AMERICAN INDIAN STORE GIVES PEOPLE GLIMPSE OF CULTURE.Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer With a new sports bar in Canyon Country, the scheduled spring opening of a Hyatt hotel in Valencia and other businesses sprouting up all over the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. , Kiyomi Phillippi saw the need for an additional retail option: an American Indian American Indian or Native American or Amerindian or indigenous American Any member of the various aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimos (Inuit) and the Aleuts. store. Authentic American Indian crafts, herbal medicines herbal medicine, use of natural plant substances (botanicals) to treat and prevent illness. The practice has existed since prehistoric times and flourishes today as the primary form of medicine for perhaps as much as 80% of the world's population. and one of the largest selections of beads in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, can be found in the new Indian Store in the Valencia Marketplace. Phillippi's parents have operated a store featuring American Indian crafts, jewelry, clothing and other items in Escondido for 15 years and felt the Valencia location, off the Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. , would be ideal. ``It all started when someone came into the Escondido store 15 years ago and asked my parents if they would be interested in stocking this type of stuff,'' Phillippi said. She said that when her parents agreed, business boomed, and now Phillippi oversees operations at their newest store. Among the items that catches the eye upon entering the store is the head of a buffalo mounted on a wall above books about the life of Geronimo and the various Indian tribes. The sound of traditional music comes softly from overhead speakers, while customers sort through clothing and beads. ``The most popular items are the beads and the dream-catchers,'' said Patrick Duenez, a store employee. Dream-catchers are called a gift of love and inspiration whose roots lie in various places across North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . They are designed similar to a tennis racket, but completely round, with webbing in the circumference and small beads decorating them. ``It catches bad dreams within the webbing and destroys (them), leaving the good dreams to flow into the sleeping person,'' Duenez said. Phillippi said the bead selection features glass, bone, horn, stone and seed. The store also sells arrows and quivers, shields, spears, tomahawks and war clubs. ``We get a lot of Native Americans who come into the store all the way down from Bakersfield and Sacramento,'' Duenez said. But American Indians American Indians: see Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the; Natives, Middle American; Natives, North American; Natives, South American. aren't the only shoppers. Tom Sakevitz is a frequent customer at the Indian Store. ``I'm glad we have a store that we can get these items from,'' said the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, resident, who is among 150 others who have signed up for a crafts class to be taught by Phillippi at the store. Although the store officially opened in December, a grand-opening celebration, complete with American Indian dancers, drummers and singers, will be held there Saturday, Phillippi said. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) Kiyomi Phillippi, proprietor of the Indian Store in Valencia, displays some of her wares. Tom Mendoza/Daily News |
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