JACQUE NUNEZ, A MEMBER of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians Acjachemen Nation, went to a Catholic school to teach students about her Native American culture, but she didn’t want to leave without making sure that all the children knew how their own heritage and differences were gifts from God.
MATTHEW WEST, 10, LEFT, AND COHVEN VITER, 10 WEAVE BASKETS DURING AN ASSEMBLY AT OUR LADY OF FATIMA ACADEMY IN SAN CLEMENTE. PHOTOS BY SCOTT SMELTZER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
“Whether it’s me or any other culture, take time to learn why they are different,” Nunez said. “If you speak a different language at home, that’s a treasure.”
She continued, “If you eat different food at home, that’s a treasure. So, celebrate who you are and be proud of who you are. The one thing that will connect all of us is that I love God and you do, too.”
Our Lady of Fatima Academy in San Clemente hosted Nunez on Sept. 23 for a storytelling assembly about the Acjachemen people for students in TK up to eighth grade. Then Nunez taught the fourth- and fifth-grade students, who study Native Americans more in depth, how to weave baskets. The Juaneño Band of Mission Indians Acjachemen Nation are the original inhabitants of Orange County as well as other parts of Southern California.
ISABELLA CAPELLO, 11, LEFT, GETS HELP WITH THE BASKET FROM HER MOM SHELBY CAPELLO AS SHAYNA MOEDER, 10, LOOKS ON DURING AN ASSEMBLY AT OUR LADY OF FATIMA ACADEMY IN SAN CLEMENTE.
Increasing cultural awareness at the school was one of Principal Jennifer Jukic’s goals this year. In addition to teaching the students about the local indigenous people, Jukic said the message of embracing diversity aligns with the school’s Catholic faith.
“Christ was a friend to all, and He embraced everyone,” Jukic explained. “At Our Lady of Fatima we teach the kids to be like Jesus, which means to be a friend to others and to accept everyone. I think celebrating diversity and culture is being not only educated, but also being a kind person and bringing a smile to someone else.”
Nunez sang traditional Native American songs and had the children play unique musical instruments, including a deer toenail rattle, flutes, whistles and clapper sticks. The Acjachemen nation did not play drums, Nunez pointed out.
The male students acted out hunting, all the children participated in giving thanks through a song, and Nunez showed the prized Abalone shells once used for trading. Nunez also told a story about the first girl in a tribe to be born with freckles and how she was made fun of for her differences.
“I thought it was really interesting to learn about different people’s ways of living or the way they have their food, make their food or their clothing,” said fifth-grader Isabella Cappello, 11.
Cappello went on to say that the story of the girl with freckles reminded her to treat everyone nicely, a lesson she said she learns in Mass.
Fourth-grader Beckett Parnes, 10, agreed with Capello’s takeaway from the story.
“Even if people are different, that makes them cool,” Parnes said. “Differences are cool.”
Fifth-grade teacher Dana Ware had the idea to invite Nunez to speak at Our Lady of Fatima. Ware said fifth- and fourth-graders study Native American cultures; the students look at the tools, resources, art and storytelling history to learn about who the people were. Nunez’s storytelling and artifacts, from the wolf skins, musical instruments, baskets and photographs, bring the learning to life, Ware said.
“The kids really thrive, because they may not remember reading their paragraphs, but they are going to remember this interactive storytelling,” she added. “They are going to remember this, and it will connect back to the deeper learning we are doing in the classroom.”