El Chicano 11/17/22

By Manny Sandoval

and Resource fair still has much to offer

For those living in the coun ty, with identification, chil dren can still take advantage of free vision exams and eye glasses, child and adult physi cals, COVID 19 and flu vac cinations, along with tools and

social service resources from 33 other on site vendors

“It’s so important for chil dren to have adequate vision There’s been many studies on how children are more prone to getting distracted in school and acting out when they can’t see the board, because they cant concentrate So Vision to Learn will be on site adminis

tering same day eye exams and providing children with on the spot prescription eye glasses,” said YVYLA CEO Terrance Stone

Another imperative additive to the event is the inclusion of employment agencies from 10 Fair cont on next pg

By Manny Sandoval

i t y Foundation (IECF) has launched its Cielo Fund and opened its first grant cycle, where an estimated $200,000 will be granted to Latino led and serving non profit organi zations from across the Inland Empire

The fund accepts applications through December 5th, 2022 and will fund up to $15,000

At the CIELO Fund Launch Party in September, the CIELO Fund Chair Jesse Melgar stated that IECF’s goal was to raise $80,000 Still, the organization raised $300,000 to disseminate to organizations that will ele

PHOTO YVYLA

Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy and Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County are seeking volunteers for the November 19th giveaway Volunteer sign ups can be performed on each organization s respective website

PHOTO IECF

Fund raised $300,000 of which $200,000 will be

serving organizations this winter and about $100,000 will be awarded in the form of a scholarship to Latino students in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties in the Spring of 2023

Hundr eds of thousands of dollar s to be g ranted to Latino ser ving organizations via IECF, appl y now

“We have 33 vendors sched uled to attend the Turkey Give away and Resource Fair Aside from having mental and physi cal health resources, an em ployment agency will be on site and helping adults with job placement with one of their partner employers,” said YVYLA Event Coordinator Jennifer Rosales

A food truck will also be on site during the four hour event, serving hot plates of free food “At Young Visionaries, we’re proud to serve youth across San Bernardino County From mental health, to mentoring, providing academic support, social services and more our goal is to utilize our tools and resources as a means to keep

Turkey

Latinos in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties

“We invite all Latino led and serving organizations in River side and San Bernardino Coun ties to apply for the CIELO fund by December 5th We’ve simpli fied the application process and plan to announce the grantees on January 20th, 2023,” said Mel gar

The application process con sists of essential organizational background, data, history, and five questions

“Another opportunity organi zations have is to attend our forthcoming Technical Assis tance Workshop, where you can get your questions answered and get assistance with applying The workshop is scheduled for November 16th at 5 PM If you can’t attend, the session will be

our youth on the right path,” concluded Rosales

“Seventeen years ago YVYLA started this annual turkey giveaway with only 25 turkeys But this year, and for the past few years we’ve been blessed to give away 1,000 turkeys and thanksgiving food boxes, and we couldnt have made this big of an impact without our Partners at CAPSBC,” concluded Stone

The Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway and Reosurce Fair will be located at 696 S Tippecanoe Ave , San Bernardino

To join YVYLA’s mailing list and to stay up to date with forthcoming giveaways, text YVYLA to 22828

For more information, visit yvyla ie org

recorded and uploaded on IECF’s website,” concluded Melgar

According to IECF, Latinos are now the majority of the Inland Empire, making up 51 5% of the population With multiple or ganizations throughout the re gion, the new program will assist non profits with resources to strengthen operations, create a pipeline of leadership, and im plement programs or initiatives that advance the CIELO Fund’s critical areas of focus: economic mobility, education, civic en gagement, health equity, and im migration services

To view grant guidelines, de termine eligibility, and down load a grant application, please v i s i t

https://www iegives org/funds/ci elogrant/ In addition, organiza tions may submit questions by email to cielo@iegives org

Community News

This November, Cal State San Bernardino celebrates Native American Heritage Month with a series of events to honor Na tive American culture, traditions and contributions This year ’s theme echoes last year ’s: “Decoloniz ing Across Communities ”

