The dance group, Danza Cuauhtemoc, opened this year’s Indigeridoo hosted by the American Indian Student Association of CSUN. The event celebrated the heritage of Native American ancestry and resilience.
Unity was the word almost everyone used to describe last night’s event.
“I’ve noticed events like this are welcoming, especially on campus’ because there is so much diversity. There is a genuine comradery because a lot of people of color feel lonely, and I think events like this brings them all together,” said Kit Thomas, an artist, and vendor at the event.
Thomas creates art that she describes as city life meets nature, but she also likes to incorporate her culture as she is Mohawk Iroquois.
The organizers of the event, Sarah Ward and Raven Freebird, said they wanted to try and choose vendors of color for Indigeridoo, although they felt terrible having the artists working for free.
The vendors and performers were donating their time as the American Indian Student Association was donating the profits to a grassroots group in support of Mona Kea called HULI.
“It’s always been a message of unity amongst all the clubs, and that goes beyond the native clubs,” said Ketzali Saravia Umaña, the original creator of Indigeridoo. “It’s about global indigeneity.”
Whether it was students sitting on the grass eating Hot Cheetos and nacho cheese while watching the performers, or walking around and talking to the vendors, the atmosphere at Indigeridoo was welcoming.
“I come from an Aztec background, so it’s nice to have all this culture on campus and somewhere to be able to share it with different people,” said Citalalli Pacheco, a CSUN student attending the event.
Students laughed as they listened to an aspiring rapper, Fernando Pey, perform, and make jokes. His performance brought rappers Donell Taurus and Leon Goodwin to the stage who had previously had their independent sets but ended up mosh pitting and freestyling once again.
“It’s always good to have these little events where everyone can just get together and chill,” said Pey.
Gata Salvaje, who sells feminist merchandise, said she was excited to vend at an indigenous resistance event. Salvaje supported the event and the cause they were raising money for because she believes indigenous resistance is a part of intersectionality.
“When our liberation isn’t intersectional, we are just continuing to uphold the same standards, or the same oppressive systems like patriarchy, racism, sexism, homophobia, all these systems exist and go hand in hand,” said Salvaje.
The Sigma Alpha Zata, Eta Chapter, was also vending and discussing domestic violence in terms of how it affects indigenous people.
The event also included the performances of local valley bands like Leche de Tigre and Be Good Boy. It also featured performances by Ivan Ortega, Codeswitch, and Jennifer Valencia. The last performance was by CSUN student, DJ Medina Chicanx.
“We’re seeing tradition but having fun as well. It’s just having an open space for the community, and creating allies,” said Claudia Nuñez, a member of the sorority and the American Indian Student Association.
