A Chance to Help Is Also a Chance to Learn

It has been a year since the Red Wind International Inter-Nation Native American tribe lost its schoolhouse in a raging fire.

This weekend, Orange County residents pitched in, organizing a fund-raiser and cultural ceremony on Main Street in Garden Grove, with proceeds from the Native American Cultural Days going toward building the new Red Wind University.

Although members of the tribe raised only about half of the $4,000 they had hoped for, the weekend event offered an opportunity to share Native American culture with the community at large.

Dozens of folks strolled the closed-off plaza, gazing at Native American jewelry, listening to tribal music and soaking in some Native American philosophy.

“I think this is a great idea,” said Mario Busto of Garden Grove. “People should see all the different cultures. It increases the sense of community and awareness for the people who live in this area.”

Red Wind International Inter-Nation was founded in 1972 by Ernie Long Walker, a member of the Dokatah Nation from South Dakota. In 1979, Long Walker and his wife, Warrior Woman, founded the school, surrounded by 240 acres of tribal land in the Los Padres National Forest, and focused on teaching the values cherished by Native Americans.

The school also provided outreach services to tribal youths and offered alcohol and drug rehabilitation.

“This school is an alternative to the madness of public schools,” Long Walker said.

But the accidental fire in the summer of 1996 destroyed the buildings that housed the school’s books and recreational materials.

The idea to hold the festival on Main Street was hatched by Liz Harper, a retired nurse who owns Harper’s Trading Post, a Native American jewelry and craft store on Main Street. Harper said she and Carlos Betancure, a member of the International Inter-Nation tribe, organized the two-day festival with city officials and vendors, hoping enough money could be raised to help rebuild the school.

Betancure said they were barely breaking even by Sunday afternoon. Still, the idea of exposing Orange County residents to Native American values and culture made the event worthwhile, he said.

“What better way to let people know that Red Wind exists?” said Betancure, who lives in San Juan Capistrano. “Why not bring people out so we can dispel the myths about Native Americans and explain the culture?”

Dickie Jumel of San Juan Capistrano said she had learned how to respect nature through the teachings of Native Americans.

“They are one with nature,” said Jumel, as she looked at photographs of legendary chiefs, including Sitting Bull. “We have destroyed the planet. We have to come back to a more simple way of life.”