Identifying with one's culture combined with understanding and respect for our neighbors, their ways, and for Nature are the foundations of WildPlaces’ Art and Culture Identity Program. Combined with hands-on restorative action in Nature, the program achieves something unique and often under-represented in community benefits organizations (non-profits), BIPOC communities and education programs.

WildPlaces’ projects include a focus on our cultural identity; that is, the culture and art that lies within and between our respective indigenous traditions and that as seen through the lens of Nature. Also called nature ethic or simply reverence for Mother Nature or at times called Our Nature Eye, it has historically been expressed in every people and language and tradition on every corner of the planet.

We feel that in this modern age it is slipping away. All over, people are experiencing not only a disconnect from their own culture and ways but also a profound loss of connection to Nature.  For those at WildPlaces, this is a challenge that can be addressed through the arts as well as personal responsibility for nature through land and river stewardship.

For all of our relations - elders, parents, siblings, caregivers, activists and four-legged, winged and two-spirit beings - share a common thread,  whether it is food on the land, crafts and textiles made by the hand, dance and song felt in the heart, or language and stories told around the fire. The examples are ABUNDANT and they SURVIVE even in these harsh days of perceived scarcity, assimilation, greed, and violence. 

WildPlaces has worked successfully since 2001 and is actively engaging to incorporate and connect youth to the land. Our work is in Tulare, Kern, Fresno, and LA Counties with a base of operations in the foothills of the Southern Sierra. We are based in Springville, California and have been working with youth from California's Central Valley including Porterville, Visalia, Fresno, Bakersfield, Lamont, Arvin, and Los Angeles. We are an inclusive organization that works with people of diverse backgrounds, including Latino, Native American, Caucasian, Karen, and Mongolian communities. WildPlaces engages these communities and its youth in cultural education and the restoration and protection of natural habitats through  several programs including   'Immersed in the Wild' and 'Rio Limpio',  which emphasize the positive change of peoples' mindset regarding the environment and our cultural connections to it.

 This project enriches the cultural identity of Central California youth through Aztec dance and the instruction and use of Pre-Colombian instruments. It is our goal to enliven youth and students to the connection of the human spirit with body, mind, and nature through Aztec Dance and Mexica Culture.

There are two preliminary goals to Project Mexica.  First is   to have Danza Azteca trainings and performances (ensayos) every Friday for one year in order to create a Dance Troupe. These ensayos are designed to challenge youth and communities to participate, and importantly, to learn the traditions of the Mexica. It is our goal to provide for youth in the Central Valley with a positive alternative and lifestyle that counteracts the many negative influences our youth face today. These ensayos are inclusive and for the benefit of our local youth; we strive to re-connect them in a positive manner to our cultural traditions, nature, traditional music and Pre-Colombian instruments.

In addition to the ensayos, the second component of our project is to create an exhibit (to our knowledge this would be the first of its kind in Tulare County/Great Central Valley) that would include Mexica Replicas, Instruments, Contemporary Art, Sculpture and Aztec Regalia. Our goal is to bring together youth, artists, dancers, and musicians, to the grand opening of the exhibit. This exhibit would be open to the public and at no cost. We are trying to create a place where youth from local schools and the general public can learn about the wonderful traditions and culture of our Ancestors.

This modern day exhibit will showcase our yearning to connect with our predecessors through Mexica vision and art--its fantastic art form will inspire our soul to connect culture and nature.

Pre-columbian replicas of instruments and Mexica culture is being resurrecting throughout   other regions of California through Danza Azteca. Since 1970, Aztec ceremony in dance form has been reintroduced through the drum beat and the replication of intricate Aztec regalia that is boastful of color, imagination and yet one of the most exaggerated “copilli” headdresses of mounted rare macaw feathers in North America. Both Aztec dancers and artisans have regained our Mexica culture back into our hands through the development and replication of the “Huehuetl” upright drum and the “Teponachtli” vertical slit drum, clay flutes, Pre-columbian jewelry,  jade earplugs, and other important art and dance components.

