SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Students and staff at Cuyamaca College in Rancho San Diego are building a replica Kumeyaay Village on campus.
The project is part of a program to restore natural habitats.
Dr. Stan Rodriquez, who has extensive knowledge on Kumeyaay Studies, is one of the staff championing the project.
Although some people may think the area where the replica village is going up simply looks like an open space with dirt, trees and shrubs, Rodriquez sees so much more.
"It's a hardware store, a grocery store, a clothing store and a pharmacy. Everything that you could ever need is right here around us," he says.
Rodriguez is a native Kumeyaay himself and is the head of the department at Kumeyaay Community College.
The replica village would allow students to explore the land, culture and language, something that Rodriguez says is close to dying out.
"Right now, of the 4,623 Kumeyaay who reside on both sides of the border, approximately 30 people still speak the language," he says. "Under the United Nations' nine factors of vitality and engagement, five being stable, zero being extinct, Kumeyaay language is listed as one."
The village will consist of two gardens, a couple of shaded structures called Ramadas and 15 houses.
"The frame is made out of willow," Rodriquez says. "Once we have it on, we have it on. The next thing we're going to do, we have some people bringing cattail."
Cattail is used to thatch, or cover, the home. It's a water plant that will keep families warm during the winter months and cool during the summer time. A home like this typically lasted a family up to two years.
Jessica Robinson, the interim president of Cuyamaca College, says their goal and commitment is to make sure that they are doing the project justice.
She says the Kumeyaay Studies department at Cuyamaca College has been in the works for more than a decade.
"We are on Kumeyaay land," she says. "We take that very seriously. It's something that gives us as a college a lot of pride. We have worked with and partnered with Kumeyaay College for many, many years."
Rodriguez says San Diego COunty is home to 18 reservations, more than any other across the country. Twelve of them are Kumeyaay.
His hope is to preserve the language shift through the program, so his precious culture will continue to live on.
"Part of this process where we're developing speakers so that our language, our culture, continues. It brings much happiness to my heart," he says.
Cuyamaca College is looking into creating its own American Indian Studies bachelors program, with a concentration in Kumeyaay Studies. It is also currently recruiting for its first Ethnic Studies tenure track faculty.