One of the highlights in a long list of exciting events includes a closing ceremony on Tuesday, Nov 29, featuring state Assemblymember James Ramos, D Highland, a CSUSB alumnus and the first California born Native American elected to the California Assembly, along with bird singers and words of wisdom from CSUSB Indigenous leaders

The 2022 Native American Heritage Month (NAHM) events include:

Nov 1 Basket Weaving | First Peoples’ Center | 4 6 p m | Come join the First Peoples’ Center (FPC) as we celebrate Native American Heritage Month with one of the oldest, but still very rele vant practices Join Lorene Sisquoc, Sherman In dian School Museum curator, as she teaches the tradition of basket weaving, which was practiced by many tribes for various uses Come have fun with us as we weave our own baskets!

Nov 1 NAHM Kickoff Lecture with Professor Gerald Clark and Dinner | FPC | 6 8 p m (food provided by off campus vendor) | Come join us for our kickoff talk with Cahuilla artist and UC River side assistant professor, Gerald Clarke, who is also a cattle rancher, small business owner, father and active member of the Cahuilla Band of Mission In dians He currently lives on the reservation, work ing on his family’s ranch, and is culturally active, having served on the Tribal Council as vice chair man Clark is also an ethnic studies professor at the University of California, Riverside and a newly appointed member of the California Arts Council

Healing Circle hosted by Paula Guadron from Riverside San Bernardino County Indian Health Inc This Healing Circle is an opportunity for all Indigenous and non Indigenous students, staff and faculty to be in a safe space as we talk and be vul nerable with each other The Healing Circle gives all a chance to open up and vent for better mental health and to know that here in the First Peoples’ Center, they are always welcome and always have a community here

Nov 16 Wisdom Wednesday with Molly Springer | FPC | noon 1 p m | Come have a relax ing afternoon in the First Peoples’ Center as we soak in words of wisdom from our CSUSB In digenous leader Molly Springer (Cherokee Na tion/Osage), associate vice president of student success and educational equity in the Division of Student Affairs Meet with mentors Springer, Daisy Ocampo (Caz’Ahmo Indigenous Nation of Zacatecas), assistant professor of history, and Robert Levi Jr (Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians), elder/culture bearer in residence, who provide over 80+ years of combined knowledge and experience in education as Indigenous people

Nov 18 Thanks taking Gathering | Obershaw Dining Hall (SMSU East) | noon 2 p m | Students and the community will get together to celebrate the resilience and survival of our people and cul tures, as well as celebrate the harvest season for some Indian tribes We will gain perspectives from Indian people from different regions about how Thanksgiving has affected people in these regions We will also highlight the irony in the term “Thanksgiving,” exposing the United States for “giving” nothing while “taking” everything Come celebrate our people with cultural songs and food!

Community news

The San Bernardino City Unified School District governing Board is seek ing applicants for superintend ent Applications can be accessed via the application link and will be accepted through November 30, 2022 The new educational leader for California’s seventh largest school district is slated to be named by February 2023 Candidates must have the back ground, skills, and abilities es sential for excellence in educational leadership

In October, the Board hired McPherson & Jacobson, LLC, an executive search firm that spe cializes in education, to lead a nationwide search for SB CUSD’s next leader As part of the new search, the Board is seeking input from parents, em ployees, and the community on desired characteristics through a survey that will help shape the search process by asking respon dents to weigh in on the personal and professional qualities they want in a new top administrator

The educational partner input survey is available now and closes Friday, November 18

An educational partner input meeting for select participants will be held on Tuesday, Novem ber 8 A Superintendent Criteria Board of Education workshop will be held Tuesday, November 15 at 4 p m in the Dr Margaret Hill Community Room at the Board of Education building, 777 North F Street in San Bernardino, and the public can attend A community forum for input is on Monday, November 14 from 6 to 7 p m also in the Dr Margaret Hill Community Room

The virtual participation is lim ited to the first 500 participants who register The plan is to inter view semifinalists for the post at the end of January It is antici pated that the process will be completed in January 2023, and a contract would be offered by February 2023 Applicants may view a District profile, a search timeline, and more info about the District on a webpage devoted to the superintendent search

