Close your eyes and take a moment to reflect.

These were the words that Grace Pérez, an administrative assistant at El Camino College, said at the beginning of the Thursday, Nov. 30 table talk that took place in the Social Justice Center.

The discussion was about the FX television comedy series Reservation Dogs and how it represents Native American culture and lifestyle.

Premiering in 2021, the half-hour comedy show follows the life and times of four Indigenous teenagers living inside a reservation community in rural Oklahoma. The show deals with themes of grief, native culture, poverty and systemic issues.

Pérez opened the talk by discussing how El Camino College was built on Native American land, specifically the Tongva people.

She said people within the community should connect with their Native American background, as many of them may not know they come from a Native background.

“Most people don’t know their native background, and we should appreciate Native culture more, which is one of the reasons we hosted this event,” Pérez said.

A scene from the series shown at the table talk featured a Deer Lady who helped a Native American boy who was unknowingly about to be harmed.

The Deer Lady is a mythological spirit that appears in many Native American stories and is known for helping women and children in the community.

Similar to the show, while touching on some serious topics, the table talk was mostly lighthearted, with Pérez sharing some interesting facts about the show and how it relates to Native American culture.

“The show includes many famous Native American actors who often play Native characters and I wanted to showcase this show as it could be very informative,” Pérez said.

The talk closes out a series of events that El Camino and the Social Justice Center have hosted for Native American Heritage Month, which included a powwow.

Social Justice Center coordinator Monica Delgado moderated the table talk and was one of the main organizers who helped plan activities to celebrate El Camino’s first Native American Heritage Month.

“I just wanted to bring that Native energy onto campus and reach out to as many of our Native students as possible,” Delgado said.

One of five people to attend the table talk was history major Justin Werst, 21, who went to multiple events during Native American Heritage Month.

“It is nice to have El Camino represent different communities by hosting these events,” Werst said.

Native American Heritage Month is just one of the cultural months that El Camino celebrates and hosts events for.

The Social Justice Center also celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct 15 this semester.

“We are already working on our plans to celebrate Black History Month in February and Women”s History Month in March,” Delgado said.