have adopted the practice in some form, and in 2023 California Congresswoman Norma Torres introduced a bill to make it a federal holiday.

Indigenous Peoples Day at the Idyllwild Arts Academy, Monday October 14, 52500 Temecula Road, 9:30 A.M to 4:00 P.M., and at Harvey House, 54420 South Circle Dr., 6:00 P.M. to 8:30. For more information and a complete schedule, visit https://idyllwildarts.org/indigenous-peoples-day/