Nov 3 Center for Indigenous Studies Faculty Lecture: “We are Still Here The Need for Decol onization” presented by CSUSB professor Hannah Kivalahula Uddin | College of Education, Room 209 | noon 1 p m | Kivalahula Uddin has a Ph D in educational psychology, three master ’s degrees in education, and has worked for 20 years in P 12 Indian Education in various roles such as princi pal, educational program administrator and school counselor You’re invited to hear her speak on the role of decolonization and the effect that it can have in life, work and the shaping of critical ped agogy

Nov 4 Talk with Elizabeth Brierty, Education Coordinator at San Manuel | FPC | noon 2 p m | Come and get together with members of the San Manuel community, our tribal community right next door to CSUSB Elizabeth Brierty serves as the San Manuel education coordinator and she will share more about her own history, her role with the community, and how students can also work in ed ucation for tribal communities

Nov 9 Wisdom Wednesday with Daisy Ocampo | FPC | noon 1 p m (snacks provided) | Come have a relaxing afternoon in the First Peo ples’ Center as we soak in words of wisdom from our CSUSB Indigenous leader Daisy Ocampo (Caz’Ahmo Indigenous Nation of Zacatecas), as sistant professor of history Meet with mentors Ocampo, Molly Springer (Cherokee Nation/Osage), associate vice president of student success and educational equity in the Division of Student Affairs, and Robert Levi Jr (Torres Mar tinez Desert Cahuilla Indians), elder/culture bearer in residence, who provide over 80+ years of com bined knowledge and experience in education as Indigenous people

Nov 10 Healing Circle | FPC | noon 1 p m | Come join us in the First Peoples’ Center for our

Nov 18 Truth and Healing Commission | Ya suda Center | 9 a m 4:30 p m | The California Truth & Healing Council, created by Governor Newsom via Executive Order N 15 19, bears wit ness to, records, examines existing documentation of, and receives California Native American nar ratives regarding the historical relationship be tween the State of California and California Native Americans in order to clarify the historical record of such relationship in the spirit of truth and heal ing The council is led and convened by the Gov ernor ’s Tribal Advisor and governed by a Governing Council of California Native American leaders, and may include additional non voting representatives from California Native American tribes, relevant state and local agencies, and other relevant non governmental stakeholders Regis tration and additional details will be updated here as they become available

Nov 29 Closing with Assemblymember Ramos and Bird Singing | SMSU North Court Patio | 2 3 p m |Assemblymember James Ramos, D High land, is a member of the Serrano & Cahuilla tribes and a CSUSB alumnus He is the first California born Native American elected to the state Assem bly On Nov 6, 2018, he was elected to represent the 40th District, which includes the cities of High land, Loma Linda, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands and San Bernardino

Nov 30 Wisdom Wednesday with Elder Robert Levi Jr | FPC | noon 1 p m (snacks provided) | Come have a relaxing afternoon in the First Peo ples’ Center as we soak in words of wisdom from our Indigenous leader Robert Levi Jr (Torres Mar tinez Desert Cahuilla Indians), elder/culture bearer in residence

For more information and updates, visit the CSUSB Native American Heritage Month website and follow the First Peoples’ Center on Instagram, @firstpeoplescenter csusb

C

U S B a n d l o c a l c o m m u n i t y i n v i t e d t o c e l eb r a t e

N a t i v e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e M o n t h

C a d e n C e n t e r

USC vs UCLA to r e new football rivalr y this weekend

By Caden Henderson

The USC vs UCLA crosstown ri valry has been rather dull the past few seasons, as one of or both teams involved have either been struggling or on the decline at the time of the game

But this year, the stakes are raised With a PAC12 championship berth on the line and maybe even, for USC, a col lege football playoff spot on the line, this rivalry is sure to give us plenty of action this Saturday, so let’s preview the matchups and predict who will come out on top

