Newsletter #30 Spring 2000

e-mail us at: ciba@ciba.org or to our webmaster

California-Great Basin Indian Basketweavers Gathering
Will take place June 23-25, 2000

We hope you are already making plans to join us in Reno, Nevada (same location as last year's Western Regional Indigenous Basketweavers Gathering!) for another wonderful weekend of weaving and sharing. This year's event is being jointly sponsored by the California Indian Basketweavers Association and the Great Basin Native Basketweavers Association. Friday, June 23, is open to basketweavers and their guests. Saturday is open to the public and activities will include the Basketweavers Showcase, panel discussions, progress reports, demonstrations of basketry and related arts, CIBA's Fundraiser Drawing, and cultural sharing. Sunday will be open to all CIBA members and will include our annual meeting, time to meet the candidates for election to the Board, and a closing circle.

The 2000 Basketweavers Showcase will be exhibited at this year's joint California-Great Basin Indian Basketweavers Gathering. Basketweavers from tribes indigenous to California and the Great Basin may enter 1-3 baskets, made entirely of traditional materials, and completed during the past year. Entries must be turned in at the Gathering, on Friday, June 23, between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. This year's Showcase Coordinator is Joanne Campbell. Lynn Fox returns as Curator.

We need you! Please call the CIBA office if you can volunteer some time during this year's Gathering. We need people to help greet and orient arrivals, set up, move tables and chairs, work at the registration and sales tables, serve as Showcase docents, run videotapes, direct traffic, run errands, shuttle to the airport and motels, k.p., litter patrol, etc. Tell us what you're good at, and we'll put you to work!

- back -

From the CIBA Board Chairperson
Jennifer Bates

A new year and the beginning of a new millennium have begun. CIBA staff begins the new year with Sara Greensfelder, our executive director, starting her nine-month sabbatical. We are going to miss her, but I know that she is deserving of this restorative time and I know she will still be out there conducting some kind of business on behalf of CIBA. I wish her plenty of rest and relaxation. (I know you can do it, Sara, just have fun.) Of course, while Sara is gone, we have Steve Nicola taking her place as acting director. I know the staff and CIBA are in vary capable hands. I, along with the board of directors, will be there for Steve and together we will keep things running smoothly.

Speaking of running things smoothly, Sage LaPena and I have taken on the task of coordinating this year's Gathering. I am calling on my family, comrades, and friends I haven't even met yet to come forward and help us plan and have yet another successful Gathering. We are in need of donations for our Fundraiser Drawing. There are many other jobs to be filled for the week-end Gathering, so if you are interested or would like more information, please feel free to call Sage, Michael Garitty, or myself through the CIBA office (see page 3 for contact information).

On a different note, it is with regret that I must announce that we have a new vacancy on our Board of Directors. Chuck Striplen has left to pursue an advanced degree in Oregon. We wish you all the luck, Chuck, and extend our appreciation to you for the great work you did for CIBA and the grants that you helped CIBA obtain. Chuck was instrumental in helping to get the Northwest CIBA office going. He will be missed, but we hope to see him at our Gatherings.

I was able to attend the community opening for the Northwestern Field Office in Willow Creek, and things are looking good up there. The office is coming together, and I saw lots of enthusiasm from the community. You can read more about the open house elsewhere in this newsletter. I just want all of you to know that CIBA is growing and moving in all the right directions.

Please, while Sara is on her sabbatical, do not hesitate to call on Steve, any board member, or staff to answer questions or help in any way. We are all here to serve CIBA.

- back -

From the Acting Executive Director
Steve Nicola

The adage, "the only thing constant is change,” couldn't be more true for CIBA. In the short span of seven-and-a-half years, we have experienced an amazing amount of change, as our programs have expanded and our reach and influence has broadened. But, is it my imagination, or does change seem to be happening more rapidly lately? Last year's highly successful Western Regional Indigenous Basketweavers Gathering in Reno, Nevada, was by all accounts an unqualified success—the crown jewel in a glittering garland of achievements. But not an organization to rest on its laurels, the Board of Directors wasted little time in sending its staff off to scale new heights. Since last October, we have established an administrative headquarters in an office building in downtown Nevada City, opened a field office in Willow Creek, and nearly doubled the size of our staff. And we are not through. The Board has set ambitious goals for the year 2000 that, if fully implemented, would increase our staff by half again.

