Master Artist Workshop: Kumeyaay Yucca Sandal Weaving

The Heard Museum sponsored a master artist workshop on the traditional technique of weaving yucca for sandals in Sept. 2017. The class was taught by Stan Rodriguez, (San Ysabel, Kumeyaay) and held at the Sycuan Cultural Center at Kumeyaay Community College in El Cajon, CA.
Video courtesy of Steven Yazzie/ Digital Preserve

[@carlosmoreno9094]

7:02. Baja California in the house , I was born in Tijuana Mexico I’m not native kumeyaay but I do appreciate this culture , My roots are from central Mexico and I’m learning the Nahuatl language and culture ANAHUAC , let’s keep our languages alive. We all have a beautiful culture 💝🦋🌎🌺✊🏾

[@cactuswren9771]

Seeing the woman walk in her sandals she made brought tears to my eyes. The sandals and all of you are beautiful. MUY HERMOSA. Thank you so much for sharing this. Gracias.

[@ricolopez4258]

i love the way your people think. not thinking to take advantage but to respect and share... i have learned more from these people than my own in the 32 years on this planet...the joy you recieve after caring for a plant and thanking it for what you take is otherworldly. i now believe with all my heart that there is more to this life than we see. i was following Catholicism since birth, and had trouble believing in anything.

[@WAGONJON]

It's a passion, a way of life. The true sense of getting back to the original ways and sticking to it! It's Native Pride!

[@jcortese3300]

That looks so much like how flax is prepared and becomes linen thread/cord as well. You soak it, let it soften and rot down a little, then scrape off what you don't want, and then just beat the fiber until it softens and separates, then spin it. That's so cool.

[@tombryant9878]

Beautiful video.

[@kellyroup4262]

Nice vid! And make no mistake; I'm no trying to sound critical but I've made these and never seen anyone beat the leaves with a rock! That will destroy too many fibers. I guess it's just geography and how you're taught but 8 use a wrist sized wooden stick and very stiff brushes to remove the meat and skin from the fiber. Or scrape them on a log or beam with the same stick the same as when I collect maguey fiber. I'll also put the half finished fiber bundles in a 5 gal. Bucket for a couple of weeks to help with separation which would have been done in a stream and would have been harder to do as well in an arid environment. The rock thing really freaked me out! Lol

[@Zane-It]

These sandals are coil weaved which is very different from the platted hard souled sandals Mary weahkee made in her demonstration.

[@13daniel1974]

Are you not supposed to only harvest the outer edges of the plant? Cutting out the center can kill it. At least all of the Natives I know tell me that.

[@moniquedelatour3502]

Thought the exact same thing when i saw the center of the plant gone

[@МарияСущева-у6ш]

Юкка размножается боковыми детками, из которых произрастает новое растение. Середина старой, отцветшей юкки уже можно использовать, т.к. детки уже есть. Ничего страшного, что выбрали середину. Всё равно этот куст разрастется за счёт боковых деток. 😊 С любовью из СССР от живого человека Марии!

[@RisenFromDarkness_1880]

This is true I see people say it's very hard to kill yucca. As it establishes underground roots as well and spreading by seeds. ​@@МарияСущева-у6ш

[@rjolson8695]

Bless you all

[@MrMagnusFogg]

A very interesting documentary, thank you ! Note: On the ironic side, if one takes this doc as a sample of the Indian culture, one gets the impression that english and spanish are the only languages spoken...I regret not having been able to listen to them speaking amongst themselves in their own native languages, in case they did...perhaps next time...

[@cptbob100]

As you can see from the interviews the participants were from several different areas, so even if they do speak their native languages it's not the same one.

[@aliciabousquet5821]

Again, thank you.

[@MORENITO418]

Conservar la propia cultura tambien la lengua total de acuerdo. Saludo!

[@marioramirez7647]

Grasias por conpartir...linda esperiensia para los partisipantes .. thank you 🎁

[@ashleyphillips3526]

That’s cool how y’all Learned how to make shoes out of plants

[@AhJodie]

Beautiful, thank you!

