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AICCC provides Native Americans with an opportunity to

publicly gather for pow-wows, fund raisers and attend family

outings. Through the AICCC, individuals and families can be

linked with people who take part in other traditional

activities, for example, the elders gathering on nearby Tule

Reservation. Carmen talks about taking pride in your

culture:

I think the little kids, if they could see that
they have something and can show the community
what they have, instead of hiding it in a closet.
You got to take a sense of pride in what you are.
I think that was a lot of it, a social awareness
for the community as a whole and for the Indian
people specifically.

A Native American identity no longer has to be tucked

away in a closet. Ethnicity no longer has to be a shameful

thing and public gatherings, like pow-wows, are a way to

demonstrate to the general public that Indians are not going

to be invisible nor are they going to relinquish their

identities. Public gatherings are a way to display pride in

one's identity and facilitate the passing on of knowledge to

younger generations.

Pow-wow dancing is not viewed as a part of Kawaiisu

culture as Clara points out: "I don't think our people did

that, like dancing with the head dress, I think that's from

other tribes." She attends pow-wows, and enjoys the food,

such as acorn and fry bread, but she does not dance. Andy,

on the other hand, dances in pow-wows and so do his three

grandchildren and occasionally so will Monty. By dancing in