Guest Speakers

"Mr. Velarde is an amazon person! He lit up while sharing his way of life which made it feel so different from all the other guest speakers. It felt like we were being told stories as a community. The information he shared was secluded from the rest of the world, a very rare occurrence. As I sat there listening to him, I soaked in every word and bit of information, knowing it was a privilege to hear him speak. It breaks my heart how he was praying we would be respectful and was incredibly nervous to talk to us. I don’t blame him in the slightest. I hope he got the impression that we were all attentive, open minded, and enjoying what he told us because that’s the kind of people we are, not because we were simply told to do so.

This was by far my favorite out of all the other speakers. All of the speakers have brought their own unique experiences and knowledge to share with us, but Mr. Velarde brought something irreplaceable. He could have easily decided to not be open with us. I haven’t done anything to be trusted with something that has received so much discrimination from people who look like me. I’ve felt the same feeling most of my life, but a specific example is when I went to visit Acoma. I loved learning about the history and seeing the pueblo, but what if I am still a part of the problem of ignorance?

I’m sorry I didn’t talk about the presentation itself more, but it’s impossible to talk about everything I found interesting since it was everything. There were a couple big things that stood out, however: people are meant to serve and care for the earth in return for using it, and each human life is significant and is worthy to celebrate through ceremonies."

LAPS Humanities Student - 2025