S1: It's time for Midday Edition on Kpbs. San Diego saw record breaking rainfall and widespread flooding. We'll have the latest I'm Jade Hindman. Here's the conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. Yesterday's rainfall was too much , too fast.
S2: And let's put it in perspective. Yeah , it was a top five rainiest day in San Diego.
S1: So what does this mean about our changing weather patterns ? Plus , we'll talk about youth and their activism to preserve culture. That's ahead on midday Edition. You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. It's been 108 days since October 7th , when violence escalated into war between Israel and Hamas , the militant group in control of Gaza. Israel continues with its military campaign , which has since killed more than 2500 Palestinians and displaced more than 85% of Gaza's population. More than 200 Israeli soldiers have also been killed. Earlier this month , South Africa brought Israel to the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide. A temporary order is expected within the next few weeks , but a final ruling on whether what's happening to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is genocide could take several years. Across the country , activists and community members continue to demand an immediate cease fire in Gaza. Many of those organizing protest strikes and boycotts are young people. I'm joined now by Sabrina Hoodie , an organizer with the San Diego chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement , a grassroots group leading some of these efforts. She's here to talk more about how the group is organizing locally. Welcome , Sabrina. Hi.
S3: Hi. Thank you for having me today.
S1: Glad to have you here. Before we talk about your work with the Palestinian youth movement. I want to talk about where you got your start in organizing. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. So I was born and raised here in San Diego to Palestinian refugee parents. So for me , like organizing for Palestine and organizing in general has always been something that was in me. I got more involved specifically with Pim after they had an event that was connecting Zionist actions in Latin America and showing the similarities between what Zionism is , how Zionism is affecting Latin America to what's going on in Palestine and through like events like that. I actually joined PIM and I've been active with them ever since. Yeah.
S4: Yeah.
S1: And Zionism , for those who don't know , is a political nationalist movement and ideology calling for an independent Jewish state , which is now Israel. So , Sabra Lane , there's also been a surge of young people wanting to learn more about the history behind the conflict and how they can really get involved themselves.
S3: It's very also unfortunate that , you know , it took the genocide that's happening in Gaza right now to get people to kind of get a bit more educated on what's been going on. But , you know , through the past , I want to say 100 plus days since the genocide started , we've been seeing an increase of not only students wanting to get more active and get more educated about what's been happening in Palestine , but a lot of like older people as well. And we see that with like the increase of non Arabs and non Palestinians to actions and events that we've been hosting across the county. And it's been great. You know , they've been coming and they've been trying to get more educated. So I think it's great also because a lot of people a lot of students haven't realized that , you know , we as us taxpayers , we as Americans , you know , here in the United States that we are paying for a lot of what's been happening in Gaza and in Palestine. You know , we're funding a lot of the occupation. We're funding a lot of the genocide and the the arms that are being sent to Israel. So it's great to see people are starting to get educated on the matter and , you know , starting to do more action.
S1:
S3: There wasn't a lot of people showing up for Palestine , and it was mostly just , you know , Palestinians or their community or Arab people or Muslims in general , tending either our actions or our events and kind of being the people who want to listen , because those are the people who have historically been , you know , attacked or basically like threatened with like Zionism and things like that , or impacted , I should say. And with the new , you know , with the genocide that's been happening and with the ongoing situation in Gaza and the rest of occupied Palestine , we're starting to see an increase of non Arabs , non-Muslim , non Palestinians who are starting to get educated and starting to kind of come to these events and wanting to get more educated and starting to look at their government and , you know , their elected officials and saying , why are we funding this. So despite it being a very like , you know , horrible situation that's happening in Gaza , the people are starting to wake up and it's it's been great to see that.
S1: You know , as as young people feel more empowered and are interested and are using their voices.
S3: We are the Palestinian youth movement. It's in our name and , you know , the youth are the future. So I also I think it's important that we recognize that the youth that have been coming up with , you know , in the last couple of years , it hasn't just been the genocide that's been happening in Gaza. It's also , you know , with the Black Lives Matter movement , people are sick and tired of our country's lack of , you know , engagement and listening to the people and the youth are really going to be the one who are changing the tides. And we're going to have the majority vote eventually. And I think it's it's really important that the politicians right now , you know , especially Joe Biden , they need to start catering to the youth and the young people because we are the future , we are the movement. And without us , you know , without our vote , they're really not going to get anywhere without us. So I think it's important that they start paying attention to the youth.
S1: The Palestinian youth movement recently did a banner drop on the I-5 and organized a protest in front of the county administration building.
