Native American Heritage Day

S1: We're honoring Native American Heritage Day in San Diego.

S2: We have more reservations for San Diego County than any other county United States.

S1: I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH. This is KPBS midday edition. Governor Gavin Newsom says California has recovered all the jobs lost during the pandemic , but border communities continue to lag behind.

S3: Unfortunately , that's not the case here in Tennessee. We lost over 2000 jobs during the pandemic. Those jobs have not miraculously come back.

S1: And a rundown of things to do around town to get into the holiday spirit. That's ahead on Midday Edition. Native American Heritage Day has been officially celebrated for the last 14 years. On the day after Thanksgiving , the long overdue civic holiday is aimed at celebrating and teaching Native American history and culture. It's also about respecting the land that Indian peoples lived on and nurtured for centuries before European settlement. Since San Diego is home to the most tribal governments of any other county in the nation , Native American Heritage Day is a particularly important holiday right here. And joining me is Chairman Bo Musetti of the Rincon Band of Lucina Indians. And , Chairman , welcome. Hello.

S2: Hello.

S1: Thank you for joining us. I wonder what this holiday that celebrates Native American heritage means to you.

S2: For me , it means , you know , the recognition of the Indian people and what they've gone through and a thought about they'd be looking into the history and understanding the Indian people , not only of San Diego County , but the entire state of California. Give a little thought to what the Indian people have gone through over the years. For me , it brings back some memories of when I was young on the reservation here growing up. You know , folks would bring us food and different things. So it's kind of become a full circle. You know , now we're able to help others , especially a young kid that's outstanding. And to see a young child smile when they receive something. You know , you can't put a value on that. That's the greatest reward for me personally , is seeing a young child happy and receiving something , a gift.

S1:

S2: It was just , you know , a holiday that everybody celebrated. The fact that the Pilgrims would not have survived without the Indian people being there. You know , that first Thanksgiving that we all look back to work , hopefully could study in history was that the survival of the Pilgrims from Rock was based upon the fact that the Indian people provided food for them from corn , turkeys , you know , things in the area at the time. So survival of the pilgrims really goes back to being helped by the Indian people.

S1:

S2: The Indian side of the stories are starting to be told more progressively. You know , more and more truths will come out about what really had happened , not just what you saw in the schoolbooks. You know , there's the other side of the story , but that came up more and more , and that started out here in California , for example , in this push back with Alcatraz. You know , that was first time tribes started to push back under that particular situation. The federal government federal law is that abandoned federal property. Tribes have the first right to take back that property. And that's really what Alcatraz was about. The tribes said , let's take our island. Let's take the island back. We'll make it to be a but teach our history. So that's really what Alcatraz was about.

S1: Now , in recent years , America seems to be waking up to the wrongs and insults made against Native Americans. You know , many insulting names have been changed , like the Washington football team. School names have been changed recently. National park names have been purged of slurs against Indians.

S2: You learn from history now. Derogatory dance , you know , all those things have died. They should be. Those are disrespectful as you get to Indian people. Now , when you look at the Redskins football team , for example , of the Redskins , nobody has ever really studied where the Redskins come from. I think if you look at history , some Indians would paint themselves red to go to war , and that's where the Red Band came from. So is that disrespectful ? I don't know. And I'm so really understanding , instead of just jumping on what a group of people feel , oh , that's a bad. So then it should be changed. We'll do our homework first before we jump in and just start triggering everything , tearing down statues and stuff. I think that's wrong. Maybe build a new statue to tell the other side of the story. In terms of history , you know , that would be good. Like Father Sarah ? Yeah. With the missions bad ? Yes. But the history of Father Sarah , which a lot of folks don't study , as it were , walked all the way from San Francisco , Santa Barbara to Mexico City to stop the wrongs that are being done to the Indians by the Spaniards. So there's two sides to history. Erasing one just to create another one is not appropriate , I think , to tell both sides its history. So both sides of the story.

S1:

S2: Let's start look at it. Let's start understanding are the people that are in our area. And like you said , we have more reservations in San Diego County than any other county United States. The same thing applies to the number of reservations in the state of California , over 110. That's more than any other state also. So getting to understand , you know , the people here , you know , what is their history , studied their history , study the past. You know , I know there's a lot that could be utilized , people. But they learn it from various you know , what people call we adore medicine , the things we used to survive with , you know , look to learn what those are. I know the state of California , finally , after years and years of discussion , are looking at controlled burns the way the Indian people used to do it , especially in Northern California , which then would reduce a lot of these wildfires. So opening up and learning , you know , working together with each other what life's about. To me , one of the greatest saying that we've made a full circle is what I said when we kind of started , when we were saying help and food and gifts on the reservation. Now we're fortunate enough to be in a position to help other folks the way we were once helped. That's gratifying to me. I've seen the full circle now about helping others.

