Newsletter #31 Summer 2000

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

We look forward to 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.

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Artwork by Paul Stone From the Acting Executive Director
Steve Nicola

After six months of preparation and waiting for good Spring weather, it was finally time to open the doors of our new main office to the public. Under blue skies, and with a cool breeze wafting through the building, we officially introduced ourselves to the friendly folks of Nevada City on Saturday, April 29. By all accounts, the event was an unqualified success. During this four-hour event, the office was crowded with well-wishers, many products were sold, and much good will was established among CIBA, its supporters, and the community.

Seventy-one people signed the guest book, so I estimate that we had at least 100 people drop in. Several basketweavers, including Susan Campbell, Marlene Montgomery, and Geraldine Allen from the Chico/Orland area were here, as were several California Indian people from the Nevada City area. Geraldine Allen offered an opening prayer.

Since the opening of the office in October 1999, a number of Indian people from this area have made themselves known to us, and the trend continued on Saturday. Although we know of no traditional basketweavers in the immediate area, local Indian people seem to be glad that we are here and supportive of our work. One, Wendy Ryberg, has been volunteering for CIBA and helped at our open house.

A member of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors attended, and remarked on what a great asset CIBA represents to the community (Nevada City is the county seat).

Board members Jennifer Bates, Kathy Wallace, and L Frank, helped with set-up, demonstrations, and organization. Board member Wendy Ferris-George and her husband/CIBA volunteer, Merv, lent moral support.

Former board member LaVerne Glaze attended, along with her daughter Renee Stauffer and granddaughter Jennifer Stauffer. We were especially pleased that one of our two newest Board members, Tina Johnston, was able to be here as well. Despite a scheduling conflict, Sara Greensfelder managed to drop by, fresh mugwort in hand, for the last hour or so, as did Sage, Raven, and Otter LaPena. I was glad that staff members Vivian Parker and Lori Harder also attended, the latter coming all the way from our Northwestern Field Office in Willow Creek.

A beautiful CIBA "logo basket" sign, crafted by a local sign maker, helped visitors find their way to the building, which was freshly painted in bold colors to match the colors of the sign, by Dana Brown, Louis Greensfelder, and Thomas Milner. Once inside, guests were treated to the sight of a colorful bouquet of fresh flowers, courtesy of Star Carroll-Smith.

Administrative Assistant Michael Garitty reports that the open house was profitable from a monetary standpoint, as well. We received $405 in product sales, $285 in memberships, and $90 in cash donations.

Thanks to all who helped make the open house the success that it was, especially Administrative Coordinator Karen Donohue who planned and coordinated the event. A list of CIBA volunteers who have stepped in to lend us their time, materials, or labor in the last six months or so, here and at our Northwestern Field Office, can be found elsewhere in this issue. We are grateful for their assistance, and take comfort in the fact that we can call on them again if needed. My apologies if we have failed to acknowledge anyone. Thanks to all our friends and volunteers!

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Thank You, CIBA Volunteers!

CIBA owes a great deal to the many volunteers who give of their time to help with CIBA events, or in our offices.

The following is a list of volunteers who have stepped forward to help within the last six months or so. If we have omitted your name, or that of a friend, please accept our apologies and let us knowso we can include you next time!

Danny Ammon
Shelly Ammon
Dana Brown
Roger Brown
Susan Burdick
Clara Campbell
Rebecca Campbell
Leo Carpenter, Jr.
Ed Chase
Kathy Chase
Star Carroll-Smith

Kim Dodge
Dwayne Ferris
Pat Ferris
Jann Garitty
Kelly Garitty
Merv George, Sr.
Merv George Jr.
Vivien Hailstone
Cata Herndon
Carlyle Holmes
Dale (Ram) Jensen

Ron Johnson
Don Jones
Joe Lance
Virginia Larson
LaVerne Glaze
Gabrielle McKinnon
Kathy McCovey
Thomas Milner
Susan Murphy
Josephine Peters
Joanne Scott

Renee Stauffer
Heather Risling
Wendy Ryberg
Burnelle Scott
Don Scott
Sierra Stanton
Ed Wallace
Kathy Wallace
Bernie Whipple

 

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California Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program Grants Available

As reported in the Spring 2000 issue of "Roots & Shoots" (Newsletter #30), the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) is preparing for its 2000-2001 funding round. Grants of $2500 will be awarded to master traditional artists and apprentices, representing an array of traditional arts practiced throughout the state. The 1999-2000 cycle included two California Indian basketweaving master-apprentice pairs, as well as dip net making/fishing, and dance regalia projects.

