PRESENTATION PREVIEW FOR TEACHERS

NATIVE TALK—Luiseño Storytellers

NATIVE TALK is a storytelling and performing arts group.  Chaz and Cathleen Chilcote are storytellers who become the characters in the traditional California Indian tales that they share with audiences.  Brandon Chilcote Wallace is a musician and provides original and traditional Indian flute music for the presentations.  He also plays a variety of other folk instruments to add sound effects to the stories.

Chaz, Cathleen, and Brandon are Luiseño Indians and members of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians.  The Luiseños are the neighbors to the north of the Kumeyaay Indians.  Luiseño territory spans from Encinitas, north to San Juan Capistrano, and east to the coastal mountains and Mt. Palomar.  The Mission San Luis Rey was built by the Luiseño Indians.  Today there are 7 bands of Luiseño Indians:  San Luis Rey Band, Rincón, Sobóba, Pala, Pauma, La Jolla, and Pechanga.

Students will hear the Luiseño language spoken in the introduction of the performance and they will hear words woven into some of the stories.  Each story ends with the words “Hamú’ Táp” (ha-moo-top) which means “The End”.  Cathleen and Brandon are members of Pechanga’s Luiseño Language Revitilization Program.

Following the introduction, Chaz and Cathleen present a brief history of the Luiseño people.  This is very informative and delivered in storytelling fashion.  Students will learn about the food, homes, religion, and way of life of the early Luiseño Indians prior to the Mission Era.

Brandon, who is 14 and in the eighth grade, will play flute solos on his wooden Native American flutes.  Students will observe the variety of instruments he plays during the presentation and how the music adds to the stories.  During his solo time Brandon will play some songs that are very, very old traditional Indian songs; lullabies that surely our grandmothers knew.

During the 45 minute presentation NATIVE TALK will perform 6 traditional Indian stories in the legend and folktale genre.  Students learn that storytelling is the way that history, culture, and knowledge were passed from generation to generation before there was a written language. Stories were the teachers and each story the students hear has a lesson or moral.  Students should listen for the message or theme of each story.

Students will observe the clothing of the NATIVE TALK performers.  Cathleen wears the full skirt and blouse typical of the post-Mission Era.  Her jewelry is made only from shells, beads, and seeds that were used by the local Indians.  Chaz and Brandon wear ribbon shirts.  These are worn for special occasions, powwows, and ceremonies.  These shirts are specially designed for each man and are often in a solid color or calico material.

Many students feel that Native Americans only appear in the pages of their textbooks, that they all hunted buffalo and no longer exist.  It is the goal of the NATIVE TALK presentation to help students become aware of the unique history and lifestyle of local Indians.   Students will also become aware that local Indians still exist; living in mainstream society while preserving their culture and traditions.

The NATIVE TALK presentation meets California state standards in language arts and social studies across K-6 grade levels.

Language Arts: 

Literary Response and Analysis: 3.0 (K-5), 3.0-3.8 (gr.6)

Listening and Speaking: 2.0 (K), 1.0-1.4 (gr.1-3), 1.0-1.9 (gr.4-6)

Genres and Their Characteristics: 2.0-2.4 (gr. 1-6)

Social Studies:

K.1, K.6, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.2, 2.5, 3.2, 3.3, 4.2, 4.5, 5.1, 5.3, 6.1

Suggested follow-up activities:

1. Stories are powerful teachers.  When someone behaved foolishly, often a story was told to teach the proper behavior.  Students may share the theme or lesson that they felt each story illustrated.  In what long ago situation might one of the stories been used to teach?  After a group discussion students may write their conclusions.

2.  In small groups students may discuss their favorite story from the presentation.  Did it end the way they expected?  Can they think of another way the story might have evolved?  Students may write individual or group stories of their own using the basic structure of the legends and folktales.

3.  Students may draw a scene from their favorite story.  New vocabulary words can be used to label the illustration.

4.  Students may discuss the new facts they have learned about the Luiseño Indians’ lifestyle and history.  They can compare and contrast new information with what they have learned about Indians of other areas of the country.  A five paragraph essay may be written as a follow-up to this discussion.

5.  Students can discuss the variety of musical instruments that were used in the presentation.  What effect did the instruments have on the stories?  Research may be done to find out more about early Native American music and instruments.

For more information about NATIVE TALK, Luiseño history, and a suggested reading list visit:  www.nativetalk.org