Written by Ashley Ortega —
O’NEALS — In Native American Club, it’s about influencing students on campus to never be afraid and to get involved in something that can help here at Minarets High School. As a Native American myself, this class has given me more information about my culture that I never knew before, such as what our people have done, especially pertaining to our young.
Being in Native American Club, we’re very hands-on with a lot of assignments, whether it’s making Indian Tacos for events, or constructing a project we as a class work on. Our principal, Daniel Ching, had come up with an idea and presented to the class what would be an outside patio attached to our media lounge at Minarets. In order to start planning, we had to draw out an image while relating the patio to our Native Culture and find prices for the materials we chose.
“Either you’re Cherokee or you’re not, it isn’t the quality of blood in your veins. It is important, not the quality of it, but your pride in it. I have seen full bloods who have virtually no idea of the great legacy,” says Jim Peol, Chief of North Alabama North Cherokee tribe.
“Yet I have seen people with as little as one over five hundred, who inspire the spirits of their ancestors because they make being Cherokee a proud part of their everyday life.”
I believe in our class. You don’t have to be Native American or have Native American blood in order to be in the class or understand it, for that matter. Being in Native American Club is about having courage or wanting to learn something new and that will hopefully help in the future.
Ashley Ortega is a Minarets student enrolled in Digital Writing