[@pontasx4]

Stanley went to the museum with out us :(

[@omggiiirl2077]

So crazy how after thousands of years, and miles of separation and migrations, the sandals and many cultural practices remain intact and recognizable to me as a Korean. I'm also a person who has indigenous ancestors of America, from North Carolina, and Hawai'i, but I'm not so sure exactly what tribe or who those ancestors are. It hurts to know that you share a blood ancestry, but the culture and language has died in your family. Only a few cultural practices actually have survived, but we don't have the language. It hurts to know that. And to know that most likely my native ancestors were the people who were wiped out or were mixed into non existence.

[@natashayerkovich6602]

Watch flax works on KZbin might help you.

[@omggiiirl2077]

@@natashayerkovich6602 I sure will tita! Thank you!

[@omggiiirl2077]

I love watching tipuna wiriwiri taaniko! Especially when they make Korowai! It seems much easier then how we make our 'Ahumanu.

[@pontiacaztec917]

Thanks for sharing brother great spirit of life remember chocolate was developed by Olmce, and rubber tree,lava Rock's to build a foundation May-an's,Toltec,and other works help build Empire city on water tenochititian and turtle island dream smoke dream catchers ,even today people still look like ancestors of past of ancient times still walk among us today in a lost world!!.

[@pontiacaztec917]

Thanks for sharing this video's about ancestor's music and lyrics inter tribal respect for one another's people dream smoke of past Pangaea no border line's for indigenous peoples of turtle island yes history is fascinating story tellers as well honor your salf as well reach, teaching youth of to timeless life indigenous aboriginal people.

[@moniquedelatour3502]

❤❤❤

[@Ленад-е1ш]

God Bless my dears ❤️❤️❤️😘🌈🌞🌺

[@NF275]

Hi! How can I get in contact with Stan? I would like a pair of these sandals?

[@daniskylark8227]

🙏⚓️💜

[@natashayerkovich6602]

Ataahua arohanui ( beautiful much love) we too Maori (NZ) have toanga (gift) flax weaving (harakeke whakairo) too pomarie.

[@omggiiirl2077]

Kia ora tita! Hongi!! I'm currently growing harakeke here in Seattle specifically for weaving, because tropical pandanus will not grow here. Wish me luck! Hopefully I can make our Polynesian ancestors proud! 'Aloha from a Hawaiian living too far from home.

[@natashayerkovich6602]

Kia ora just remember to karakia ( prayer) to your tupuna(ancestors) for guidance nga mihi ki a koe wahine toa ( strong woman) arohanui Hawaiian cuz from Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud).

[@omggiiirl2077]

@@natashayerkovich6602 'Ae, e mahalo nui loa i kou mana'o e ko'u tita e! 'Aloha!

[@cakeinthenight5749]

I was looking for this comment, wow it's so familiar what they are doing to our own ways.

[@pontiacaztec917]

A'HO brother you still have strong spiritual path journey, and still look like ancestors of past your face is of Olmce rubber people mound builders culture indigenous aboriginal means Olmce yes they we're matriarch teachers of life yes water is life WALK IN BEAUTY DREAM SMOKE,dream catchers ,Hoop dancers of turtle island A'HO no border line's for the indigenous people of turtle island!!.

[@RonaldL.MAngela.vaught17HH]

I AM wealthy Mann but enjoy simple pleasures working with my hands even sand le weaving has a peaceful meditation vibe.

[@tomardans4258]

Eeek! You’re not supposed to cut the center of the yucca.

[@Cable3999]

Very little of the traditional way of doing things are present in this video. These people have become modern and are heavily dependent on modern civilization even as they practice their “traditions”. Chad Zuber shows REAL traditional survival skills.

[@MrShoe321]

Maybe it's because.... we are modern people.... and these people are not trying to make money with a KZbin channel doing hours or days of hard labor. Maybe.... these are the lives of the survivors of genocide and we can adapt our traditions to fit the way of life we are currently leading. Like I'm sure has happened before in our past.

[@bettykuykendall2083]

Just talking doesn't make anything happen. Ok on history - but you didn't even tell the people why they were to gather the yucca.?? ALL talk and no show.