CINC Hosts Spring 2023 Student Orientation and Luncheon
By Emily Clarke
This week, California Indian Nations College (CINC) hosted its Spring 2023 Student Orientation and Luncheon at the Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa in Rancho Mirage. The morning started out with workshops for new and returning students, a blessing by tribal elder Kim Marcus (Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians), and a land acknowledgment by Dr. Sean Milanovich (Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians). When I arrived to attend the luncheon, the ballroom was filled with community members, tribal representatives, and of course, CINC staff and students. CINC’s first student body president, Lorna Stanley (Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians), welcomed everyone to the event and introduced herself as the host. Afterwards, elders were invited to make their plates first, followed by everyone else excitedly joining the line for food. The selections included salad, tacos, tortilla soup, and more and seemed to be enjoyed by all.
As attendees enjoyed lunch, we also listened to multiple presentations by guest speakers including Lorna Johnson Stanley (Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians), CINC President Celeste Townsend (Paiute / Shoshone), current CINC students and alumni, and various other CINC representatives including Vice President Shawn Ragan who was ecstatic to report CINC’s rising enrollment numbers to the audience. Additionally, representatives from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians gave a short presentation as well as announced their donation of over $1 million dollars in support of California Indian Nations College.
Although all of the presentations were both inspiring and informative, the words shared from current and past CINC students were by far the most memorable. For example, CINC alumna and first ever Elder in Residence, Marguerite Pablo (Morongo Band of Mission Indians), shared her experience attending as a CINC student who now attends a four-year-university. She shared that she enrolled as a CINC student because her cousin, Aaron Saubel (Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians) said “Let’s go to college.” And a few years later, Marguerite found herself as a CINC graduate who now attends UC Riverside in pursuit of her Bachelor’s degree.
“I graduate from UCR in 2024 and I’m about to turn 66,” Marguerite shares happily, and the crowd erupts into applause.
This seems to be the common theme that links all CINC students together; Native people can accomplish anything we put our minds to, even go to college. Lorna Johnson Stanley shares that she attends college and serves as student body president because she recognizes what kind of elder she wants to be and what future she sees for herself and her people. Similarly, Aaron Saubel shares that although he comes from a rough past, his education has given him the courage and ability to make better choices and to think things through. President Celeste Townsend expresses that CINC strives to be a “safe and personal environment for students to learn more about themselves,” and from the sentiments shared by these students, it seems CINC is successful in doing so. However, as uplifting as the guest speakers were, we, as an Indigenous community, have not forgotten our painful history with the education system. Although historical wrongdoings have caused many Native people to be rightfully distrusting of the Americanized education system, institutions such as the California Indian Nations College are actively working to change that relationship.
“They tried to take away our right to be educated,” President Townsend says, her voice cracking with emotion, “but look around the room, we’re still here.”
