Turtle Island/Abya Yala: Indigenous Lands

The Marian and Charles Holmes Performing Arts Fund of The Claremont Colleges sponsors “Turtle Island/Abya Yala: Indigenous Lands” on Saturday February 22nd, 2025 at 7 pm in Garrison Theater, Scripps College.”Turtle Island” and “Abya Yala” are terms used by Indigenous peoples to refer to the American continents. Both names stem from deeply rooted creation stories that highlight the sacred connection to the land and its animals. “Turtle Island” refers to the creation myth shared by many North American Indigenous peoples, where the world was created on the back of a giant turtle. “Abya Yala” translates to “Land of Maturity” or “Land of Ripeness” in the Kuna language, an indigenous group from Panama.. Our creative group includes Scripps professor Hao Huang; spiritual leader of the Gabrielino Shoshone tribal council Javier Ramirez (Lenka, Nawat Gabrielino Shoshone); Scott Orellana Inglés Scoggins (Pipil, Nawat, Maya);Tina Calderon (Gabrielino Tongva, Chumash); Jessa Calderon (Tongva, Chumash, Yaqui); dancer Destiny Rivera-Gomez; musicians Micah Yan-jie Huang; Jonah Yan-han Huang; and Emma Gies.