The San Marcos summer air will vibrate with the sound of ancient drums and rattles as students line up for Native American camp activities that include traditional Native traditions and culture, flute playing, regalia painting, danza, and theatre. The Native American Summer Camp is back, sponsored by local nonprofit Indigenous Cultures Institute, scheduled for July 8 through 12 at the Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos at 211 Lee Street. Funded by the San Marcos Arts Commission and Hays County, the camp is for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students and is free for those attending schools in the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District.
"This year we're bringing four Native American artists to teach indigenous arts to the students," says Aaron Pyle, Choctaw, who is coordinating the summer camp. "And the University of Texas at Austin is bringing an outstanding youth theatre component with fun filled creative outlets for the students."
The camp will feature lessons on Native American flute playing offered by Dr. Mario Garza, Miakan-Garza Band, who is also chair of the Institute's board of directors. Each student will receive a flute that they can take home to continue developing their music skills.
"I'll teach the origins of the flute and provide stories that accompany each song," says Dr. Garza. "We want the students to learn about Native American culture, so I'll share rare and unique information about the indigenous people of the Americas. For example, Natives in Peru were using electricity thousands of years before Benjamin Franklin flew his kite."
Teaching the strong, rhythmic, and dynamic steps of Chichimeca danza will be Diana Barragan, Mixteca Ñuu Savi people of Oaxaca, who is a traditional Native dancer and teacher in Austin. This dance style is also known as Aztec dancing and typically showcases huge feathered headdresses and majestic regalia.
Jane Madrigal, Yaqui-Xicana, will come from San Antonio to teach students how to identify and paint their Aztec calendar birthday symbols on bandanas and sashes that they'll wear during the danza. The Aztec month consists of 20 days named after natural elements such as Wind, Water, Rain, and animals like Lizard, Crocodile, Serpent, and others. These days can be matched to modern-day dates to identify a person's Aztec birthday symbol.
Educator and author Carlos Aceves, Mexica, from El Paso, has designed a unique workshop that uses the stars and cosmos to teach indigenous culture, astronomy, math, and writing, through artistic activities. This is a highly interactive workshop and includes storytelling, writing in Aztec style, creating three-dimensional structures, and learning about Native American scientific discoveries.
Roxanne Schroeder-Arce teaches youth theatre at the University of Texas at Austin and has developed a creative movement workshop that is based on indigenous images. Students will use the information they've acquired in the four Native workshops, to create their personal interpretations of this new knowledge. U.T. interns will assist in making this a fun filled activity that inspires confidence, learning, and pride in indigenous heritage.
"We received such enthusiastic reviews from students at our last camp," says Maria Rocha, Institute board member and camp assistant. "Several students told us they wanted another week of camp, and one student wrote, 'Fun-nest camp ever!'."
Parents will drop off students at 1:00 PM and pick them up at 5:30 PM. On Friday afternoon, the students will host a special reception and performances for family members and the public at 5:30 PM.