Our purpose, of course, is not growth for growth's sake, but to meet the real needs of basketweavers and their communities. Thus, we have reached out to our large constituency in the northwestern part of the state through our Northwestern Field Office. In addition to the research we are doing there on pesticide use-related issues, we will support weaving, teaching, and gathering activities; monitor government agencies and resource management programs; assist basketweaver efforts to prevent herbicide use, protect resources and access to gathering sites; and educate non-Indian residents and visitors about basketweaver concerns. Thanks to a generous grant from the Vera P. Vietor Trust of the Humboldt Area Foundation, the office is off to a good start.

But our critical statewide programs necessary to support field office activities and serve basketweavers statewide have lagged. During the remainder of the year we are looking to shore up our efforts at basketweaver outreach and support, membership recruitment and retention, fundraising, public outreach and education, and product development and marketing. It's an exciting and challenging time to be part of such a vital organization. I am grateful to the Board of Directors for giving me the opportunity to guide us for a short while during these rapidly changing times. Thanks to the continued support and generosity of our members and donors, I am confident that we will have many more achievements to report in future issues of Roots & Shoots. Stay tuned.

- back -

CIBA Board Transitions

We are pleased to announce the appointments of Christi Gabaldon (Mishewal Wappo) and Athena (Tina) Johnston (Norelmek Wintu) to CIBA's Board of Directors. The Board acted at its March meeting to fill two vacancies, the latest arising with the resignation of Chuck Striplen in February. A resident of Santa Rosa, Christi is a beginning weaver who has served as co-coordinator for the Day Under the Oaks gathering at Santa Rosa Junior College and president of the United American Indian Council. "I feel it's my destiny as a Native person to learn to weave from my elders, then teach it to others,” said Christi. "This was the way of our past and I hope it's still the way of our future.”

Tina Johnston began learning the weaving tradition of her mother's family about 10 years ago. She has been a local TV and public radio volunteer, a volunteer at her local LIFE, Inc. center, at a DQ University youth and elders camp, and a local youth camp. "Basketweaving has brought me closer to the roots of my culture spiritually,” Tina said . "With this, the rest of my family has also come closer to knowing who they are.” Both Tina and Christi see themselves as liaisons between CIBA and their communities. "We look forward to their help in reaching out to others on behalf of CIBA,” said Board Chairperson Jennifer Bates.

Outgoing Board member Chuck Striplen will be leaving California this summer to pursue a graduate degree at Oregon State University. "It was Chuck's initiative and efforts that led to the creation of CIBA's new Northwestern Field Office,” observed Bates. "He also helped get funding for the office and its programs. We are grateful to Chuck and his contributions to CIBA, and we wish him well in his new pursuits,” said Bates.

- back -

CIBA Open House

Please join CIBA Board members and staff in celebrating the opening of our new main office in historic Nevada City. We are holding an open house on Saturday, April 29 from noon - 4pm. The event will include basketry displays, basketweaving, and more. The office is located at 317 Spring Street, one block south of Broad Street—take the Broad Street exit off of Highway 49. We look forward to seeing you here!

- back -

In Memory...
Sylvena Mayer (North Fork Mono Tribe)

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of yet another elder, Sylvena Mayer, of North Fork. A lifetime member of the Sierra Mono Museum in North Fork, she was one of its founders, and served on the museum's Board of Directors. She was also on the Tribal Council of the North Fork Mono Tribe. She was a knowledgeable historian, and was especially active with environmental issues, working to protect creeks and rivers from hydroelectric projects, and traditional plants from chemical spraying. She traveled tirelessly to meet with state and federal agencies, doing whatever it took to protect the things she held dear. She was also in the forefront for cultural events, bringing back traditions such as the Bear Dance in North Fork. She will surely be missed in her community, and we all mourn the loss of a member of our larger California Indian community.