Starting with UCLA, they have sur prised a lot of people this season, even despite their upset loss last week to Ari zona Led by QB Dorian Thompson Robinson, better known as DTR, the Bruins offense has sliced up defenses all season, and will surely still be ranked in

the top 20 at the time of the rivalry game However, all of this comes down to the game vs USC If the Bruins lose, they will be eliminated from PAC12 championship contention, and their hopes of a big time bowl game may also drop significantly

For UCLA to win, they will need to ei ther stop USC’s highly talented offense, or win a shootout against the Trojans, meaning DTR will have to lead the Bru ins to a similar performance as last year, when he led his team to put up 62 points in a blowout win vs the Trojans But, both of these scenarios are easier said than done, because USC has business to take care of

Outside of their heartbreaking 1 point loss on a last second 2 point conversion to Utah, Lincoln Riley’s first year coaching USC has been perfect Led by QB Caleb Williams and WR Jordan Ad dison, the Trojans rank top 10 in all of college football in just about every sta

tistical offensive category, including their streak of 4 straight games with 40 or more points As for the defensive side of the ball, it hasn’t been as good for USC The run defense has been disap pointing but they do seem to have built up some momentum over the past cou ple of weeks If USC manages to win the game, they will be headed to the PAC12 conference championship game and possibly be just 2 wins away from a college football playoff appearance However, if USC wants to really make a statement to the CFP committee that they deserve a playoff spot, the defense will need to show up with the offense, and put UCLA to bed early

With the preview of both teams out of the way, it’s prediction time While I did say if USC really wanted to make a statement they’d blow the Bruins out, I think UCLA is just too talented for that to happen However, I do see the Tro jans still winning by a score of 48 38 in a game that proves to be an offensive shootout like many expect

No matter how the game goes though, at the end of the day it’s USC vs UCLA with championship aspira tions on the line, and it doesn’t get much better than that Tune into the battle of LA this Saturday at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST on Fox to see all of the action go down

Community News

The San Bernardino County Probation De partment received funds for an intensive proba tion supervision program for high risk DUI offenders with multiple DUI convictions

The $620,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), approved by the Board of Supervisors, will go toward additional proactive home contacts with probation ers to make sure they are fol lowing court ordered terms of their probation and prevent probationers from re offend ing

“The grant provides critical resources and services, which will hopefully help individuals get back on track and reduce the number of alcohol and drug involved traffic colli sions,” Chief Probation Officer Tracy Reece said “Without funding from the OTS, the su pervision program would be adversely impacted ”

This year, funding will allow for an additional officer to pro vide supervision to high risk offenders in underserved com munities

“The safety of our communi ties is a top priority and inten sive supervision programs hold DUI offenders accountable for their actions,” OTS Director

“This concerted effort im proves the safety of our road ways by addressing the devastating impacts impaired driving has on our communi ties ”

The probation grant will also pay for warrant operations tar geting probation violations and/or DUI suspects who do not appear in court, alcohol testing, treatment compliance, DMV restrictions, and special weekend, evening and holiday operations to enforce terms of probation

The grant program runs through September 2023

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

SB County Pr obation awarded g rant to super vise people with multiple DUI convictions

Barbara Rooney said

Community News

“Hakup ye'aye'a'n taamit ya'ki' nepuuyum?” says Araujo Levinson in Ser rano “Beautiful day isn’t it, my friends?”

“Werre’! Haminat!” the stu dents reply in unison “Yes! Hello!”

Twice a week, Araujo Levin son sets out from Riverside to make the 60 mile roundtrip drive to the Morongo Indian Reservation, home to the Mo rongo Band of Mission Indians, to teach Serrano language classes to approximately 100 pre school through eighth grade students Serrano, a subset of the Uto Aztecan language, is an In digenous California language thought to be more than 2,500 years old

“It is said that the Serrano lan guage is ancient, that the Creator gave the people their language,” said Araujo Levinson Sadly, it is a language that faces extinc tion

But Araujo Levinson is deter mined to change that A lan guage preservation specialist with the Morongo Cultural Her itage Department, he has learned at least 15 Indigenous California languages, all of which face ex tinction