S3: A lot of these , you know , mass mobilizations , whether it's what happened over the weekend or the statewide California action that happened up in San Francisco , you know , there were buses that came from San Diego that went up to San Francisco , buses from LA all across the state. And all these people , you know , they want our elected officials to recognize that we we want an end to what's happening. And it's also a reminder to our community and the people who haven't engaged in Palestine or haven't engaged what's been happening for the past 100 plus days. That there is a genocide happening in Palestine , and whether or not you want to pay attention to it , it's happening. And we as Americans again , are part of the problem. We are funding the genocide. We're funding the occupation. And whether you like it or not , we're part of the problem. So I think it's important that everyone starts to wake up and these protests and these mass mobilizations , they're important to remind not only our internal community , whether it be Arab Palestinians and the people who are affected by Zionism. But it's also a reminder that we're contributing to Zionism as American citizens here in the States and.
S1: Outside of protest. Another way that you reach people is through art. I know that recently you all helped organize Resist My People , Resist Them , which was a night dedicated to the poetry of Palestinian writers , educators , and activists.
S3: And basically this was very important for our community to remind us that , yes , we do. We can host actions like mass mobilizations and , um , banner drops and things like that , but also that , you know , the arts are also a way to change people's hearts and motivate them into seeing the bigger picture and thinking more critically. And it's also just , you know , a way for us to stay connected as a community , because a lot of what is happening in Gaza and in the rest of Palestine is affecting all of us here. You know , as Palestinians , we see what's happening , and it's just a constant reminder of what has been going on for the past 75 plus years , since 1948 , you know , with the creation of the State of Israel and the Nakba that had happened to Palestinians. So for us , it's important to host these more artistic events as well , just , you know , so we can stay connected as a community and , and stay grounded in that sense.
S1: So does it help create this sense of solidarity with other community members to be in a space like that ? Yeah.
S3: Of course. I mean , when we host events like this , we're not doing it alone as PIM. We're doing it with other local organizations , whether that be annexation , whether that be pillars of the community. But , you know , all of these efforts , they can't be done alone. So we're mobilizing together. We're mobilizing with our community. We're mobilizing with those who also know that they're all part of this movement. And , you know , the Free Palestine movement , the mass mobilizations that we're having for Palestine. It's not just about Palestine. It's about getting freedom and liberation for all people who have experienced occupation , who have experienced racism , who've experienced any sort of struggle.
S1: And this all hits close to home for you , right ? Yeah.
S3: I mean , for me , both of my family members , both of my family , my parents , they're both , you know , refugees and both sides of my family , uh , grew up in refugee camps. So when I see what's happening in Gaza , I'm constantly reminded that , you know , not 20 miles away from what's happening in Gaza. My , my. He still lives in a refugee camp over there.
S1:
S3: But a lot of these people are calling on us not only as Palestinians , but as , you know , the global , the international community , people , you know , who have human consciousness. They're calling on us , you know , to strike and to continue to push our elected officials , to continue to push our communities , to remind everyone that we're still here. So they're calling on these strikes , and it's our responsibility as Palestinians. It's our responsibility as human beings and people who , you know , care about human well-being , that we answer the call for the strikes. We're answering for the call , the call for mass mobilizations and protests , and to continue to push that our government listens and stop sending and funding the genocide that's happening.
S1: You know , many of the Palestinian journalists still in Gaza are younger.
S3: You know , a lot of them barely graduated college and were expecting to go on to , you know , careers other than doing , you know , journalism. But I am glad that they have gone out of their way to do this for us. And they're doing it for Palestinians , not only in the , you know , in the diaspora , but for for the rest of the humanity to kind of see and witness what's happening firsthand. I don't think they asked to be part of this. You know , it's just something that came out for them. And they're they're doing this despite knowing that , you know , maybe today won't be the maybe will be their last day on earth. And , and they're still , you know , putting their , their life at risk and danger. And , you know , they're recording all of what's happening and they're they're doing their job. And it's like , as a young person , I , I see this and I , and I , you know , I pray for them and I pray that they're like doing that. They're doing okay. And that hopefully , you know , you know , with our efforts here in the diaspora that we're able to try to get a cease fire. But I also think it's kind of crazy that we have , you know , young journalists like this putting their life on the line and putting their lives at risk every day. And we haven't seen , you know , Western media or the more larger media kind of come out and condemn what's happening. It's it's very like saddening to see what's happening in Gaza and Palestine. But they push us to move forward , you know , and they encourage us every day that they're going through this genocide and they're able to show us what's going on. And us here in the diaspora , it's our job , and it's our duty to make sure that what they're showing doesn't go unnoticed and to continue to push it out.