- back -

California Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program Grants Available

(ACTA) awarded $2,500 grants to a total of twenty pairs of master traditional artists and dedicated apprentices for the 1999-2000 funding round. Four of these master-apprentice pairs represent California Indian traditional arts. Leland "Junie" Donahue, of Eureka, is teaching Karuk dip net making and fishing to his nephew, David Levi Tripp of Happy Camp. Craig Bates, who learned to make Mechoopda dance regalia from Henry Azbill, is teaching regalia making to apprentice Rod Clements, a descendant of Mechoopda dancer and singer George Clements.

In the realm of basketry, CIBA board member Gladys McKinney is teaching Western Mono basketry to apprentice Ruby Vargas; and Linda Yamane is teaching the making of a southern Ohlone winnowing & roasting basket to apprentice Carol Bachmann. We look forward to covering these basketry projects in future issues of Roots & Shoots.

Amy Kitchener, of the Fresno Arts Council, is currently preparing the 2000-2001 round of applications, which will go out by April 15. You may request an application by calling or writing ACTA at the Fresno Arts Council, 1245 Van Ness, Fresno, CA 93721; 559/237-9734; akitch@telis.org.

- back -

Great Basin Weavers Form Organization

In January, nineteen Great Basin basketweavers met in Reno to form the Great Basin Native Basketweavers Association (GBNBA). Their February meeting took place in Battle Mountain, Nevada, hosted by the Battle Mountain Shoshone Tribe. The March meeting, hosted by the Washo people in Dresslerville, Nevada, was attended by 64 interested basketweavers. "We are going very strong and the basket world is being revived within the small Indian communities throughout the region's desert lands," said Robert Baker, Jr., the new organization's chairman.

The following people were selected to sit on the Board of Directors which will govern the organization: Cindy Foster (Washo/Walker River Paiute) of Gardnerville, NV; Bernice Lalo (Western Shoshone) of Battle Mountain, NV; Robert Baker, Jr. (Pyramid Lake Paiute) of Reno, NV; Leah Brady (Western Shoshone- Yomba) of Fallon, NV; Minerva Soucie (Burns Paiute) of Burns, OR; Virginia Sanchez (Western Shoshone- Duckwater) of Duckwater, NV; Lucy Parker (Mono Lake Paiute/Pomo) of Levining, CA; Charlotte Bacoch (Owens Valley Paiute-Big Pine) of Big Pine, CA; Everett Pikyavit (Southern Paiute/Goshute/Chemehuevi) of Moapa, NV.

"We are in the works of planning our contribution towards our joint Gathering with CIBA this coming June," said Baker. "We have selected the demonstrators, teachers, and panelists who will represent the many tribes and weaving techniques available in our basin lands. On the weekend of the Gathering, the GBNBA will hold a dinner/meeting on Friday night at the Reno/Sparks Indian Colony, which will include basket presentations, entertainment, and a brief board meeting. CIBA and anyone interested is welcome to join us." Their next meeting will be hosted by Elko weavers at the Elko Shoshone Colony in Elko, Nevada, on April 29. Robert Baker can be reached by email at rbaker@rsic.org

- back -

Basketweaver Profile
Edna Duncan, Wintun

I'm a member of the Cortina Band of Wintun, which is in the foothills between Williams and Arbuckle, in northern California. But I live in paradise, east of Chico. I was born in College City, but I don't remember my mother. Us kids were raised by my mom';s cousin in Colusa. When I was 5 years old, my two brothers and I were sent to Stewart Indian School in Nevada. That was 1944. We were raised there as orphans, and we stayed there until the 50's, when my oldest sister took us out because she had married.

