VENTURA : Tribal Youths Attend College Workshop

As the sun broke through rain clouds Thursday morning, about 70 Ventura County high school students gathered on a damp lawn at Ventura College and joined hands.

While three men inside the circle beat a table-sized drum, another walked around fanning pungent smoke from a clump of burning sage into students’ faces.

All of Native American descent, the teen-agers had come to the college to meet admissions counselors from universities and to learn about financial aid available to youths of their heritage.

But there is no better way to approach such serious matters, the students said later, than a traditional Native American ceremony such as the ritual with burning sage.

“It made you get into the mood and the spirit,” Ventura High School student Joe Quiroga said. “It made you feel like you’re not intimidated by everyone.”

Indeed, one goal of the Ventura County Indian Education Consortium that sponsors the annual college and career workshop is to bolster the youths’ self-confidence and pride in their heritage.

Funded by a $103,000 annual federal grant, the consortium serves about 800 schoolchildren from Fillmore, Ojai, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Ventura.

Program staff members and volunteers meet with students periodically for mini-lessons on Native American history and culture.

And once a year, the consortium sponsors the college and career workshop for older students.

Besides Ventura College, representatives from technical and business schools, Oxnard College, UC Santa Barbara and a Native American-run university in Kansas attended the workshop Thursday.

In addition to the usual admissions information, the college representatives said they had some messages tailored for students of Native American descent.

UC Santa Barbara counselor Laureen Lewis said she tells teen-agers how her office serves as an extended family for Native American students, putting them in touch with other youths of their heritage and by helping them register with their family’s tribe.

Ventura College counselor David Robles agreed that students need such support, especially when they are new to college.

“To be a support system is the most important thing,” Robles said. “To let them know they’re welcome here.”