S1: You talked earlier about working with other grassroots groups and marginalized communities in San Diego. Why is it important to have these coalitions where a lot of groups are represented , and how does it help in your advocacy and cause ? Yeah.
S3: So Pim , PIM San Diego is actually part of a coalition called San Diego for Palestine. And this coalition is made up of a lot of other groups , like health care workers for Palestine , uh , American Muslims for Palestine Care , JVP. And it's important that we , you know , establish coalitions like this because we as one org can't do all the work and we as one org , we can't reach the entire community base. So , you know , with coalitions like this , we've been able to mobilize more quickly. We've been able to mobilize more strongly. And I think it also shows that we're we are a community. We need these coalitions. We need to remind people that one struggle is as everyone's struggle. And like I said , you know , the Free Palestine movement isn't just for free Palestine , it's for a free liberated. We're calling for a free and liberated community for for all marginalized peoples. And and I think the coalition helps to kind of push that narrative as well.
S1:
S3: Is a grassroots , transnational organization , and we've been around for a while. Our job here is to get our community active and get our community politically educated and engaging politically as well. And I think it's important that people , you know , see that , you know , this we didn't kind of just start off back in October. We've been around for a while , and we've been organizing for Palestine for a very long time. So check out our online , our website , check out our Instagram. And and you can learn more about us and you can stay connected with us.
S1: I've been speaking with Sabrina Dumb Anhui , an organizer with the Palestinian Youth movement. A determination is still yet to be made on whether or not what is happening in Gaza can be called a genocide legally. As the International Court of Justice deliberates South Africa's case against Israel. So , Brian , thank you so much for joining us and sharing your story.
S3: Yeah , thank you so much for having me.
S1: Coming up , the conversation moves to the youth movement to preserve Kumeyaay culture.
S5: Every time I breathe , every time I get up , every time I speak a little bit of my language , you know , pray a little bit in the morning or anything like that , I feel like I'm celebrating being a Kumeyaay woman.
S1: You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition , I'm Jade Hindman. For generations , indigenous people were prohibited from openly practicing religious , spiritual , and cultural traditions. This kept many families from passing along culture and identity to their children. But in recent decades , since the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978 , there's been a greater effort to reclaim those traditions and close the generational gap. I'm joined by two Kumeyaay women who are out in the community , representing their culture and heritage , and passing it along to the next generation. Harmony Sweetgrass is Miss Kumeyaay Nation for 2023 and 2024. Welcome , Harmony. Hi.
S5: Hi.
S1: And Jaelyn Pham , member of the bird dancer group Saquon Byrd girls. Jada Lynn , welcome to you too. Hi.
S5: Thank you for having me. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. So glad to have you both on the show today. So , Harmony , you're the first Miss Kumeyaay Nation from the Saquon Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. What does that recognition and that role mean to you ? Yeah.
S5: So deciding to run for this title was very personal to me , because I am the first to have ever not only ran , but also when the coveted title , um , to be from the Saquon Band and the culmination. So it took me a long time to prep for because I knew that it wasn't just for me , this title , but it was for my family and for my tribe and for the young women and girls from Saquon. So that to me , again , was very personal. I knew I wanted to do things the right way , so I took my time and prepping for it. It took me years. Um , this was my last year to run. The age requirement is from 14 years old to 22 , and I just turned 22. So it was either , you know , all or nothing , and I put my all into it and I got it. And it has been such an amazing opportunity to experience all these different things of representing my tribe and my people and going to different conventions and youth programs and conferences and just getting out there and meeting new people and just learning so much about myself , and also continuing to learn about my people. That's what this really like. This title has given me such an amazing opportunity to continue to learn.
S1: Yeah , and I don't think people realize how much preparation goes into , um , this. So that's that's excellent that you did that. So in this role , you represent all 12 sovereign bands that make up the Kumeyaay Nation. What are your other responsibilities as Miss Kumeyaay Nation ? I mean , what have you learned since starting ? Yeah.
S5: So some of my responsibilities , they include a list that is given to me by my committee of events that I'm required to go to. So anything that's happening within the Kumeyaay Nation or anything that is Kumeyaay related , I kind of go as a representation of our nation. Also , one of the responsibilities is to kind of just use my platform , um , to the best of my ability , because I am supposed to be a role model figure within the community to our young women and our young girls. So a lot that I've been doing is just continuing my work with , um , the group that me and my cousin Jaylene created , the Saquon Byrd Girls , and we created that to create like a safe space within our community for our young women and girls to be able to practice their traditional dances and , you know , different traditions without fear of judgment or , you know , fear of asking dumb questions or anything. So we wanted to create a space where everybody felt welcomed , everybody felt safe. So that is really important to me to continue my work with that. But yeah , that's basically my responsibilities. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And Jada Lynn , like Harmony mentioned , you are a part of the Saquon Byrd girls. Tell me more about that and your commitment to the group.