Later, when I was in my early twenties, I went to stay with my brother over by Yuba City, and then I got to meet a lot of my relatives. Our tribe was getting organized at that time, and I was digging up a lot of information on our family tree, and I got to see where all my relatives were.

For several years, I was really into bead work. Then back in the 80's, I started thinking about baskets. I didn't know anybody who was doing baskets, so I started making pine needle baskets, though I really wanted to learn traditional. Later, I saw some relatives who were doing baskets, so I watched them. They told me a little about getting the materials, but when I tried to go do it, I didn't know enough about it and it didn't work. That discouraged me for awhile, and I let it go for about 8 or 9 years. I still wondered about it, though, and wished I knew somebody that did baskets who would teach me.

Then a friend of mine from Chico introduced me to Denise Davis [Mountain Maidu], who was teaching basketry. So in 1992, I started learning to weave from Denise. She taught us to gather, and taught us some traditions, like how to bless things, and how to give the offerings. Even though our traditions might be a little bit different from Maidu, the weavers all have the way we bless things, so she taught us that. Some of us from that group stayed together, and tried to help each other. We were from different tribes. They were the ones that introduced me to the CIBA gatherings.

started my first coiling. I didn't think I'd catch on to coiling—I felt so clumsy at first. But I just kept trying. And going to the different CIBA gatherings was really useful to me. I really learned a lot. And listening to the people giving their testimonies was very emotional, too. I felt like they were talking for me. I knew what they were feeling. Anyway, my first coiled basket was kind of bumpy and rough, but I was proud of it. I finished it. It was my first one.

Our group continued to get together, and we also met with other weavers from time to time, to try to learn more. And Denise took us to some museums to look at old baskets. Brian Bibby took my cousin and I to the basket exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, and also to the state collection in West Sacramento, and to Oakland. We were able to see old Wintun baskets, to look at their designs and shapes, and see how they were woven. Brian even took pictures of baskets for us. He helped us so much. It was so exciting for me to see the Wintun baskets. It was almost like going into a church, with all those baskets. I would wonder who made them, and they looked like they were just finished yesterday. Sometimes I would think it was such a shame that they were all in storage, where people can't see them—especially the descendants of the people who made them. But they were just beautiful, and so many of them, from all tribes.

Today, we use mostly redbud (peeled and unpeeled) and grey willow for our coiled baskets. But from the old baskets I have learned that we used sedge and bulrush, too. So I'm starting to learn to use those now. I learned the Wintun start from my cousin, Bertha Wright Mitchell, who learned to weave as a girl from her mother. Bertha let me take a pattern from one of her mom's old baskets, and that's the pattern on the basket in this picture. The pattern goes way back. I'm trying to learn the different Wintun patterns.

I remember when I was learning from Denise, she would say, "Don't worry when you're working the basket, it will shape itself.” And I thought, "Right.” But it's true. This basket shaped up real easy, I had no problem with it. I didn't think about the shape or anything when I was working it, and it just shaped itself.

So far, I'm the only one in my family who is doing this. But I have told them that whenever they want to learn, I am here, and they can come to me, and I will teach them.

- back -

Baleen Basket Making
Mary Jane Litchard (Inupiaq)

Mary Jane Litchard (Inupiaq) has advised us that her interview on page 33 of the Western Regional Indigenous Basketweavers Gathering Report was not accurately presented. Following is her corrected statement. Mary Jane, your presence at the Regional Gathering—your basketry and the feelings and stories that you shared—touched us all. We are so sorry for this error and hope that it has not overshadowed the good feelings you expressed in the Closing Circle. Please accept our heartfelt apology.

There are two types of whales—tooth whale and mustache whale. The baleen used for baskets is from the bowhead whale which scientists named "Mystyiceti” meaning "moustached whales” because of the baleen. Baleen is a matted hair plate that hangs down from the roof of the mouth that is used to strain plankton for eating. The plates are long and tapered, with hair flowing out all on one side that traps the plankton as the whale gushes out seawater that flows between the plates. Whale ancestors used to walk on land long ago, you can see their remnant hind legs in their skeletal form. To purchase for basketry making, I will go to a whaling captain who recently caught a whale, checking the fresh baleen plates for color and straightness of the grain.

