By Jennifer K. Morita

September 24, 2025

Crystal Martinez-Alire’s family has deep roots in the Sacramento region where her Miwok ancestors lived for centuries along the rivers and Sierra Nevada foothills.

Growing up, the Miwok culture was a constant in her life from dancing in traditional ceremonies to handmaking regalia.

It led her to Sacramento State, where she earned three degrees and rose as a leader in local schools and in the Native American community.

She served on the advisory committee for the University’s new Wileety Native American College, which opened this fall, and works as a Cosumnes River College counselor.

Today, Martinez-Alire’s drive to preserve Miwok traditions and culture continues to shape education in California.

“Far too often, our history books have narratives written by non-Native people. There was a genocide of Native people, where our land was taken and our people lost their lives,” Martinez-Alire said. “How do you carry on a culture that has been dismantled at times?

“That is why I share our traditions and culture so it can be passed down to the next generations. We want our little ones to know and understand their identity from a young age, so they know who they are.”

Martinez-Alire, who is an enrolled member of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians, grew up in Elk Grove. Her grandmother Dorothy Blue Olvera always taught her the value of education. She followed in her mother Doreen Franklin’s footsteps serving alongside her as a student representative on the Native American Parent Committee for the local school district.

By then, Martinez-Alire already had a few years as a traditional Miwok dancer under her belt.

“From early teachings, not everyone was selected to be a dancer. You had to be granted permission from the elders in the community,” she said. “I was in middle school when I first participated, and I learned from my grandfather and aunts who were dancers.

“There are a lot of different stories and oral traditions that are passed on through our songs. It was a way for me to understand my culture and get immersed in my own traditions and learn about our people and our history.”

Miwoks use dancing in ceremonies for healing and as blessings, not entertainment, Martinez-Alire said. Each dance has spiritual meaning, and their regalia reflects the ceremonial purpose with its focus on earth tones. Jewelry is made from items such as pine nuts and abalone shells, representing people that lived up and down the Sacramento Valley and Amador County as well as parts of the Bay Area coast.

Family members taught Martinez-Alire the traditional songs and prayers as well as how to make regalia for ceremonies.

During her senior year at Florin High School, she chose to make a traditional white buckskin Miwok dress by hand. She gained permission from tribal elders to use ceremonial regalia for her graduation project, and with help from her grandfather, Bill Franklin, learned which beads to use and how to stretch deer hide over several months.

“I wanted to display and share my culture,” said Martinez-Alire, who received funding from the Sacramento County Native American Caucus to pay for materials.

“You always want to have good intent, good thoughts and prayers as you create things, because that’s medicine. That’s what we call it. Our intent with our dances is to bless, to heal, to bring laughter, lightness, and that is represented in this dress.”

Martinez-Alire followed her older brother Matthew Franklin to Sac State partly because the University had just hired Native faculty members, including Annette Reed, who would become the inaugural dean of Wileety Native American College.

The University’s location next to the American River where the Miwok once lived also influenced her decision.

“It’s an institution that sits on my tribal homelands. It was very significant for me to walk that campus where my people lived,” she said.

“It was life changing in many ways. I’m so proud to say I’m an alumnus of Sacramento State.” 

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies, Martinez-Alire went on to become a McNair Scholar earning a master’s in Career and School Counseling. She came back to Sac State a third time for a doctorate in Educational Leadership.

With Native professors as role models and Reed serving as an advisor and mentor, Martinez-Alire said she learned leadership and communication skills that would later help her in her work as chairwoman of her tribe.

She also was elected to the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education in 2014, where she was the first Miwok woman to serve as a trustee. During her eight years on the board, she helped develop curriculum addressing the needs of Native American children and sat on a committee that crafted a land acknowledgement that is now read at every high school graduation.

Martinez-Alire also worked with the Wilton Rancheria Tribal Council to open Miwok Village Elementary School on 10 acres of tribal land.

A counselor for Native students at Cosumnes River College, she serves on the Sacramento Native American Higher Education Collaborative Committee and is a Native American Student Support and Success Program consultant with the California Community College Chancellors Office.

Last year, Martinez-Alire was asked to serve on the advisory committee for the Wileety Native American College, which celebrated its grand opening Sept. 24.

“It’s a long time coming,” Martinez-Alire said. “This will allow us to support our students so they feel a sense of belonging, so they feel welcome, so they have representation and don’t feel alone.

“Oftentimes, their tribes could be from remote areas, and they’re not near family. So, we have to create a safe space within our higher education systems for our students.”

Last spring, Martinez-Alire’s daughter Mariah Alire, who is also a Miwok dancer, graduated from Cosumnes Oaks High School. She chose to wear her mother’s white buckskin dress for her senior portraits.

“It fit her perfectly. It was like it was made for her,” Martinez-Alire said. “That’s when I knew this was a legacy that would be passed on for the next generations and for both my daughters, Mariah and Malilah.”