Native American

In response to the letter, “No Native Americans, no need to bother,” really, Lee Brandt, why bother with “their” problems? Have you ever been to a Southern California pow-wow? If you have, you would know that there are many Native American communities throughout the state of California and they do have their own needs and problems. While I am not a huge fan of Rep. Adam Schiff, I am sure that our Native American communities would welcome long overdue help from state representatives.

Outdoor concert series continuing The Downtown Burbank outdoor concert series will feature live music every Thursday in July and August. The festivities kick-off at 6 p.m. on the AMC Walkway at Palm Avenue and San Fernando Boulevard with free swing and salsa lessons. The bands will perform at 7 p.m. "Royal Crown Revue" will be performing classic swing to be-bop to blues. For more information, call (818) 238-5180. Ceramics and clay art show opening Artists John W. Hopkins, Stephen L. Horn, Shane M. Keena, Ricky Maldonado, Kevin A. Myers, Mark Poore and Adrian Sandstrom will be showing their ceramic and clay work, "Seven Guys and Their Work," through July 26 at Creative Arts Center Gallery, 1100 W. Clark Ave., Burbank.

Gary Moskowitz BURBANK -- School board member Trish Burnett will make a motion to the board Thursday to form a committee that will study and address John Burroughs High School's use of the Indian as the school mascot. "It's an emotional issue, but we need to judge it less on emotion and more with a clear-thinking approach," Burnett said. "I think we need to change the mascot." Stephanie Saucedo, a Native American and parent of two Burroughs High students, said she thinks the ongoing modernization and renovation the Burroughs facilities makes now a good time to do away with the Indian mascot.

NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE CELEBRATED The Burbank Park, Recreation and Community Services Department will host an event celebrating Native American heritage from noon to 3 p.m. June 28 at the Stough Canyon Nature Center, 2300 Walnut Ave., Burbank. The event centers on Native American culture of the Verdugo Mountains and the Los Angeles area. The Tongva Nation Dancers from the Gabrielino/ Tongva Tribal Council will perform around 12:30 p.m. In addition, there will be Native American foods, music and games.

Karen S. Kim Consuela Smith says everything she sells in The Vanishing Indian has some sort of spiritual meaning. The pieces depicting an eagle carry the energy of the animal, which is known as the messenger of the spirit. The Kachina dolls have the energy of the animal they depict -- including the buffalo, which means prosperity, and the bear, which means strength and wisdom. And the genuine turquoise stones in the jewelry she sells carry healing powers, she said.

Maya Kukes BURBANK -- John Burroughs High School might soon be without its mascot if a bill is passed that would eliminate Indians and similar characters as school representatives. The Assembly Appropriations Committee will review the bill sometime this month. The proposed legislation, AB 2115, would affect all public school mascots with Native American likenesses. The State Board of Education or the California Post-secondary Education Committee would also be allowed to ban school team names, mascots or nicknames deemed derogatory.

Assembly Bill 2115 seeks nothing more or less than to ban the use of derogatory, ethnically themed names for school teams and mascots. Permitting publicly funded schools to perpetuate such a shameful practice constitutes no less than an endorsement of prejudice. Writing in the May 8 edition of the Burbank Leader, Denny Grossman laments that AB 2115 would put an end to the John Burroughs High School Indians in 2003 (in fact, the bill calls for new names and mascots to be phased in gradually to minimize the economic impact.

The Burbank Unified School District administration has scored a double whammy with its plan to create a committee of students to deal with the Burroughs High School mascot issue. Administration officials not only are deflecting criticism from the administration and school board and dumping it in the students' direction, but also assuring that nothing of substance will be done about the problem for the foreseeable future. In short, it's a copout. The committee is being formed in response to several complaints, from American Indians and other members of the community, that Burroughs' Indian mascot is racist, reinforces negative stereotypes and has no place in a 21st-century school.

I really don't think that John Burroughs High School should change its sign from an Indian to something else. Why? Because it is a symbol that has represented the school for a long time. Maybe they can hand out a brochure at the beginning of the year explaining what the Indian symbolizes, along with some Native American history. This way the kids will get the significance of the mascot instead of just knowing what it is. Then Stephanie Saucedo should be happy and so should the school.

