Native Peoples and Cultures Celebrated in Baja California 

By Dr. Norrie Robbins

Indigenous artists, singers, dancers storytellers and traditional authorities of Baja California gathered on July 29^th  and 30^th overlooking the bay of Ensenada for Nativa 2006, a festival showcasing the vibrant native arts of the region. Paipai, Kumiai, Cucapá, and Kiliwa from the communities of northern Baja California offered traditional and contemporary arts including pottery, baskets, beaded jewelry, bows and arrows, leather articles, music CDs and sculptures. Held beneath the giant flag by the bay, crowds that numbered in the hundreds enjoyed the many sights, sounds and flavors of the kuri kuri gathering as women and girls displayed and discussed traditional dresses and dances, men sang Bird and Wildcat songs and indigenous chefs offered traditional foods of the different tribes and Mexican regions. Rosie Ramierez represented the Southern California Basketmakers displaying baskets, showing weaving techniques, and offering tastings of traditional foods such as chia seeds, lemonade berry, and tasty grasshoppers.  The Baja California Native Artisans in collaboration with the Alliance for Sustainable Development (www.adesu.org) and a host of other groups worked together to organize the event in order to unite indigenous communities, organizations and individuals from Mexico and the United States to preserve and strengthen the region’s cultural and natural heritage. 

 
Binational singer Jon Mesa Curo (L) accompanied by
young Sergio Dominguez of Necua (R) delight
dancers and the public with gourd songs.


Rosie Ramierez displaying traditional foods at the
Southern California Basketmakers’ booth.

Teodora Cuero explains the history and significance
of dress styles during the traditional regalia contest.

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