S1: I've been speaking with Chairman Bo Mazzetti of the Rincon Band of Luchino Indians. Thank you so much for speaking with us today. I really appreciate it.

S2: My pleasure. Thank you. And.

S1: And. The holiday shopping season is make or break time for San Ysidro retail sector. But KPBS border reporter Gustavo Solis spoke to locals who say they are still recovering from the pandemic.

S4: Two weeks ago , Governor Gavin Newsom took a statewide victory lap. California has now fully recovered all jobs that were lost to the pandemic induced recession. The governor declared in a press release sent out to newsrooms throughout the state. But that little bit of news didn't land very well in San Isidro , where more than 200 stores closed and thousands lost their jobs during the pandemic. Jason Wells is the CEO of the San Isidro Chamber of Commerce.

S3: Unfortunately , that's not the case here in San Isidro. We lost over 2000 jobs during the pandemic. Those jobs have not miraculously come back.

S4: All businesses were impacted in one way or another by the pandemic. But Sandy , Cedar and other places that depend on cross-border commerce were crushed. This is mainly because of the harsh restrictions on border crossings implemented by the Trump administration and continued by President Biden. He may not be a Senor Martinez is the international business affairs coordinator for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. She says the entire region's economy was badly hurt.

S5: So this is shown from the decrease of having an estimated impact of $428 million in 2019 and barely reached $85 million by July of 2021.

S4: Biden lifted the restrictions by late 2021 , but by then too much damage had already been done.

S5: And local companies have struggled with their workforce showing late for work and delaying production and shipping times , which then increases the costs and have them losing clients. And sometimes they even decide to move out of the region or just stop investing in San Diego itself.

S4: In San Ysidro , Wells says that retail sales figures are still below what they were before the pandemic and wait times at the border remain high due to staffing shortages at Customs and Border Protection. All of this likely means another tough holiday shopping season.

S3: Yeah , look , I mean , over a third of our businesses make their their overall net profit for the year during between November 20th and January 6th. This is extremely crucial.

S4: Making things even worse as the continued closure of the Petworth border crossing. This is important because people used to walk directly from this border crossing to last America's outlet malls in San Ysidro. Now they have to go through the perilous border crossing , which is further away and has longer wait times. We , Senor Martinez , says the inconvenience is too much for many.

S5: There is no efficient transportation that takes you to Latin America. So you have to walk or either you have to take a bus.

S4: Customs and Border Protection has previously said that reopening peddlers is a top priority , but no one knows when that will actually happen. The agency did not respond to a CPB's request for comment. Elsewhere in San Isidro , vacant stores and for rental listings are grim signs of the slow recovery. Diana Salazar grew up in Tijuana. She still remembers going on shopping trips to San Ysidro with her mom when she was a little girl.

S1: Well , it's pretty sad because to see how you used to be in a pretty crowded community and now this boulevard , it's it's pretty lonely. They just come here to the bank.

S5: Or the P.O. Box businesses.

S4: She started working at the Chamber of Commerce during the pandemic. Her role was to try to help businesses get grants and loans to avoid closing.

S1: It's pretty sad to see how many businesses just closed. Thanks to the pandemic.

S4: The San Isidro Chamber of Commerce created a recovery plan to help struggling businesses. They even asked city and county officials to help fund the plan. Well , says the county supervisor , Nora Vargas's office , contributed $300,000. But Mayor Todd Gloria staff did not respond to his plea for aid.

S3: Well , unfortunately , it's something we're used to. We often say we're part of the city of San Diego , the forgotten part.

S4: In response to questions from KPBS , Gloria's office said that a well sent his funding request too late. But they said the San Ysidro businesses can still apply for a small business grant program. Gustavo Solis , KPBS News.