Baleen is removed by cutting it off the gums. There are hundreds of crowded baleen plates on each side of the jaw, ranging in size of few inches to twelve feet, depending on the age of the whale. It is a lot of physical work just getting a plate out of the gums. We use a long knife, about the size of a sword, to cut through the thick gum, which might be about two feet thick. After it is loosened, I stand on the partially loosened plate to totally detach it off the gum. There are hundreds of single tiny pieces of baleen that our Inupiaq ancestors used as toothpicks. These toothpicks were inserted into a man's belt for use while on hunting trips.

When I am ready to clean the baleen, I soak it in an outside pond where insects in the water work on the excess gums. The plates can't fit in a bathtub for soaking since they can grow to a length of 14 feet long and they need to soak for a few days to soften the gum. The gum rots from the soaking, which makes it easier to peel off. I like to keep the roots of the plates on, that way it is easier to split after it is cut. The base of the plate stinks because of an imbedded red tissue that I pull out with pliers. I use Brillo pads to wash and also use a knife to scrape off the extra white tissue, going along the grain of the baleen. It is almost like taking plaque off teeth. Then when I am ready to cut it into strips, I ask a couple of people to help me. I clamp on a piece of wood on a band saw for a gauge so I can keep the baleen as straight as possible. I try to cut the pieces to one eighth of an inch thick, so the wood gauge helps keep the strips straight. Since the plates are about ten feet, I need help holding the plate as it is being cut with a band saw. Then I am able to split or delaminate the pieces to ready them for weaving. It takes many hours of scraping to prepare weaving materials for baleen basketry.

- back -

Greetings from Homer, Alaska

Dear CIBA Members and Directors,

We wanted to write and thank all of you who put in so many hours to prepare for and to put on the Western Regional Indigenous Basketweavers Gathering this past June in Reno, NV. It is difficult to communicate in mere words the sense of welcome, sharing and warmth we felt from the weavers and their families and others who were involved in the Gathering. In a few short hours, we felt as if we were with a large extended family. Truly, there is a spiritual power in traditional basketweaving that reaches far beyond the object itself, as was expressed in many different ways by several, both formally and informally, during the Gathering. Inspiring too, were the families working together, passing down traditions, and sharing stories, language and skills.…

We read your Vision Statements carefully and find that you are an organization who certainly can be said to "Walk your talk." Everywhere throughout the Gathering your statements could be seen in action.…

Thank you for supporting basketweavers from around the Western United States in addition to California. Financial assistance, encouragement, pre-planning, and your warmth during the conference all made the Gathering available to many more people and encouraged so many people to continue and expand on their artistic endeavors.

We are back in Alaska now, but will never forget the wonderful people we met and the learning which took place. Thank you for including us and may you have wonderful years ahead.

 

Michael and Martha Murray

- back -

Native American Art in Paris

France's largest retrospective ever on Native Ameri- can art was exhibited from January 21 through March 18 at the Mona Bismarck Foundation. The show featured 120 art works, including a basket by famed Washo weaver Louisa Keyser (also known as Dat So La Lee). The basket is valued at one million dollars!

- back -

The Medicinal Plant Working Group

The Medicinal Plant Working Group is a young initiative—less than a year old—that evolved under the umbrella of the Plant Conservation Alliance, a government facilitated organization whose members range from federal agencies such as the National park Service and the Bureau of Land Management to garden clubs, individuals, and non-government organizations (NGO's). Working groups under the Plant Conservation Alliance include medicinal plants, invasive plants, and restoration.

