College students spend spring break
at UUSC’s Native American workcamp

Reannon Peterson (right), a UUSC volunteer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, works with Native American youngster Nicole at the LaJolla workcamp.

Thirteen volunteers from around the country participated in UUSC’s Alternative Spring Break workcamp, spending the traditional vacation week learning about Native American culture in San Diego County, Calif.

It was the fifth year the Service Committee has conducted workcamps on Native American reservations and the third year for its Alternative Spring Break program.

During the last week in March, the volunteers tutored children and did some community improvement work with the Luiseño Indians at the La Jolla Reservation.

The volunteers included college students from the University of Wisconsin and Colby College in Maine.

Working with the whole community
Michelle Dimas, UUSC’s on-site workcamp director, said the volunteers interacted extensively not only with the children but also with tribal leaders. One of the highlights was the invitation from the La Jolla community to attend a memorial service for Henry Rodriguez, a revered tribal elder and civil rights activist who died in February in a traffic accident. The Service Committee volunteers were the only outside group allowed to participate.

A Wisconsin student, Ava Murphy, said, "One week is a short time to make a difference on the course of a child’s life. I only hope I made a fraction of the difference that they made on me!"

Since the end of the workcamp, many of the volunteers have told of their experiences at their colleges, churches and community organizations.

"I believe that the experience acts as an alarm clock, activating me to find out about the Native Americans in my own community," said another Wisconsin student, Kim Tomczak.

Combating social injustices
Since 1996, more than 2,000 people from around the country have participated in UUSC workcamps dealing with issues of racial, social and economic justice. The program began in response to the epidemic of racially motivated arson burnings of African-American churches, primarily in the South. With the success of the church rebuilding workcamps, the program grew to include working on Native American reservations, in inner cities with minority communities, and with migrant farmer workers in Washington state.

Reannon Peterson, a student at the University of Wisconsin who organized the school’s participation, said the workcamp was a rewarding experience. For Ms. Peterson, it was second time she has participated in an Alternative Spring Break workcamp with UUSC. The first was in 2000 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

"It was a very important event in my life," she said, referring to both her earlier experiences primarily at Pine Ridge and then later at La Jolla. "It gave me a really new world view, at least I’ve seen how institutional racism exists in a very concrete way," she said.

Upcoming UUSC workcamps
This summer, a workcamp is being organized in conjunction with farm worker communities in the Greenville, North Carolina, area. There are still openings available for volunteers at the two-week workcamp. For further information or to download an application form, click here.

Last updated 5/28/02