Sewing machines whir in the background as 14-year-old Talia Boller concentrates on the magenta pink fabric in front of her.Right now she’s sewing the channel where the elastic will go in the waist of her ribbon skirt.“My grandma knows how to make some and stuff and so I thought it was really important for me to learn how to too,” Talia said.Ribbon skirts have deep cultural and personal significance in Native American communities. Each person can imbue their own style in their choice of fabric and ribbon. These skirts can be worn in specific ceremonies where communities share bird songs and dances.“I chose the butterflies to represent the women in my family and stuff and the powerful bloodline,” Talia explained. “And then I liked how it was teal because I love the ocean and blue and stuff.”She is one of roughly 80 students who attended the two-day gathering put on by the Native Youth Foundation at the Barona Community Center last week.That day Talia was with Melody Sees, from the Los Coyotes reservation. Sees helped the teen learn the meaning behind the sewing of the skirts.
Talia feeds elastic through the channel at the waist of her ribbon skirt on July 21, 2026.
“The significance of bird skirts is it’s like, you know, somebody taught me and our job is to pass it on,” Sees said. “So that’s what I’m doing is passing on what I was taught.”The event was sponsored by the Barona Band of Mission Indians, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians and Pauma Yuima Band of Mission Indians.Other bands participating included the Pala Band of Mission Indians, Santa Ysabel Band of Diegueño Mission Indians, Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians and Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.In addition to the sewing workshop, students learned how to bead, create pottery and make gourd rattles.The event was organized by Keith Vasquez of the San Pasqual Band of Indians. It was the third such gathering since the Native Youth Foundation was created in 2019. The activities have changed along with the interests of the youth.
Keith Vasquez (left) and Kansas Middletent stand for a portrait photo at the Barona Community Center on July 21, 2026.
“Three years ago we had sports mainly,” Vasquez said. “None of the kids really went to them. They went to all the beading, the fashion design, more the cultural stuff.”So, those workshops are now the priority. Vasquez said the connection between the teachers and youth is by design.“Whether it’s with the fashion, whether it’s with the culture … that those kids can gain a mentor, gain an uncle, an auntie to help them live through this life,” Vasquez said.
Rebekah Jarvey sews fabric on July 21, 2026.
Manuel Navarro, a councilman for the Barona Band of Mission Indians, is part of an effort to preserve and teach bird singing.“I got involved in that with a lot of my family here and they have come together and helped me in that journey to learn our culture, our customs, traditions,” Navarro said.The bird songs and dances are one of the ways they tell and pass down their history.“I think bird singing, it helps create and strengthen our identity of who we are,” Navarro said. “A lot of these songs, depending where you come from, bird or Illsha, the different styles and variations, they have different stories, but all together they bring us together and our people together.”Not far from Talia in the recreation center’s auditorium is 10-year-old Lania Spencer, who is learning beading from Danika Subish. Subish, who’s from the Pala Indian Reservation, learned how to bead when she was 8 years old from her grandmother.“This is my first time teaching kids and it’s honestly so easy and I love to bead with them,” Subish said. “Trying to learn the language is difficult for me but this was easy. It’s something that I feel close to like my ancestors who have beaded before. It just makes me feel like I’m doing something with my culture.”Lania shared why it was important to her to learn.“When it comes to our culture, it’s like very cool,” she said. “People that you didn’t know about … they did this.”Vasquez said it’s powerful to see all of the different nations and bands come together.“It’s a great feeling to look around and see people who look like you, just like you, in the same room,” Vasquez said.
Alana Castillo (left), Melody Sees and Talia Boller (right) stand for a photo wearing their ribbon skirts at the Barona Community Center on July 21, 2026.
Talia and other students put on a fashion show at the end of the workshops. They got their hair and makeup done and walked down the runway.“I’m excited because it’s been like a long journey to make it and stuff and so I’m excited to show it off,” Talia said.
