Fallbrook Elementary School Honors Native American History with Reading Room

It’s almost the end of the school year, but for the students at La Paloma Elementary School, it’s the start of something new.

Members of local Native American tribes celebrated the opening of a new reading center at the school library on Friday.

“It’s an honor for me. It’s an honor because of our culture… our tribe, the N’de Apache tribe, the people that I represent, and most importantly, I was called to do this.” , said Angel Sanchez Reyes, the leader of the N’de Apache tribe.

He says he loves sharing his stories and history and hopes it’s something that doesn’t get lost. “If you ask a Native American about their history, they’ll be more than happy to tell you. We just don’t get asked that often enough. And we’d love to share that,” he said.

“And what better way than a library to teach growing children about their culture? They need to know everything about their history so that when they grow up, they can be as proud as we are,” said Virginia Camacho, a student from N’De. Member of the Apache tribe.

Regan Pedo, the school librarian, wanted to create a space that would keep history alive.

She discovered that the school was built on an old cemetery and wanted to give back a small piece of it.

“There’s a lot of history underneath here in La Paloma on this land,” Pedo said. “We’re surrounded by multiple tribes. So, I knew that once we made those connections…it was going to be a powerful thing to open up a beautiful piece to remind kids that we’re here and remind us how we can be better .”

A dark, simple corner was filled with colorful murals and books.

And Pedo hopes it’s a space where students learn not just about Native American history, but all stories.

“That’s really what it’s about. All these elders talked about portals, books, how we can find ourselves in books. What can we find out about each other in the past” , she said.

A grant from former HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson funded the new space and provided students with brand new books in English and Spanish.