The application deadline is July 31. The earliest start date for projects is November 1, 2000. For more information, or an application, contact Amy Kitchener at the Fresno Arts Council, 1245 Van ness, Fresno, CA 93721; 559/237-9734; akitch@telis.org; or visit ACTA's web site at www.actaonline.org.

 

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Northern California Pesticide Issues Study Underway

Following up on basketweaver concerns over pesticide use in northern California, CIBA has embarked on a study that could provide basketweavers and others with more timely notification of pesticide spraying and opportunities to influence spray plans. The study is an outgrowth of a series of information-gathering meetings held by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) in some half-dozen communities in northern California in 1997. The purpose of the meetings was to listen to the issues and concerns expressed by California Indians over the widespread and ongoing use of pesticides, especially forestry herbicides, in areas where they lived, worked, fished, gathered, and hunted. CIBA had suggested some years earlier that such meetings be held.

One of the significant findings of the community meetings was the fact that people do not know ahead of time of plans for pesticide spraying in or near homes, schools, and gathering areas. They stated a desire to have an opportunity to prevent spraying or to influence the conditions of use, or failing that, to be able to get out of harm's way. They requested that they be given some advance notice from counties and timber companies of proposed spray plans and applications for permits for use of restricted pesticides. Conversely, Indian people expressed a desire to be able to know where spraying has occurred in order to avoid such areas when using forested areas and roadsides. Another significant finding of the community meetings was the concern that existed over the safety of drinking water, especially individual non-treated sources. Many Indians in the region live in rural areas and fear that their drinking water may be contaminated with pesticides.

Our study, funded by the US Environmental Protection agency, encompasses the four counties served Nevada, on April 29. Robert Baker can be reached by email at rbaker@rsic.org by CIBA's Northwestern Field Office(NWFO): Del Norte, Humboldt, Siskiyou, and Trinity, which are home to more than 12 tribes. The first objective of our study is to assess the laws, regulations, and policies concerning pesticide use permitting, notification, and reporting. We want to determine how permit use applications and plans are processed and how the information is communicated to and useable by California Indians. We will evaluate "gaps" in the process with respect to California Indians, and assess options for modifying the current system or developing alternative or supplemental systems for notification or consultation. We also will analyze the current pesticide use reporting system, and assess options for providing use information to Indian people in a usable and timely manner.

Another objective is to identify drinking water sources and find out what monitoring is being done, for which pesticides, and how frequently. Again, we will evaluate the information to determine whether any "gaps" may exist in the monitoring system with respect to pesticide contamination. Finally, we will update our existing pesticide use history database, and provide the public with geographically relevant data. As we carry out our research and present our findings, we will hold community meetings of our own to ensure that the concerns of our members in northwestern California are being met.

For more information about this project, or if you have comments, questions, or suggestions, contact Lori Harder (Pesticide Project Leader) or Elaine Quitiquit (Database/GIS Specialist). They can be reached at 530/629-4567. Any basketweavers or members in the area are invited to drop by the office (See box on page 3 for address and other contact information.)

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Basketweaver Profile
Charlotte Bacoch, Paiute

I was born in my grandmother's house in Reno on June 2, 1938, to Paul and Lillian Baker. I'm a Paiute and I live on the eastern side of the sierras in the Owens Valley, in a town called Big Pine. I cook for the seniors at a senior center in Bishop, and I help my tribe out when I can. I sit on several tribal committees. I sat on the council at one time, in 1967, and now I represent my tribe on the Owens Valley Board of Trustees. We have a career development program that's our main project right now. Our career development helps people fill out forms for college, we have sobriety classes, DUI classes, a carpentry class, an Even Start program, a computer program classanything in the career area. This Board of Trustees represents the tribes from Lone Pine, Big Pine, and Bishop. I'm also on the Board of Directors of the Great Basin Native Basketweavers Association.

I was married and had 8 children, but now I'm left a widow for these last 13, almost 14 years, and all my children are grown. My oldest is 42, and my youngest is 28. With my first child, my mother, who was from Nevada, really wanted me to have a baby basket, so she contacted one of her relatives up there and got me one for my first baby. That was the start for me being interested in baby baskets.

When my mother got the basket, it was plain, and she beaded it. The whole top part is beaded, and the sides. We put the pony beads on, and the shellswhatever kind of decoration we have available. It had been a long while since the Indians in this area had gotten the buckskin baby baskets, so of course everybody admired it. Only a very few people had the baby baskets around here at that time. Big Pine is about 250 miles or so from any big city, and I guess you'd have to have the right connections down here to know the people that did the baby baskets in order to get one.