JOYCE RUDOLPH Ole! Keeping up with an international trend, dance instructor Gene DeWald and his partner Sandi Marino have introduced a series of tango classes Sunday nights at the Burbank Realtors Hall. DeWald, a dancer for 64 of his 79 years, organizes the event, which features the live band Nuestro Tiempo. The Argentine style of ballroom dance is hot at nightclubs throughout Italy, Paris, Finland, Sweden, Amsterdam, Russia and Poland, he said.

Native American heritage - especially that of the Verdugo Mountains and the Los Angeles area - was celebrated Sunday at an event in Burbank. The Tongva Nation Dancers from the Gabrielino/Tongva Tribal Council performed. And the Stough Canyon Woodcarvers Show, featuring the Smoky Hollow Woodcarvers, was also part of the event, which was organized by the Burbank Park, Recreation and Community Services Department. -- Maria Hsin, Times Community News Twitter: @mariahsin  

In response to the letter, “No Native Americans, no need to bother,” really, Lee Brandt, why bother with “their” problems? Have you ever been to a Southern California pow-wow? If you have, you would know that there are many Native American communities throughout the state of California and they do have their own needs and problems. While I am not a huge fan of Rep. Adam Schiff, I am sure that our Native American communities would welcome long overdue help from state representatives.

NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE CELEBRATED The Burbank Park, Recreation and Community Services Department will host an event celebrating Native American heritage from noon to 3 p.m. June 28 at the Stough Canyon Nature Center, 2300 Walnut Ave., Burbank. The event centers on Native American culture of the Verdugo Mountains and the Los Angeles area. The Tongva Nation Dancers from the Gabrielino/ Tongva Tribal Council will perform around 12:30 p.m. In addition, there will be Native American foods, music and games.

Bret Harte Elementary School students leaned back in their chairs Friday morning, closed their eyes and listened to Rey Ortega play the flute. They opened their eyes when the music finished and released deep breaths. Ortega asked the children what they had imagined and saw when their eyes were closed. “I saw an eagle transforming as a human,” fourth-grader Natalie Hernandez said. For thinking out of the box and being original, Ortega awarded Natalie a flute.

History may chronicle events past but Cynthia Alarcón’s photographs both document and capture the emotion behind her personal discovery, mission architecture and the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Alarcón, artist and manager of production home planning at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, will exhibit her 20-year compilation of photographs, “One Woman’s Journey” at the Burbank Creative Arts Center Gallery opening Friday and continuing until Sept.

Outdoor concert series continuing The Downtown Burbank outdoor concert series will feature live music every Thursday in July and August. The festivities kick-off at 6 p.m. on the AMC Walkway at Palm Avenue and San Fernando Boulevard with free swing and salsa lessons. The bands will perform at 7 p.m. "Royal Crown Revue" will be performing classic swing to be-bop to blues. For more information, call (818) 238-5180. Ceramics and clay art show opening Artists John W. Hopkins, Stephen L. Horn, Shane M. Keena, Ricky Maldonado, Kevin A. Myers, Mark Poore and Adrian Sandstrom will be showing their ceramic and clay work, "Seven Guys and Their Work," through July 26 at Creative Arts Center Gallery, 1100 W. Clark Ave., Burbank.

TODAY "The Thousandth Night" continues at The Colony Theatre, 555 N. 3rd St., Burbank. Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through July 15. Tickets range from $37 to $42 with student, senior and group discounts are available. . For reservation, call (818) 558-7000, ext. 15. The play, " Toyer" will continue today at 8 p.m. at Sidewalk Studio Theatre, 4150 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake/Burbank. Directed by Martin Bedoian, "Toyer" is a play about the vast ability to manipulate one another.

JOYCE RUDOLPH Ole! Keeping up with an international trend, dance instructor Gene DeWald and his partner Sandi Marino have introduced a series of tango classes Sunday nights at the Burbank Realtors Hall. DeWald, a dancer for 64 of his 79 years, organizes the event, which features the live band Nuestro Tiempo. The Argentine style of ballroom dance is hot at nightclubs throughout Italy, Paris, Finland, Sweden, Amsterdam, Russia and Poland, he said.

Laura Sturza Native Americans are among the playwrights and performers having their say in a program created by Burbank residents Jean Bruce Scott and Randy Reinholz. Started in 1993 in Illinois, Native Voices at the Autry moved to its Griffith Park home in 2000, presenting free readings of new plays by Native Americans and other indigenous people. Shirley Cheechoo's "Moose River Crossing" is being read today. Scott and Reinholz entice actors to participate in the readings -- since film work is more lucrative -- by inviting casting directors to events.