Tribal Tribute

Tule River Reservation graduates honored

The Tule River Indian Reservation Tribe treated its graduated eighth graders and high school students to one more celebration Thursday in honor of their recent graduations at their respective schools.

With “Pomp and Circumstance” playing as the graduates, parents, families and guests arrived, the graduates took a seat on the bleachers to await the start of the program.

The program began with Neil Peyron, Tule River Tribal Council chairman, welcoming and thanking all in attendance. In all, he said, the tribe had 45 middle school graduates and 44 high school graduates this year.

Joining Peyron were the seven other council members — Shine Nieto, Franklin Carabay, Joyce Carothers, Gary G. Santos, Felix Christman, William Garfield, and Harold Santos.

“When I graduated, there were only eight of us,” Peyron said as he chuckled.

And when she gradated, Carothers said, there were only two.

Peyron offered a few words of encouragement to the Class of 2022, called on Denise Hunter to open with a prayer, before he was joined by the rest of the council in the singing of a native song he said he learned recently.

“You’re never too old to learn,” he said and talked about the class he took when it was offered. “There’s always an opportunity to learn. Look out for those opportunities. You never know when you’re going to need them.

“It’s about the gathering of people and how we have been there. We were here then. We are here now. This is our land. Our land is precious.”

Franklin Carabay then took the microphone.

“We are here to celebrate our graduates from middle school and high school,” Carabay

said.

And, one by one, Carabay started calling the names of eighth graders who were present to walk forward to be recognized. The high school students followed, including Jeremy Vigil and Storm-mee Gomez who graduated from Sherman Indian High School in Riverside.

In addition, several students from out of the area were presented with a Native American Honor Blanket to honor their achievements.

“We’re always here to support you and to wish you the best,” Carabay said.

And wherever they go, he said, whether to a school of higher education, a trade school, or into the military, the council is always there for them.

The program ended with a tri-tip lunch for the students and guests, and was followed with a celebration-ride parade loop through the reservation with the graduates in their decorated vehicles.

All of the graduates were also honored with an incentive monetary amount — $250 for eighth-graders, and $500 for high school graduates.

“It’s an incentive for them and can be spent any way they want,” said Courtney Cardoza, director of education before the program began. “It’s not a scholarship.”

RECORDER PHOTO BY ESTHER AVILA Tule River tribal member Gary Santos places a Native American Honor blanket on Zoe Townsend who recently graduated from Universal Preparatory High School. The Tule River tribe honored all their graduates on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

RECORDER PHOTO BY ESTHER AVILA The Tule River Indian Reservation tribe honored its graduates with a ceremony and a tri-tip luncheon on Thursday at the Tule River gymnasium. In all, 89 eighth-grade and high school students were in the Class of 2022.

RECORDER PHOTO BY ESTHER AVILA Dakota Heggie, a recent graduate of Harmony Magnet Academy, shakes hands with the Tule River Tribal Council on Thursday when his name was called to be recognized during a Tule River tribal celebration for the tribe’s 89 graduates.

RECORDER PHOTO BY ESTHER AVILA Tule River Indian Reservation’s Class of 2022 graduates wait on the bleachers during a celebration held Thursday at the Tule River Indian Reservation gymnasium. In all, the tribe had 89 eighth-grade and high school graduates this year.