“I think it is important to pre serve these languages because the history, perspective of the

people, culture, and anything similar is engraved into the lan guage,” he said “Once it is gone, you lose so much ”

His goal: to help his students understand how important learn ing a native language is to their identities, and to ignite in them “a fire and a spark to want to be the best speaker,” he said

For more than half his life, the 26 year old math major has him self been infused with a spark and fascination for other lan guages As a high school stu dent, he challenged himself to learn 10 languages, which had the unintended and therapeutic consequences of lifting him out of depression, a condition he still experiences Today, he said, “Languages and mathematics are my therapy ” A personal essay recounting his multilin gualism was included in a 2016 book titled “The Bible of Lan guage Learners and Polyglots” by Jimmy Mello

In 2017, his curiosity about California’s Indigenous lan guages led him to Ernest Siva, an elder, tribal historian and cul tural advisor with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians Siva’s aunt, Dorothy Ramon, who died in 2002 at age 93, was the last “pure” speaker of Serrano, meaning it was her first lan guage as she grew up Siva and his wife founded the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center in Ban ning to inspire and advance dis covery, understanding and

continuance of tribal cultures

In November of 2017, Siva and Araujo Levinson began to meet weekly, and over the course of the next 13 months, the elder be came Araujo Levinson’s mentor, teaching him the Serrano lan guage during their one on one sessions The lessons included much more than language in struction

“During the first meeting, I re alized Mr Siva knew more of the language than I anticipated,” Araujo Levinson recalled “Whether it was the language or songs or history, I learned some thing new at every meeting ”

During those meetings, Siva also passed along a philosophy that Araujo Levinson has adopted, and “holds near and dear ” That is, “You teach [the language] to whoever wants to know Of course, there are boundaries ” For example, he explained, he would never ask Siva about topics that are sacred to the culture “But if somebody wants to learn how to say hi, how to say the color blue, you tell them I think Mr Siva fol lows the example of his aunt and his elders, who shared what they knew and what they learned to keep the language alive ”

Araujo Levinson learned the language quickly, and at Siva’s recommendation, he was hired as a language preservation spe cialist in March 2019 and began teaching Serrano at the Morongo

School, where it is a required class for all students

Stories about Siva and Araujo Levinson’s unique relationship and their efforts to revitalize California’s Indigenous lan guages have been featured in the L A Times, on KCRW radio and on the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center web site And in an op ed for the L A Times, Araujo Levinson makes a compelling case for the importance of keeping Califor nia’s Indigenous languages alive

Looking toward the future, Araujo Levinson plans to grad uate in December and pursue a

Ph D in math in the field of mirror symmetry

Where does language fit in?

“It’s always going to be a hobby of mine, regardless,” he said “As I mentioned earlier about the philosophy I learned from Mr Siva, I’m always will ing to help teach whoever wants to know ”

And, after researching his own family history and discovering the story of his great grandfa ther, Carmen Cisneros, a de scendant of the Mixtec, a Mexican Indigenous group, he plans to study, and eventually speak, the language of his own ancestors

CSUSB student deter mined to r evive and pr eser ve Calif or nia’s Indigenous langua ges

San Ber nardino Animal Shelter of fering fr ee pet micr ochipping in November and December

Community

In an effort to ensure lost pets are reunited with their owners during the holidays, the City of San Bernardino Animal Services Depart ment will be offering residents of San Bernardino and Loma Linda the chance to microchip their pets for free through December 31 Grant funding from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the California Animal Welfare Fun ders Collaborative is making this op portunity possible

Microchipping is available Tuesday through Saturday between 10:00 am

and 4:00 pm at the Shelter, located at 333 Chandler Place in San Bernardino No appointment is necessary The mi crochipping and registration into the pet ID database only take a few minutes

“Microchipping is far and away the best way to quickly get lost or stolen pets back to their families,” said San Bernardino Animal Services Director Kris Watson “Thanks to scanning, our Animal Control officers are often able to immediately return lost pets to their homes without ever bringing the ani mals into the Shelter ”