The Medicinal Plant Working Group, operating under this umbrella, also has a large cross-section of members ranging from conservation NGOs like the Nature Conservancy and United Plant Savers to the herbal industry, pharmaceutical industries, universities, states, and tribes. The Medicinal Plant Working Group is being administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is open to all who are interested in medicinal plant issues. The group's primary focus is to facilitate action on behalf of species of particular concern as a means to balance biological and commercial needs and, in the long term, minimize regulatory intervention. Within that framework is included the need to provide public education on tribal interests and policies as these intersect with the conservation of plants.

The Working Group intends to raise awareness of native medicinal plant issues and needs among partner agencies and cooperating organizations. Currently, it is finalizing a strategy and action plan (available on the internet at http://www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal) that focus on six areas of emphasis: 1) research and information-sharing; 2) the promotion of appropriate conservation measures for medicinal plants; 3) sustainable production; 4) public outreach; 5) participation by tribes and other holders of traditional ecological knowledge; and 6) financial support.

Ethnobotany, the fifth area of emphasis, has as its primary actions: 1) establishing an elder link for advice and direction; 2) establishing regional centers as loci for farming and education, as these tie into plant communities; and 3) encouraging regional ethnoconference sponsorship bringing together tribal and non-tribal knowledge concerning medicinals. In the ethnobotany arena and the areas it overlaps, the Working Group hopes to be led by the advice and knowledge of the elders and serve as a vehicle through which such knowledge can be respectfully expressed. This is where CIBA may be most helpful.

Although the Working Group is still in its infancy, it has 100 members that participate in the group at various levels and degrees. Each of the six major strategy areas are led by subgroup chairs who would appreciate the participation of anyone interested in those particular concerns. Members communicate through telephone hook-ups and electronically via a listserve where members share information, ask questions, and keep in touch on significant issues. If you are interested in the Working Group and want further information, visit the web site first (http://www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal). Then if you are interested in further participation, phone, write or e-mail the chair, Julie Lyke at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Scientific Authority, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203; 703/358-1709, ext. 5054; julie_lyke@fws.gov.

I am asking my fellow CIBA members to help locate Tribal Elders and farmers who may assist in our stated goals. If you are familiar with someone, please ask them to contact me, Trish Flaster, at Botanical Liaisons, 1180 Crestmoor Dr., Boulder, CO 80303; 303/494-1555; 303/494-2555 (fax) or tflaster@rmi.net .

- back -

CIBA Member Researches Cradle Baskets

Diegueño basketweaver Justin Farmer has taken on the awesome task of researching cradle baskets of the western United States, and could use the help of fellow CIBA members. If you have, or know of, cradle baskets or cradle boards with some knowledge of where they are from, he would be most grateful to hear from you. If quality slides are not already available, he would like the opportunity to photograph these baskets, whether in private or museum collections.

Justin will be joined in this endeavor by Dr. Chris Moser, of the Riverside City Museum, and they hope to produce a book to share the results of their research. They have already viewed about 200 cradles, and have plans to visit a number of others. At this time, it appears that their study will include much of the Pacific coast, western Nevada, and Arizona (including Hopi and Apache). To date, they have encountered many Mono, Hupa, Northern Paiute, and Apache examples. But if CIBA's readers can direct them to any from the following groups, they would be most appreciative: Chumash; coastal region south of San Francisco (Ohlone, for example); Valley Yokuts; Southern Sierras east of Bakersfield (Tubatulabal, Kawaiisu, etc.); Mono Lake or Bishop Paiute; Miwok; Maidu; Sacramento Valley tribes (Patwin, Nomlaki, Wintu, etc.); Siskiyou/Modoc County region (Shasta, Modoc, Atsugewi, Achomawi, etc.).

Please contact Justin Farmer at 1954 E. Evergreen Ave., Fullerton, CA 92835; 714/256-1260.