S5: So my role I guess kind of in this group is you know we're we both post things. You know we go out to these events and we're dancing either it's a powwow or gathering um , or even Harmony's gets asked to do a land acknowledgement and we go dance. This platform is really important to , you know , both of us , um , because it's a way to kind of motivate and encourage not just our youth , but as well as our adults in our community who didn't get the opportunity to learn and , you know , didn't have the resources that , you know , even our generation has now.
S1: Well , and that's that's something interesting that you bring. Up is , you know that the adults in generations past didn't get the opportunity to really learn about the culture , to practice the religion. I guess I wonder if there have been any challenges to sort of relearning that and connecting with that since the older generations couldn't.
S5: Yeah , I guess there is this sort of harder or bigger disconnect needing to go out and find these teachers or these mentors and not expecting kind of everything to be taught to us , even though that is , you know , our way. It's taught through our families , our aunties , our moms , our dads , our uncles , and even , you know , our grandmas and grandpas. It's , uh , difficult to , like I said , to try and find these teachers. So that's another thing that I think is so great is that we are publicly posting , I guess , these flyers for other people to kind of see and realize , oh , like , I can go to this. Like I don't need to formally like give tobacco and ask a teacher. Like we invite everybody in the community to come out and learn. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S5: In our traditions , our culture , it's important to learn. It not only teaches us about our family and where we come from , but who we are and who we will continue to be.
S1: And , you know , language is also a major focus when it comes to preserving Kumeyaay culture. I know , especially because it's all oral. So there are fewer and fewer fluent speakers.
S5: For example , my great grandma didn't feel the need to pass on a lot of traditions and customs to her children because she felt like it wasn't relevant during that time. It was better , you know , to be anything else than to be Indian at that time. So fast forward to my mom's generation , where they're reconnecting and relearning. My mom had the opportunity to go to some of the first Kumeyaay language classes that were offered by the Kumeyaay Community College. So I grew up with her learning and constantly like putting sticky notes all over the house of what , you know , certain objects were in Kumeyaay. So very early on , I had a pretty , like good relationship with our language. I recently started to attend Kumeyaay Community College as a student. Myself and I have been taking the language classes and like you had mentioned , it is pretty difficult because it is a oral language. We don't have a written alphabet. It's also a living language. So it's always constantly and changing , adapting over time. As we move into this modern age , you know , we have to create words that didn't really exist back then. Like we had to create words for like televisions and like stuff like that , where it's like very literal meanings of like a box with moving pictures. So it's kind of hard to like learn that with a as I'm older because I am 22 now. So , you know , you learn this kind of westernized version of education. And English is so much harder than like , other languages I've found. So yeah , just constantly trying to absorb as much information as I can within our language and also just using it as much as I can , even if it's just little words using it every day. Because if you don't use it , you lose it. And we try to emphasize that to our youth as much as we can. Every activity that we do with them or anything , we try to incorporate our language and they really absorb it very well because they're so young and they're still , you know , easily able to , uh , pick up things like that. So that is something that I like to be very involved with. Yeah.
S6: Yeah.
S1:
S5: And in our songs we have our bird songs. If we didn't know the language , we wouldn't know what our songs are talking about and our songs. They teach us , you know , our way of life and how we should act. I find it a little bit more tricky , you know , as I'm getting older , I'm 17 , but , you know , as I'm getting older , that language retention is a bit harder than if I had learned as much as I have learned when I was like 4 or 5.
S1: You know , I mean. We've touched on these generational gaps that exist. So this question is for both of you. I mean , do you feel like it's your responsibility as leaders in your community to reclaim Kumeyaay traditions and pass them on to the next generation ? Yeah.
S5: You know , I feel as as lucky as I am to be taught by such strong people. You know , my teachers are both Harmony and her mom. They've taught me everything I know. So I feel like as a woman who has had that opportunity to learn , it's important that I share and also continue to learn about who I am and share it with , you know , my cousins and people from other reservations , because it's important to to keep that knowledge and to really strengthen it within our community. Like we said , that generational gap has has been something so devastating because , you know , it makes it harder for us to learn and it makes it harder to motivate and encourage these younger kids because they see it as well. If my family doesn't really know that much , then why do I have to ? And I feel like I we both need to be that that boulder that says , you know , you should learn this and you know , it's important and it's it's fun. You know , we aren't the same as any other culture where we're different. We have our own way of life. Yeah.