S1: This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH. We may be aware of December nights and the Grinch , but there are countless events and performances in the region to help us ring in the winter holidays. Joining me with just a few recommendations is KPBS arts producer and editor Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , welcome. Happy holidays. Hi , Maureen. You , too. And just in case , we should point out that December nights will be Friday the second and Saturday the third at Barbara Park. In case people don't know. Thank you for that. And all right , so first , there's a Hanukkah themed art walk stop in La Hoya. What do you know about Yiddish land ? California. Yeah. Yiddish land. California just opened about a year ago. It's a cultural center and a hub for Jewish culture. It's in the heart of La Hoya , run by the group Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America. And they're having a Hanukkah themed event on their La Hoya first Friday Artwalk. So you can buy some Hanukkah themed Judaica , which means Jewish ceremonial art and objects used in rituals and traditions. And the artwork also marks the opening of an exhibition at Yiddish Land. This is by painter Mariam Liba Haber. She was born in Mexico City and has a background studying architecture , which is pretty evident in her work. There's lots of urban landscapes and you can see that influence in there. So this event , it's part of Lloyd's first Friday Artwalk So there will be plenty to see elsewhere throughout the Loggia Village area. Most of the galleries will be open as well , so Quint be free. Thumbprint Gallery You can hit those up as well. The Artwalk is Friday , December 2nd from 4 to 7:00. And Hanukkah this year begins on December 18th and runs through December 26th. Well , next there's a spin on the traditional Nutcracker , a ballet inspired by Mexican culture from a step beyond. Tell us about El Al La Brea. Hey. Yeah. This is a reimagining of The Nutcracker Ballet. It's inspired by the culture of Mexico and pre-Hispanic Mexican culture. And al-Jabri is a spirit guide , and it's also used for these carved and painted animal figurines that represent him. And the term allegory has also come to mean imaginary or fantasy. So it's kind of a fascinating connection to The Nutcracker there. This is an outdoor show at Kit Carson Amphitheater in Escondido. And there's just the one performance on December 10th in the evening. They have a huge cast. There's over 150 students from the ballet school performing the story. The costumes and the props are all kind of transformed into the Mexican tradition. But the music is the traditional Tchaikovsky or.

UU:

S1: But if you want to go all out for the quintessential experience , Scripps Performing Arts Academy will host a holiday tea and a holiday brunch Nutcracker Performances. That's at the Fairmont Grand in Del Mar that he is Friday the 23rd and the brunch on Saturday , the 24th. That's Christmas Eve. And the San Diego Ballet is also doing a nutcracker Tea Party in Liberty Station. That's Sunday , December 18. The San Diego Symphony's Noel Noel program returns to the show. What do you know about this ? So Noel Noel is a mixture of storytelling and holiday music , and they're doing a whole new story , a whole new script this year. So have you been in the past ? This one will feel new. It's conducted by Christopher Dragon from the Wyoming Symphony. And there'll be performances from the San Diego Symphony , the San Diego Master Chorale , and the San Diego Children's Choir. There's three shows December 9th through the 11th , and it's all outdoors at the shower. More music now. The San Diego Gay Men's Chorus performs year round , but they are especially busy during the holidays. Tell us about their production jingle. Yeah , this is the annual holiday show from the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus and as a kickoff to their 38th season. So it's a big night for them. And it also celebrates how integral music , in particular song is to how we celebrate the holidays. They'll be performing some classics , some holiday classics , and also music from Eric Whitacre , The Temptations , James Taylor and more. And this is also the second show from their new artistic director , Dr. Charles Beal. There's two performances , December 10th at 8 p.m. and then a matinee on the 11th at three. And this is at the Balboa Theatre downtown.

S3: It was a big year from.

S2: Everywhere in.

S3: The year. Well , I.

S1: While you can also find the chorus at a bunch of other holiday themed events around town next month , including at the summer nights. And if we're looking to catch a production of Dickens A Christmas Carol , where can we find one ? At a local theatre. Cygnet Theatre is a great option here and this production has original music and puppetry as well as everything we know and love about the story. Artistic director Sean Murray will be Scrooge and last year Murray did this reimagined one man adaptation of the story to stream during the pandemic. So great to see him with a forecast and you can find shows at Signet's Old Town Theatre nearly every day through Christmas Eve , including a couple with American Sign Language interpretation. And here's a way for people to see holiday lights , some art and , of course , plants. The San Diego Botanic Garden. Tell us about light scape. Yeah , this one I love because it's also kind of a neat hike. It's a fully immersive installation along a one mile trail that's inside the San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas. It supposedly has over a million lights. There's tunnels , pyrotechnics. They also have sculptures and visual art activations along the trail. They have timed entry tickets that are available on evenings through January 1st , and they recommend you spend about an hour and a half there. Now , you can find details on these and more winter holiday events on our special calendar at KPBS. Saugus. Winter holidays. That's winter holidays. One word. And I've been speaking with KPBS arts producer and editor Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , thank you. Thank you , Maureen , and happy holidays.