SAN DIEGO -- Drawing on lessons about the American Indian past, instructors at a summer program hope to inspire a group of young Indian students to make a college education an important part of their future.

Two dozen students from tribes in North County and as far north as Alaska are participating in the Young Native Scholars Program, a two-week residential experience at UC San Diego aimed at preparing high school students for college.

"It's a holistic approach to education, looking to bring academic achievement and improvement of self-esteem," said Marc Chavez, program coordinator at UCSD. "It's about giving them a real taste of college life."

Each day, students in the program get up at 6 a.m. and begin the day with an hour of exercise that may include surfing, kayaking, yoga or karate. After breakfast, they go to class to study video production, Web-site development or one of various cultural learning lectures.

In the afternoon, the students take field trips, attend arts classes and get to know each other in "talking circle" discussions.

"It's important that you learn about your culture, because it's what ties you as people and as tribes," said Starr Montoya, a member of the Barona Band of Mission Indians in East County.

Montoya was teaching the students Tuesday morning how to make acorn mush, a staple of ancient Southern California Indian people that she learned from her mother and grandmother how to cook. She said it has become tradition to make the meal that local tribes call "shawee" or "weewis" at funerals or at special occasions for tribal elders.

Program instructors said it is important for Indian teens to realize that they are part of a larger historical tradition in the region than just their reservation homes.

"It's important for us to know for example that the word 'Kumeyaay' (the name for a tribe that includes most Indian bands from San Pasqual in North County to Ensenada, Mexico) means cliffs," Chavez said. "This entire area was highly populated (by indigenous people) and they had constant contact with the sea."

While some students were learning about foods their ancestors ate, others were putting the finishing touches on 30-second videos on computers. The digital video projects include subjects ranging from anti-drunk driving announcements to Indian pride ads.

"One of the most important things they will learn here is how to be digital historians and media advocates," said Shonta Chaloux, community resources coordinator with the Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association, a group representing most Southern California tribes.

"They will be able to document their own stories and important events in their communities, instead of others doing it for them," he said.

The tribal chairman's association helped fund the program, which is free to the students.

Though the program has been around for about 30 years, this is the first time that it has been able to host students living on the campus, Chavez said. It ends Saturday with a student recognition dinner at the university.

Students said they already appreciate what they've experienced.

"It's a great opportunity. I feel very proud to have been chosen from the more than 100 applicants who applied," said Savannah Stoneburner, 15, who lives on the remote North County reservation of Los Coyotes. "You realize that college life isn't all fun and games. It's really hard work."

Stoneburner said she may return to UCSD once she graduates from high school to study to be a neurosurgeon.

For more information on the program, visit www.NativeScholars.org.

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-5426 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

8/21/03