"California Indians exist, and they are Everywhere here"

Producers Albert and Larisa Chacon talk about the direction that We Are Birds Documentary Project is continuing towards.... Dr. Broyles Chacon shares her view on the public's knowledge of the Birds... "What I'd like to tell them (the public) that; in their own backyards, There are so many Rich cultures that they have NO IDEA of...and there's so much variation.. that it's a shame that they don't know what's really going on... and that they should make an effort to try and find out as much as they can about the people that are not only their neighbors but were the original people living here, and who ARE STILL HERE! ....They aren't people who died out a long time ago... even though that what they (the public) may have Learned. California Indians exist, and they are EVERYWHERE here!" Larisa Broyles Chacon Phd -- Anthropology We Are Birds Documentary will feature a variety of Head Birdsingers , from Experienced Tribal Leaders and Preservationists to the First people in their tribe to restart birdsinging in their communities where there had been no birdsinging before. The We Are Birds Documentary will feature all of these views and in between, with each person telling their own story from their own perspective of why preservation is important and what it means to them as an individual. Birdsinging is a form of music traditionally sung by the First Americans of the southwest. These rhythmic songs accompanied by handmade gourd rattles are known to have been out here for at least 10,000 years, although according to oral tradition, they are even older, perhaps even 25,000 years old! These songs of our earliest ancestors are still sung by our people today. Locally, the Cahuilla peoples have a birdsinging tradition that honors each day of the year, with a body of songs numbering over 365. In addition, the Creation Story tells of a time when we were all birds, and flew three times around the world before finding a permanent home in what is now Southern California. To honor this flight, bird songs are traditionally sung over a period of three days. Other groups around the Cahuilla people traditionally shared our songs and sang and shared their own, along with other traditions, which has given the southwestern Natives a long history of cultural connectedness. Bird songs have become a linkage between neighboring tribes and between generations, and are the heart of a growing revitalization movement demonstrating that cultural loss is not the only story to be told about Native Americans. Albert Chacon Producer