Our exhibit will celebrate the concept of “Mexica Tiahui” (Latino People moving forward) through the ability to showcase the preservation of these items in visual form.

A saw dust mandala (Tapiz) by Lillia Valencia-Duran, who was featured as one of the artists at the opening of the  de Young Fine Arts  Museum of San Francisco, will be created by the artist herself during the opening night and reception of Projecto Mexica. This hands-on, participatory installation of organically dyed saw dust   gives vibrant color and texture to the Tapiz.

Saw dust that is dyed in an array of colors is then put into an outline of an Aztec motif and installed in the center of the art gallery hall or gallery. This tradition is part of the Maya culture that connects us to the spirituality of nature and earth. This will culminate in an exhibit opening featuring all of these components and at which  Aztec dance troupes will perform the opening ceremonies. The exhibit is free of charge to the public. 

Project Mexica will purchase and borrow  pre-columbian percussion instruments, ceremonial music, conchas and turtle shells to demonstrate the synchronicity of sounds and dance steps of the traditions that we will share with the community.

Danza Azteca strives to bring the Latino community to a better understanding of cultural identity through dance steps that relate the elements of wind, fire, water, and earth  as taught by our indigenous predecessors. Students and youth will capture this past heritage and self-identity with their ancestors.

This Ancestral consciousness will help youth understand that they are part of the community   we call “Mexica Tiahui” (Latino people moving forward). The goal is to teach youth the importance of practicing these traditions in a modern and contemporary world. Our youth/community would have a positive influence and deterrent to gang activity among many factors afflicting their lives through the practice of Danza Azteca. 

Project Mexica would include Latino and Native People who will benefit from mentoring and instruction of traditions of the Mexica People taught by Elders and dance troop leaders.

Implementing and participating in this curriculum are Elders and maestros from regional California dance troupe leaders.  They have taught basic to comprehensive Mexica cultural traditions for more than 50 years. Teachers and instructors include individuals, from youth to elders, who have been raised in the Aztec dancing tradition since childhood and have participated in ceremonies and presentations through out California and Mexico. Their training includes extensive travel and participation in various tribal gatherings throughout North America (ie: Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco).

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2020-21 Culture Identity and Arts Project: A Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

The Culture Identity and Arts Project proposal received funding support from the 2020 Corona Virus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act (CARES Act) Relief Arts Funding grant program in order to inspire traditional arts within the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) communities in the San Joaquin Valley. Disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and lacking arts opportunities,  BIPOC communities in Tulare County experience disparities on many levels, including those in the arts and arts opportunities resulting in a less enriched and culturally educated population.  

 WildPlaces’ Culture Identity and Arts Project offers solutions by providing traditional arts opportunities and job creation for local artists during a time of pandemic crisis.

With visionary support like CARES Relief Arts Funding, selected local artists and indigenous organizers are charged with creating public art and designing virtual trainings throughout the month of January 2021 to enhance community understanding and acceptance of the connection between protecting the environment through artistic expression and traditional ceremonial practice. Land and river conservation programs allow communities to take personal responsibility for and participation in environmental stewardship. In conjunction, the Culture Identity/Arts program offers Aztec Dance, traditional arts, virtual trainings, and mural arts. Together, they infuse the BIPOC communities with cultural awareness, environmental responsibility, creative artistry, and relief from the constant threats of today’s pandemic.

Three honorariums and four facilitator stipends were awarded to local artists and experts in the fields of traditional knowledge and indigenous art. Utilizing and compensating these local artists and workshop facilitators as part of the project resulted in jobs creation in the field of art and culture. In other words, the arts can once again become a career pathway for the unemployed and underemployed members of our community.

In addition,  participation at one of several virtual training events, BIPOC community members were able to see “culture and art in action” and became inspired and invested in positive activities that are proven to reduce gang affiliations and incarceration of young people-- redirecting them to a value-creating lifestyle.  

And finally, a children’s story based in indiginous storytelling has reached a draft position and possesses great potnetial to be published.

Support for this project was provided by 2020 CARES Relief Arts Funding Initiative, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, and the Arts Consortium.