S6: Yeah.
S1: I mean , you know , women in your families , you know , are leading this effort to reclaim cultural heritage. Harmony. Your mom works for the cultural department on the reservation. How do you celebrate Kumeyaay culture within your own families ? Yeah.
S5: Um , my mom is the director at our cultural center , and that has been. She's honestly my biggest role model. I look up to her for everything. She's also taught me everything I know. So celebrating Kumeyaay culture within our own family , um , it's kind of just not even a second thought. It's honestly just a way of life. It's a lifestyle being Kumeyaay and those sacrifices that come with , you know , being a Kumeyaay woman and the roles that we serve in our community , um , I feel like it's just something that's second nature to me. It's just woven into my DNA. So every time I breathe , every time I get up , every time I speak a little bit of my language , you know , prayer a little bit in the morning or anything like that , I feel like I'm celebrating being a Kumeyaay woman. I do think it's a little hard to , you know , walk in both worlds , as we would say , of like being a Kumeyaay person and also being like a student , for example. Sometimes it's hard to mesh the two , um , other times it is easy to , you know , represent myself as a Kumeyaay woman. But yeah. Yeah.
S6: Yeah.
S1: Tell me about the importance of being able to practice your spirituality and your religion as part of connecting with your culture.
S5: Yeah , I think it's everything to the morals and values that it gives you to your mindset , to , you know , everything in our creation story , in our songs. Um , you know , that's our basically our religion. It tells us how to be , how not to be. It tells us how to conduct ourselves , how to conduct our ceremonies. Everything we need to know has already been given to us by creator. So being able to practice those things is something super special and something that I try not to take for granted every day. Like we said , there was a time not too long ago where our people could not practice these things openly and freely. So every time I am able to do anything like dance with my cousins , or pray a little bit in my language , or hear my elder speak in their language , it just , uh , makes my heart happy and my soul just like , uh , it's just such an amazing feeling. Yeah , yeah.
S1: How important is it to educate oneself in other indigenous perspectives ? Jalen , I heard your you're taking a pow wow class to help with that. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. Um , so like you said , I am I'm taking a pow pow class. Um , I found that it's really important to , I guess , learn from another indigenous perspective , coming from a pow wow family and coming from a bird family , or , you know , you learn two different styles of dances and two different ways of life. And I find that even though , you know , San Diego and other areas are Kumeyaay land , pow wow lifestyle is very prevalent in San Diego and very significant. You know , you see all these pow wows and you have these power dancers. And so I'm kind of trying to learn from a different way of life and different protocols , I guess that people follow and different characteristics that , you know. Their natives have. And being able to go to other functions that don't have , I guess , as many Kumeyaay people , you know , being able to speak with someone that's , you know , Navajo or the or , um , Ojibwe , seeing how or listening to their creation stories and their way of life makes me feel a lot stronger in myself , I guess , because I'm able to tell them , you know , where I come from and who my family is and who the Kumeyaay people are. So I find , you know , it's really important to learn who you are as an individual because you're able to further explain that to other people as well. Yeah.
S6: Yeah.
S1: What's next for the both of you ? I mean , what do you want to pursue in the future ? And Harmony , I'll start with you because I heard you're interested in merging Western education and Kumeyaay education. So I'm curious about that. Yeah.
S7: Yeah.
S5: That's something that's really important to me is , um , indigenous education and showing our youth that we can walk in both worlds and still , you know , have our cultural knowledge and still be successful in a Western academic society or , you know , going into business , you know , but still having those roots in that culture and that knowledge I feel can make you even stronger. So my plans for the future , I'm going to continue being a student at Camino Community College , hopefully get my associate's degree in Kumeyaay studies , maybe transfer to a four year university in the future. I'm really interested in majoring in cultural resource management , so I just like to continue my work with the youth and with learning as much as I can just about my culture and passing on traditions to the youth and some young members of my family. I'd also just continue would like to continue to be a service to my people as much as I can , and give back as much as I can and continue to use my platform. You know , even not as Miss Kumeyaay or just as a an older woman figure in the community , using my platform for good and being a role model to our youth.
S1:
S5: I want to become a nurse. And with that , I want to be able to help my community in any way I can , whether that be going and working for an Indian , um , Indian Health Services or , you know , creating a clinic or what , doing what I can to give back to my community as it is given to me.
S1: I've been speaking with Miss Kumeyaay Nation , Harmony Sweetgrass and Jalen FAM , members of the Saquon Byrd girls , Harmony and Jalen. Thank you so much for joining us.
S5: Thank you so much for having us. Thank you so much.