A study by Ohio State University found that microchipped cats were 20

times more likely to be reunited with their families than non microchipped cats and microchipped dogs were re united at a rate 2 5 times more often than dogs that weren’t microchipped

Pet microchips are implantable com puter chips that encode a unique iden tification number to help reunite owners with their lost pet They are no bigger than a grain of rice and they are placed under a pet’s skin The proce dure is quick and painless for the ani mal Unlike collars and ID tags, they can never break or fall off When the chip is scanned, the pet’s encoded chip identification is recognized by the scan ner With the chip identification number

in hand, reuniting a pet with their fam ily is only a phone call away

San Bernardino Animal Services re minds current pet owners with mi crochips if any of your contact information (phone number, address, email) has changed, to be sure you up date your microchip registration online in the database

The free microchipping promotion is limited to residents of San Bernardino and Loma Linda For more information, contact San Bernardino Animal Serv ices at (909) 384 1304

Superher o-Me Halloween Dr ug Fr ee Concer t at the Uptown San Ber nardino Urban Garden

More than 400 youth and fam ilies from the Inland Empire celebrated a drug free con cert, costume and pumpkin decorating contest at the first annual Superhero Me Halloween event this past Sunday evening at the San Bernardino County Urban Garden

Music Changing Lives (MCL), the In stitute for Public Strategies (IPS), and Mental Health Systems (TURN BHS) hosted the free event in the garden which provides a safe, drug and alco hol free space to empower individuals to live vibrant, healthy, and productive lifestyles

During the event, local aerosol artists Lefty, Rondeezyyy, and Vibrantinflux guided the youth in creating a series of murals with themes that support and en courage young people to choose drug free lifestyles Local artist Christine White also collaborated with dozens of children to paint pumpkins

“The use of art and art therapy to treat

substance use disorders dates back to the 1950s I believe we can also utilize art to prevent youth from getting in volved in drugs and alcohol by giving them creative outlets to express them selves,” said Lupita Martinez, who manages the East Valley Community Change Project for IPS

The concert featured live perform ances from rapper Suga T and the San tana cover band, Europa Parents and youth also received action focused in formation on the positive effects of avoiding drugs and alcohol

“In this day and age kids are inundated with negative images and influences, but we can also arm parents with good data and research If parents talk to their children early and often about these substances, we can protect our youth from many of the high risk behaviors associated with these drugs,” said Vania Ramirez, who is a Prevention Specialist for the Central Valley Prevention Pro gram, a project of TURN BHS

The urban garden is the brainchild of Josiah Bruny, the Chief Executive Of ficer of Music Changing Lives, an or

ganization that aims to inspire and em power youth with a holistic approach that includes music, art, financial liter acy, civic engagement, food stability, and gardening based programs

Last year, Bruny created the Urban Garden Initiative, a public private part nership that hopes to raise a half million dollars to build a welcome center, am phitheater, and a learning center on the acre of land located on the corner of Electric Avenue and North 40th Street

Local nonprofits including the IPS and TURN BHS have joined the Inland Empire Health Plan and the Inland Em pire Resource Conservation District in providing resources to help fulfill Bruny’s vision

“I am humbled to finally have partners that work together and not against one another It’s a breath of fresh air We are in our communities and on the ground day in and day out It’s hard for me to express in words how important it is to finally have partners that under stand your worth and value,” Bruny said

Shab Elawar, who has lived in San Bernadino for more than two decades, donated the land for the garden with the goal of creating a local food sustainabil ity program

“We can utilize nature to become more independent,” Elawar said “When all the agencies and resources come to gether to support the garden and hold activities here like the concert, it be comes more impactful for the commu nity It shows the community cares about them, they are not living on the side anymore ”

The garden is also home to Soulful Sundays: held on the fourth Sunday of every month, local residents are invited to visit the garden for gardening work shops and various volunteer opportuni ties, while enjoying music, food, and more

More information on Soulful Sunday events can be found on MCL's Face book page To learn how to contribute to the Urban Garden Initiative, please contact: Josiah Bruny at 951 992 0721