Before the break, three Native students from Minarets High School were selected to attend the IAC Pacific Region Native Youth Food Sovereignty Summit in Hawaii on November 15th through the 18th. It was a conference for Native youth, including Native Americans and Native Hawaiians. They were able to meet new friends from both California and Nevada and also Hawaii as well. They did explore a little of the Big Island of Hawaii, see new things, animals, and a close up with a sea turtle.
The conference was also pretty hard to get in - only a total of 40 people, 20 from California and 20 from Nevada were accepted to the conference.The students who were selected from Minarets were juniors Darrin Coleman, Ashley Davis, and senior Sierra Stalter. This was their first time going to Hawaii and they landed in Kona, Hawaii and traveled to different areas of the Big Island of Hawaii. They also got to visit the University of Hawaii.
They learned about other tribes and the Hawaiian cultures during the conference, including Hawaiian foods, language, dances, and other traditions. They even learned how to make their traditional leis, which means to them is to keep their spirits away. ​​Based on what they said in their applications, the attendees were put into groups and had to create a presentation at the end of the conference to present what they need in their communities and how they could help. They got together often to think of how they would present this and what type of project they need help within each of their community, which included many community gardens. We are proud that we were able to have three of our own students attend such a prestigious and competitive conference!