- back -

Forest Service Plans to Continue Large Scale Herbicide Use on National Forest Lands in 2000

In spite of the ongoing efforts of CIBA and our friends in the environmental community, there seems to be no downward trend in sight in regards to herbicide use by the U.S. Forest Service. The public lands management agency applied almost 36,000 pounds of herbicides to National Forest Lands in California in 1999, compared to 29,700 in 1998—a 17 percent increase. This is a staggering quantity of chemicals, some of which are known carcinogens. Recently, the Modoc National Forest has proposed to aerially apply hexazinone, in a pelletized form that is activated by water (called Pronone 10G), over 6,000 acres of planned tree farms in the Long-Damon fire of 1996. This herbicide will kill everything except the young conifers that the agency has planted, with the intended goal of speeding up the growth of the conifers by killing the competition. And while the FS claims that the product is "practically non-toxic to wildlife," the EPA characterizes the chemical as very corrosive, causing potentially irreversible eye damage. There is certainly the potential for basketweavers and other gatherers to be exposed to this chemical, since recent studies have found Hexazinone residues to persist in plants for extended periods (see Newsletter #28). CIBA has written the Forest to ask that they use a non-toxic alternative to herbicides, and to ensure that they abide by Regional Forester Brad Powell´s December 3, 1999 directive (see Newsletter #29) that requires several very restrictive conditions to be met before hexazinone can be approved for aerial application.

From the Tahoe National Forest, we have just received the Cottonwood Fire Vegetation Management Environmental Assessment (EA). Aimed at promoting the growth of conifers planted to replace the forest that burned 46,800 acres in 1994, the FS proposed last year to use herbicides on 21,000 acres (see Newsletter # 24). A concerted effort on the part of CIBA and local and state environmental groups resulted in a somewhat less objectionable proposal that reduces herbicide treatments to 11,000 acres. The EA did not answer or respond to some of the questions and issues we raised, which means that the proposal is in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and is subject to appeal. We suggested analyzing alternatives that would utilize hand labor and mechanical methods of reducing competition, combined with mulching, and we asked for an analysis not only of the costs but also of the benefits of such a proposal. No such analysis was performed. In addition, certain key scientific studies that we and others cited were ignored, while studies that supported their pro-herbicide position were used to justify the proposal. It appears likely that we will appeal the final decision on this project.

On the Klamath National Forest, herbicides are being proposed to combat Diffuse Knapweed and Spotted Knapweed. These non-indigenous weeds have become established wherever long-term grazing has altered the natural grassland habitat. The FS proposes to spray a variety of herbicides in the sensitive Salmon River watershed, one of the last remaining relatively pristine streams in California that still supports spring and fall-run chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead trout. The worst of these herbicides is 2,4-D, or Weedone, a known carcinogen, mutagen and endocrine disrupter that bioaccumulates in living tissues. We are vigorously opposing this project as well. For more information about these or other projects involving herbicides that may affect basketweavers, call Vivian Parker, Resource Policy Analyst, at 530/622-8718.

- back -

"Noxious" Weeds New Herbicide Battleground

Non-indigenous plants have been making them- selves home here in California since at least the mid-1700s, when early Spanish settlers brought along seeds on the coats and in the feed of their livestock. As their settlements moved north from Baja California, many of these plants, like red-stem filaree, spread rapidly, and today it is not possible to find grasslands in the valleys of California that don´t contain this species, which is now said to be naturalized. An estimated 17 percent of California's present flora is thought to be non-native. Most of these introductions, including filaree, live in peaceful coexistence with the native species. Others are wildly aggressive invaders that choke out the existing native plants, and are considered by many to be threats to native biological diversity. Others are termed "noxious weeds" because of characteristics like prickliness (yellow star-thistle, for example) and their ability to render lands unsuitable for livestock grazing.