After my first child, I had the other children, so my mother and my dad worked as a team. My dad would make the frames and tan the deer hides. He tanned it the traditional way with brains. My mother would clean the willows and weave the hoods and the backings. Then she would put everything together, including sewing the hide and beading it.

My dad would use birch for the frames. He had a special place along the creek, and he went up there to get the frames for the baskets. He would shape them, and put them on wooden frames and leave them 'til they dried. By that time, my mom would have the buckskin ready to put on, and beaded. The backing that the baby lays on is what my mom used to call the "spring," like the spring on the bed. It's made of willow, and woven across with split willow. The rows of weaving are about 4 inches apart. Then we'd make a little pillow mattress that the baby would lay on, and we'd put a blanket and wrap the baby in there.

On the frame, there's about four sticks going across, holding the frame together. Then the woven willow spring is layed on the cross pieces and tied down with buckskin. My mother had her own special way of sewing buckskin over the frame, which of course I picked up. The only place we have a seam is up the middle. Most of the gathering is in the back.

Sometimes we have a baby basket made just of willow. It's the kind the Shoshone people use, and the Washoe people use. We call it the summer basket, because the buckskin is really warm. We don't use that buckskin in the summertime, we use just the willow basket. In the wintertime, we use the buckskin basket.

Right now, since my father has been gone, I use commercial buckskin. It's hard for me in this area, because I don't really travel that much out of town, so I have to get buckskin where I can find it.

Every place where we lived, we had the materialthe willowsall around us. We had to use the car to go up to get the birch, but the willows were just within walking distance. My grandmother died when I was a really young girl of maybe four or so. I really didn't get a chance to know either of my grandmothers. But my dad's aunt lived right close to us, and I saw her cleaning the willows and splitting them. She made me a small baby basket once. I was young and I would go sit by her, and she would have a thick piece of glass, like the bottom of a coke bottle. And she would wrap her hand in cloth so she wouldn't cut herself, and she would scrape the willows that way, to get the bark off.

I gather the willows according to what the old people tell me. The harvest time is usually the end of November through March, and I'll tell you the reason. At that time, the plant does not suck up the moisture from the ground and the willows are dormant through the winter. And because they don't have the water going up, it makes it nice and strong. The weaving willow is also stronger. And I found this out to be a fact, that if you get willows while they're green and have all this moisture in them, they're brittle and they'll break real easy. They're not good and strong and flexible, they'll just snap when you try to bend 'em.

As soon as I pick the willows, I scrape them, because they're still moist. I use a paring knife and scrape all the stuff off, but you've got to do it really gently. You don't want to scrape down into the wood, but you have to get the little green film off that's just below the bark, because if you don't, your willow will turn dark.

If you know your willows well enough, you can go out and pick them probably any time of the year, as long as you pick the good, mature ones. Once in awhile I'll do that, and I keep my eye open to watch for the kind I can use. Then I go back when I know the younger ones will be mature. I also found out if you don't pick 'em at the right time, when you clean them and scrape them a lot of them get really fuzzy.

The Indians here say that when the leaves are all turning yellow, and they all automatically fall off, that's the best time to pick. And my dad used to talk about the old people, and he used to tell me about how his aunts used to all go and get willows and sit out there in the sunshine and clean them. And they would have races, who could clean their bundle the fastest.

And with a big long stick of willow, my dad said, "This is the way they'd do when they know it's a good strong willow and it doesn't break." They'd take the tip of the willow, and bend it clear over to touch the bottom end, then let it go and it would spring back. Then he'd say, "Yep, that's a good willow, it's strong, it doesn't crack." When you let go of the tip of the willow and it springs back, it makes a little "swish" sound, then he said, "Yep, this willow's good, he sings."

Now, the Department of Water and Power from Los Angeles seems to own most of the valley here. They keep track of the water levels, and they have roads right alongside the creek. And every year when the willows are just about ready to pick, they come and cut everything down. In some areas, they spray. The areas we used to always go to get willows are all cut down, and we really can't get anything there now, 'cause when they grow up they're all stubs. So I have to go way out where there's a creek and no roads. But because we don't have the proper rain, it's kind of drying out. And, other people are gathering there, too.

