Inaugural Indigenous Arts and Culture Festival held at Grape Day Park – Escondido Times-Advocate

Representatives of tribes both local and from other states attended the festival. Photo by Lenny Kerbs

The first annual Indigenous Arts and Culture Festival was held the Saturday before Easter at Grape Day Park. The Arts and Culture Festival coincided with the Escondido Center for the Arts, Arts and Culture Month and was attended by both residents and visitors alike.
The festival was hosted and largely funded by the City of Escondido and the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians. Originally they hoped to attract between 5,000-6,000 visitors. It’s unclear whether they met this ambitious estimate. However, there were large numbers of visitors throughout the day.
The festival included several performances by local and national indigenous performers, who gave speeches, sang bird songs, performed several traditional dances, and more. There were also several vendors and artists present.
Local special guests included Mayor of Escondido Dane White, Councilwoman Judy Fitzgerald, Chairman of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians Stephen W. Pope, the offices of state senator Brian Jones and County Board of Supervisor Jim Desmond, and Congressman Darrel Issa.
The festival began with an introduction by Master of Ceremonies a Lakota from Lower Brule South Dakota, Kansas Middletent, who thanked guests for attending the first annual arts and culture fest before handing the microphone to Stephen W. Cope for the Land Acknowledgement.
Middletent also noted, “One reason why these events are important is we have a pretty dark history, that created challenges for our people, a lot of our people share historical trauma, intergenerational trauma, we have to change our mindset, acknowledging trauma so we can heal from it and move on. 10, 15, 20 years ago our ancestors never had these safe spaces to share our heritage, and to be celebrated.”
Following, the Land Acknowledgement were Raymond Belardes III and the San Pasqual bird singers. After performing a few songs, which were danced to by several local women the Kumeyaay Bird singers were welcomed to the stage. Singer Gracelynn performed a few songs before an individual involved with the non-profit organization Rez Runner, gave a speech.
Other performances included Intertribal S.T.A.R dancers, Siyowin, Lehi ThunderVoice Eagle, Kupa Song and Dance Group, Rick and Crystal Aguilar, who shared traditional stories from the Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians, and Def-1 and Hustle Tribe Native Hip-Hop artists. There was also a fashion show by fashion designer Rebekah Jarvey.
The stage was surrounded by vendors and organizations and guests wandered around watching various performances speaking to vendors and purchasing food, jewelry, book, and more.
Many notable organizations and businesses were present. Frida’s Tacos, a frybread station, and a popcorn stand provided much needed sustenance to visitors throughout the day.
Marti Daglio, a local artist who does henna and face painting was at the festival painting faces and drawing henna tattoos. Daglio attended many events in the Valley Center and Escondido area, and is very talented at what she does. Also present, was Palomar Community College’s Native American Studies Department, Strong Hearted Native Women’s Coalition Inc., Southern Live Oak Wellness Native Recovery, VetArt Organization, Great Oak Press Publishing, Kumeyaay Community College, Native Pathways, and many more.
The event was a celebration of indigenous art and culture, and the festival was recognized by many government officials. Mayor Dane White spoke briefly—expressing a belief that this would be the start of more events to come in the future. Congressman Issa also spoke briefly in gratitude for the event. Adrienne Cisneros-Selekman presented a proclamation from 5th District Supervisor Jim Desmond’s office. Proclamations were also presented by State Senator Brian Jones office, and the mayors of San Marcos, and Vista.
The event was also educational, before each dance, bird song, and during the presentations, visitors learned about the significance of the songs and dances, Native American History, and family stories.