By As told to Dinah Perez, 17, San Fernando High School

“Pamela Villasenor, 17, is one of the few native American students at Granada Hills High School. She comes from the tribe Fernardino Tatavim, who are members of the Shoshone people. She said she’d like to know more about her culture, but a lot of her history has been lost. If one would like to know about all the U.S. Presidents or about the wars this country has fought, one could easily open a history book and find out all about it. That isn’t the case for Pamela.
“Even though I don’t know as much as I’d like to about my culture, it bothers me to know that Native American names are being used as school’s mascots. Some of the same players don’t know the history of that Brave they wear on their football helmet, or the symbolism of the Apache drawn on their jersey. I don’t think it would hurt so much if they knew even a little bit of history of that mascot representing the school, but it isn’t taught…
“I am happy to know something is being done to get rid of any team holding onto a Native American name as their mascot. It’s a step for us to gain respect from the community. It shows that the little of us there is, still holds a powerful voice. I get sad just to think of how little of us there are, but I have a feeling that in terms of population, we’ll grow, power will grow. It’s hard because many Native Americans are constantly being taken from their lands, so it’s going take a lot to fight back for that land. When the Europeans came along, they brought many diseases that caused Native Americans to die or move away to unknown places. They were taken off their land, land that had belonged to them for years. If they refused to move (and many did), the men were badly beaten and the women were raped. Another group of people who have hurt Native Americans has been the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)… supposedly they help Native Americans but all they are is a bunch of liars who have not followed through any treaties. They abuse the system and take advantage of my people.”

We have a will to survive
“I think what keeps us moving, though, is our determination to live, to survive the struggle. It kind of scares me because I find out what happened to my people and know that nobody lifted a finger to help them out, so I feel it can happen again. I hardly see any native Americans but when I do, I get all happy, I trip out.”
“It’s hard to explain how I feel as a teenager. I feel that I’m normal but then I don’t. I do regular things like a teenager. I wear make-up, shop at the mall, and as a female, I choose to like guys and check them out. Yet, when it comes to ethnicity, I know I’m different. When people find out I’m Native American they tell me I’m down and that it’s cool to be Native American. When they tell me this, I feel accepted and as if they actually want to know more about me and my culture. I guess it’s because it’s not everyday that they meet a Native American and I have different traditions, and I think it’s a good thing to be different.”
“I’m so proud to be Native American. Me and my people make up one percent of the American population. There is no way I’d be anything else. I just ask for others not to pity us for what we’ve gone through but respect us for the determination and pride we hold inside of us.””