One of Extension's Rising Stars

Sherrie Chandler

Walk into the Louis Robidoux Nature Center in Rubidoux on a summer afternoon and you will find the place teeming with children.

Some are studiously working on arts and crafts projects, while others are erecting an outdoor tent for the upcoming pecan festival. Despite the overexuberance of youth, an opossum is fast asleep in the corner of his exhibit and a lop-eared bunny, in an open cage, is busy gnawing its teeth on some glistening plastic finery.

The Louis Robidoux Nature Center is alive with energy and activity. It wasn't always that way.

"We have tripled our attendance in the past couple of years," said Park Interpreter Sherrie Chandler.

Sherrie attributes the significant jump in park attendance to her decision two years ago to enroll in classes in the Native American Studies Program at UCR Extension.

The property, where the Louis Robidoux Nature Center is located, was once the homeland of the Native American tribe, the Tongva Tribal Nation. After taking courses at UCR Extension in the Native American Studies programs, Sherrie reclaimed the Nature Center as a focal point for teaching local children about Native American Indians in Southern California.

In doing so, Sherrie also reclaimed her own past.

Sherrie's father was part Hopi and part Yavapai-Apache. Her mother was Irish. As a child growing up in Redondo Beach, Sherrie didn't pay much attention to her heritage – until her father passed away two years ago.

"My dad kept reminding me that we were the last of the true bloodline," Sherrie said.

Sherrie's grandparents were separated from their parents and relocated to the Cabazon Indian Reservation, where they met. When they were 14, the young couple eloped and lived in New Mexico for a while. They returned to the reservation where Sherrie's father was born. Sherrie's father eventually worked on the railroads in Northern California with the Chinese. Ultimately, he got a job with the Palos Verdes School District as a bus driver. When he died, he was supervising the school district's transportation system.

"When my dad died, I thought ‘oh my gosh,' (my Native American heritage) is going to be lost forever," said Sherrie, who spoke some of her Native American language when she was younger. Over time, her ability to speak the language was lost, too.

She has been able to reconnect with her Native American roots in classes at UCR Extension. What she has learned here, she shares not only with her family, but also the Riverside community.

Inside the Nature Center, numerous exhibits depict Native American toys and games, like the ring and pin game, natural Native American clothing like bark skirts, and tools such as the willows basket and fish trap. Large murals depicting Native American life along the Santa Ana River grace the Center's walls. Students from Sherman Indian High School showcase their Native American arts and crafts at the Center.

Currently, 88 students visit each day during the summer and four elementary schools tour the Nature Center to learn about Native Americans in Southern California.

Sherrie's desire to reclaim her heritage, return to school and continue the path of lifelong learning has enabled her to educate countless other people, including her own two children. We commend Sherrie on her efforts to share her newfound knowledge with the community at large and hope that you might find ways to impart the knowledge gained at UCR Extension to make the world a better place.

This fall, we are offering a new course in the Native American Studies program, "Native American Poetry." For other courses in Native American Studies, see our online schedule of classes.

John F. Azzaretto
Vice Chancellor, Public Service and
International Programs; and
Dean, University Extension and
Summer Sessions, UC Riverside