I have been just doing the baby baskets, though I would like to do the round ones, the coiled bowls. But I just cannot have the time. I've made a couple of win nowing baskets, and I also have made miniature and small cone baskets. I want to try to make a big cone basket, as soon as I get time. But because I work, I really don't have all my time to myself.

Two of my daughters, Jessica and Rose Bacoch, make baskets also. Rose makes the baby basket frames for me. She learned to make them from my dad. When my dad was alive, she lived with him to help take care of him, and so she learned how to do the frames. Both of my daughters make the little miniature baby baskets, and one of them makes the miniature cone baskets. My grandson, Darryl Bacoch, who's 23, learned to do Hupa and Karuk-type basketry from Kathy Wallace at D-Q University. Then there was a workshop up here in Bishop last fall where Darryl learned about duck decoys, tule canoes, tule houses, and other things like the little tule bags and the tule fish traps. He's also made a couple of frames for me. I'm glad he's interested in the culture.

I remember a few old songs that my old people used to sing. I remember my mother used to sing some songs, but I don't remember my dad's too much. I know he sang, but I never caught onto his songs. That's one of the things that I want to do, to sing. I did sing a few times at some gatherings, and at a couple of funerals. And just here in January, we started a Paiute language class, taught by our elder Norma Brown. We're learning the Bishop Paiute language, but I could hear some of my mother's words in it. It's basically the same, but a few words are different. It's really interesting, and we have a lot of fun. There's about 10 or 12 of us in the class. My mother was from Nevada, and my father was from here in Big Pine, but they spoke together, and they didn't have any problem conversing.

When I was married and had my kids, my dad used to come down to our education center and teach the children the basic Paiute words. And I had all the opportunity in the world to learn the language then, but I didn't. I'm really sorry for that. I should be speaking fluently. But now I'm really enjoying learning, and maybe by this time next year I can be really speaking good.

My father also made birch drums. He shaved the birch down to make it round for the drum frame, then he used his own buckskin for the drum. He was kind of known in this area for his drums. And my mother and I made the traditional Indian buckskin dresses. I appreciate my parents, because they were really into the culture. Several years ago, I was invited to be a guest speaker and show my traditional basket work, but because I was taught all this by my mother, I thought it would be great to honor her memory. And so I showed her work and my work together, in memory of my mother, Lillian Baker.

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Basketweaver Profile
Robert Baker, Jr.
Pyramid Lake/Fort Bidwell/Owens Valley Paiute

I live in Reno, at the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. I do all of our Paiute type of utility baskets, from the pine nut cooking trays to the seed beaters, to the cone/burden baskets. I've been doing baskets since about 1986. I'm doing the twined weaving for the utility baskets and also for cradleboards.

I'm working on a seed beater basket right now, and there's very few Nevada Indians that make them. In fact, a lot of Nevada Indians will come up to my table and ask, "What kind of basket is this?" I'm careful about cleaning my rods and making sure that they're completely stripped clean. That's one thing I like on my work is for the rods to be totally clean.

In the last two years or so, I started doing coiled baskets. When I first started weaving, I made a couple of attempts, but it didn't work. But recently I started doing coils, and I think I've accomplished it now. I've done single rod gap stitch, single rod close stitch, and 3-rod close stitchall three of themethods that Paiutes do. I've done at least one of each of those.

There's very few Paiutes that still do the type of beaded baskets that we are known for. I would say there are only about ten that I can think of that are really going strong at it. It's kind of like a dying art. If you look at some of the old baskets and bottles from a long time ago, there's that typical Paiute design that still exists within, and that's what I tried to capture in my first beaded basket that I did.

Pretty much all the baskets that I do are going to collectors or on somebody's wall. Very few buy them for those utility purposes. Usually those that use them for that purpose can make their own baskets themselves. So, pretty much anyone that buys my work is usually a basket collector, or looking for a gift for somebody, or they want it on their walllike an appreciation of basket work. And I'd say it's about half Indian and half non-Indian who buy my work.

These days, there's only a couple of people here, and a couple of people there who know how to cook pine nuts with hot coals on the pine nut trays. It's an art itself, constantly shaking and turning your pine nuts with hot coals on the tray so you're not scorching the tray. You're going to scorch it some, but the whole art is to try not to burn your basket, while at the same time doing a complete cooking of all of those nuts. The shells on the pine nuts we have here in Nevada are pretty brittle. They put hot coals onto the trays with the whole nuts first, and they're constantly rotating by shaking and turning those pine nuts. Once they've gone through that first stage, they'll take out the nuts and get rid of the hot coals. Usually by then the coals will be breaking up. Then they go over the pine nuts with a rock, not to completely mash them, but with a real gentle motion to crack the shells. Next comes another process of winnowing those pine nuts, and the wind and the constant movement of a big pile of nuts on your tray is going to start making those shells go away. When you get all the shells off completely, there's the final stage of cooking the pine nuts with another batch of hot coals. It's the final roasting, which gives it that even cooking all the way through. It's going to have a charcoal flavor to it, but I guess that's sort of desired. It's just like smelling Nevada buckskinit's got a good smell that you just kind of inhale for a long time, because it smells good.

