Thursday, September 12 from 7–8:30 PM
Join us for a private screening of the new Native Like Water short film Haagua: an Indigineous Surf Film. After the screening, Native Like Water crew members Marc Chavez, Luz Guerrero, and Amon B. Chavez will answer questions and share about their groundbreaking work. This program will be moderated by Haylee Bautista, Ocean Advocate for the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini tribe. This event is presented as part of SLOMA’s current exhibition, Whose Waters? A Celebration of Surfing on view through October 20, 2024. Reserve your seat thru SLOMA’s Eventbrite page. Please contact SLOMA’s Visitor Services Manager by September 1 to request access accommodations.
About Haagua: Haagua depicts the timeless connection between Grandmother Ocean and her children, speaking from the past and praying into the future. Birthed and sprung from water, a timeless memory of survival thrusts us forward to a current time – a time to thrive along the coast. More than a sport, surfing is a re-cognition of cultural practice and a re-creation of an original lifestyle. This re-generation is seen in the film]s featured surfers Andy Nieblas (Acjachemen) David Flores Ramos (Nahua), Kaliko Kahoonei (Hawaiian), Amon B. Chavez (Nahua-Carib), Reg Macarro (Payomkawichum-Ojibawe) and Marc Chavez (Nahua).
About Native Like Water: Native Like Water (NLW) prepares and reintegrates teens and young adults into ocean recreation, conservation, wellness, and inter-generational cultural self exploration. Program focuses on an indigenous sacred relationship to water. NLW works in a directional shift, going from just surviving to thriving. NLW creates scholarship and support for an endangered Native American population in California, Mexico and internationally. Native Like Water has also opened programing to a greater public, curating cultural experiences through an Indigenous lens with a focus on cultural conservation and natural habitats. Adventure travel, surf, food, education, music as medicine for mental health.
About Marc Chavez, Program Director/ Founder
Marc created InterTribalYouth.org and Young Native Scholars 22 years ago. Establishing partnerships with top universities, tribal organizations and communities, Marc aims to provide world-class educational opportunities to youth and indigenize the educational experience. Marc leads in curriculum design, programming, partner collaborations, and fundraising. In addition to California’s flagship programs, Marc began international programs over a decade ago in Panama, Hawaii, Jamaica and Mexico. Marc is of Nahua Decent off Michoacan’s Nahua Coast, an avid surfer, and spends much of his time with nature,
About Luz Guerrero / Mama Luz, Program Chef California, Organics, and Nativa Como Agua Non-Profit President, Mexico
Luz is a Mexican teacher and lawyer by profession but in practice she has put her life’s work into knowledge and distribution of Organic Agriculture across California and Mexico. Luz and her husband worked on organizing Indigenous communities around ancestral maize to regain presence within Mexico. Luz’s recent endeavors within the NLW programs has been the practice of Food as Medicine. She was brought onto the team in 2021 to cook Native Blue Corn (harvested at the Meseta Purepecha in Michoacán, Mexico) for NLW’s yearly SoCal Summer Beach Bonfire, Sailing, and Hawaii training programs. Luz is also heading up the formal initiative for Native Like Water as a formal bi-national organization registered in Mexico.
About Amon B. Chavez, Water Programs Assistant and Mentor
Amon has been helping and participating in the program for close to 15 years. Well versed in water safety, certified Scuba Diver, certification with BWRAG Big Wave Risk Assessment Group, in ocean water safety and rescue training as well as first responder training. Most of his life surrounded by water, it is integral to his life. Amon has paddling experience on both the open ocean and in freshwater rivers both in level 3 rapids and small to overhead surf. Amon has lived in over 7 countries and studies martial arts, gaming and storytelling as his favorite past times. Born in Belize, Central America, Amon is of both Xicano-Nahua, Mayan, and Afro-Caribbean descent.