Recent efforts by public land management agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, to control the spread of plants like yellow star-thistle with herbicides may present a serious threat for Indian basketweavers and for basket plants, due to off-site movement of the chemicals, contamination of basket plants, and potential exposure to basketweavers. Rather than address the more complicated and potentially controversial issues of historical abuse of the land that helps invasive species establish and spread, land managers instead have chosen to declare "war on weeds" with herbicides. To help us prepare for what may be a major escalation in the use of herbicides in forests and grasslands, we have conducted an extensive survey of the scientific literature to determine what is know of the causes and ecosystem effects of non-indigenous plant invasions, and develop viable alternatives to reliance on herbicides. We plan to circulate a draft report for review within the scientific community and make it available for other pesticide reform groups that will also benefit from our efforts. One of our findings (and probably not a surprise to many of our members) is that efforts to eradicate biological plant invasions are not likely to be effective without first eliminating the source of chronic human-related land disturbance, coupled with restoration of the native vegetation and the natural disturbance regime, which is usually fire. For burning to be successful, timing is not only important but critical for success. And restoration must be a long-term commitment. We hope this report will be another tool that can be used to promote increased awareness of the sound ecological practices of the indigenous peoples of California, and to protect basket plants and weavers, both in the present and in the future.

- back -

Northwestern Field Office Grand Opening
Lori Harder

"If you build it, they will come." This is exactly what took place on February 12, 2000 in Willow Creek California—a congregation of people, baskets, and food arrived to rejoice in the opening of CIBA´s Northwestern Field Office. Organized by CIBA board member Wendy George, the building buzzed with more than 75 people in attendance, including CIBA board members and staff. There was excitement, speakers, and microphones. Merv George III (Hupa) played the keyboard, providing a light musical accompaniment to the crowd.

Whoever says the oral tradition is lost certainly did not attend this opening to hear the many fine speakers. Tsnungwe member Danny Ammon opened the ceremonies with a prayer. Board members Jennifer Bates and L. Frank Manriquez began with an inspirational reminder of CIBA´s humble beginnings and ultimate purpose´—to protect preserve, and perpetuate basketweaving. Steve Nicola followed with information about CIBA´s resource protection program, and introduced field office staff members Lori Harder, EPA Pesticides Study Project Leader, and Elaine Quitiquit, Database/GIS specialist. Chris Peters, from the Seventh Generation Fund, led a discussion on grant writing and provided materials for reference. He also generously donated a video entitled "Drum Beat for Mother Earth," about persistent organic pollutants and their threat to indigenous people. Board Member Kathy Wallace encouraged the community to donate, volunteer, and be involved in the field office.

The most touching speeches came from the elders present. Vivien Hailstone gave the younger generation a history lesson about the trials and tribulations of keeping the basketweaving tradition alive in the 1950s. Joanne Scott provided an emotional perspective about gathering and its spiritual benefits. Her words reminded us to work together: "One root is not as strong as many in a basket." Josephine Peters had everyone on the edge of their seats ready to learn her secrets as she recited the medicinal properties of native plants from A-Z.

Leo Carpenter Jr. gave an interesting perspective about the male role and obligation to basketweaving, and Tsnungwe elder Janice Taylor expressed her joy at having a CIBA office so close. In closing, elder Olie Foseide sang songs and Wendy George gave the closing prayer.

Other highlights included a money tree provided by Susan "Tweet" Burdick that sprouted many generous donations, and a basket display provided by members of the field office steering committee. Towards the end, Vivien Hailstone announced a very special donation, a blanket woven by Darlene Marshall. Everyone mingled, ate, enjoyed the basket display and one another´s company, and warmly welcomed CIBA into their community.

CIBA would like to thank the steering committee and staff, everyone who brought food, and the many donations and expressions of support our new field office has received. In particular, CIBA owes a great thanks to former board member Chuck Striplen who championed the idea of creating the field office and led board efforts to secure a facility and funding for the office and staff.

Last, but certainly not least, we would especially like to thank the Humboldt Area Foundation, Bayside California, for a generous grant from the Vera P. Vietor Trust, to help support the operating expenses of the field office during 2000. We were pleased that HAF board member Mary Ann Spencer could attend the open house to witness first-hand the exciting beginning of the new office.

- back -