I guess the reason people don't do the traditional pine nut cooking very much today is we don't have to. At my house, we put the pine nuts in the oven in a big pan. We put some water on the bottom and some salt on the top, and wait for that first popand that's it.

Cradleboards, though, are going strong today as far as using them for the same purpose. I make the two different types that our Nevada Paiutes constructthe boat-shaped one that we put our babies in for the newborn phase. And there's also the buckskin covered one, with the fancy hood and the beadwork that we're known for.

The newborn basket is shaped kind of like the u-shaped Pomo basket. They have the baby sitting in the bottom of the u-shape. But for our newborn basket, the baby's head goes the other way, where the u-shape is. It's all in willow, in the twined stitch, and it's never fancy. It's something constructed very fast. Not a lot of people practice this, but when a baby is coming about, you don't buy or do nothing for it until it's born. Once the baby's born, then whoever's around that can do it will construct the newborn basketit'll probably take a day or two to do a good-sized one. We strap lacing, crisscross, on the front part, for the baby. The Shoshone newborn boat-shaped basket is similar to oursthere's really not a lot of difference. Both Paiutes and Shoshones use the same material, willow, and we use the same method, the twined weave.

My coiled baskets are all of willow, but I use redbud for designs. My designs are real simple, they're never fancy. In Paiute baskets, if we do designs, it's redbud, and if it is used, it's nothing really fancy. On my pine nut trays, my burden baskets, I use birch, which is a strong wood, for the rims. That birch is also for frames for cradleboardsyou need a real strong wood. Most Paiutes use chokecherry, but birch is what I use because it's what my family has always used. I use chokecherry if I don't have access to birch.

I've got about three spots where I pick willow, but they're secret spots. The way that I think and believe, is if you've got a good spot and you treat it good, and do your satisfying praying before you pick your material, and take care of it, then next year you come back and it'll continue another good crop for you. If I continue that cycle, and every year that I go back, as long as I treat it good and do my complete praying to those, it'll be a good crop for me. There's not a lot of places for materials in the area, so obviously, like many weavers, I won't share that knowledge with someone. If I've got a good area that always produces good string and good rods for me, and someone beats me to it, then I've got to go look for a whole new spot. In Nevada, there's very few spots here, and most of the weavers around here they kind of have that same thinking. They know of good spots and they're not really going to publicize it. Reno area is heavily developed, and who knows, I might go out there next year to these spots, and it might be under development. If so, then I'll have to go to another source, or look around again. I also sometimes pick out at Pyramid Lake, when I get a chance. It's about an hour's drive outside of Reno.

All of this type of work I picked up from my grandma and grandpa on my dad's side. They were traditional people, old ones that knew of the ways, methods, and still practiced all that stuff. I remember going with them to take them to pick medicine material, and not really ignoring it, but I guess taking those moments for granted. I was there to help my grandpa out of the car, and help escort him over to the spots out in the desert. And he does his praying and talking in Paiute, and I'd help him dig up the roots and bring them back home, and he showed us how to dry those, and where to pick frame material and that kind of stuff. Once, after both grandparents died, I think it was at my grandpa's funeral that me and my cousin were sitting around talking, "Well, we got no one in our family no more to do that." Then we thought, well, we know where they went to pick this, and we know their spots for the frames and the medicine. It was in us because we'd been around them, and would take them to do all that. So then it became important after they were gone. If they were around today, I assume they would be really proud of what I've accomplished, of all that I've done within this time. But too bad I didn't really take it that seriously when they were around, when they were alive.

We have started a Great Basin Native Basketweavers Association, and it's a big blessing to me to have started it. We had talked for years about getting a group going. We officially got started the first weekend of January, and I was surprised that so many people showed up from different areas. And once we got it going, word spread out and we've been holding meetings at different reservations within the Great Basin every month. Each time we get a turn out with our followers from the beginning, and at the same time we get new people who are interested in attending the meeting.

People talk about it and our membership is growing. In addition to the voting membership (for people from the six tribes of the Great Basin), we have a supporting membership [see below]. To me, it's overwhelmingit's just great. We have people within our board and our organization that jump right in and prove leadership among them that we wouldn't even know of if we didn't have such a group. When we leave meetings everyone walks away with good feelings, and talking about traditions, culture, and sharing stories about picking willows. We get a lot of stories of personal reflections, and they bring out their baskets to show and share with people. They appreciate the basket and they value it, and they're going to bring that out on the table and show everybody, where it's going to be admired by other people rather than just sitting in their closet or sitting on their shelf.

We are very proud of our new organization, and invite others to join. A voting membership in the Great Basin Native Basketweavers Association (GBNBA) is open to any individual or group belonging to the six Great Basin tribes (Washoe, Northern Paiute, Southern Paiute, Goshute, Shoshone, Chemehuevi). Supporting (non-voting) membership is open to all others. Annual membership dues is $10 (additional contributions are welcome), and includes a newsletter. You may join by writing to: Great Basin Native Basketweavers Association, PO Box 10804, Reno, NV 89510-0804.

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Report Warns of Poisons on Native Artifacts

Native American artifacts being returned to tribal ownership from U.S. museums under a 1990 federal law may be contaminated with arsenic and other pesticides used to preserve them, researchers warned.

"Arsenic on these objects poses a potential health theat," said the report from the University of Arizona, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Experts said they examined three objects made of leather, grass, corn husks, and other material that had been returned to a tribe under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). All three objects showed traces of arsenic or other pesticides, though records provided by the museums involved indicated that only one of the three had been treated, the report said. "Thus, museum documents cannot be relied on to identify contaminated specimens," the report stated.

"The greatest acute danger would be to a young child who chewed on a significantly contaminated object," the report said. "Long-term exposure may occur via dust in storage and usage areas, from food stored with ceremonial objects or during ceremonial use in which objects are handled or worn."

It said the tribe involved had received more than 400 objects similar to those tested, and nationwide thousands have been returned. In addition to arsenic, museums used mercury, DDT, and other substances to preserve objects. "Our preliminary results suggest that all museum objects subject to repatriation should be tested for pesticide residues," it concluded.

Reuters News Service, May 25, 2000

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Wiyots Host Fundraising Events for Indian Island Land

The Table Bluff ReservationWiyot Tribe is pleased to announce that on March 31, 2000, they succeeded in purchasing 1.5 acres on Indian Island, site of the tragic Wiyot massacre of February 25, 1860. On that date, religious leaders were conducting annual ceremonies on the island, about one and a half miles off the shore in Humboldt Bay. Large numbers of Wiyot people had gathered for this important ceremony, and in the early morning hours, while they slept, were brutally attacked by Eureka's citizens. All but a few were murdered.

Now, a ceremony is observed each February 25th, to remember and honor those who lost their lives that morning. Considerable effort was required to raise the funds necessary to purchase this sacred land. Now, money must be raised to buy additional acreage. It is hoped that one day all of Indian Island will once again be Wiyot land.

With this goal in mind, the Wiyot Sacred Sites Fund committee has scheduled two fundraising events that may be of interest to our readers.

Evening Boat Tour Around Indian Island
Saturday, August 12

Beginning at around 5:30, participants will hear the history of island from Wiyot people; includes storytelling, singing, food, beverages. $125 per person.

Art Auction
Saturday, October 7, 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

California Indian art will be auctioned; well-known costume designer Irene Fred has donated one of the costumes she designed for the film "Naturally Native." Three kinds of auctions will be helda silent auction, bidding with an auctioneer, and a Dutch auction (where tickets are purchased and placed with item(s) of interest, then a drawing held at the end of the evening to determine the winner).

If anyone is able to donate a basket or any other art work, it will be much appreciated, and will benefit a very worthy cause. Cash donations are also much welcomed, and checks should be made payable to WSSF (Wiyot Sacred Sites Fund), then mailed to: Table Bluff ReservationWiyot Tribe, 1000 Wiyot Drive, Loleta, CA 95551. For further information, please contact tribal office manager, Ardith Huber, at 707/733-5055.

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Tlingit Weavers Visit Northern California

In March>, three generations of Tlingit basketweavers journeyed from their Alaskan homeland to visit Humboldt State University (HSU) in northern California. Invited by Ron Johnson of HSU's Art Department, Teri Rofkar, her mother Marie Laws, and daughter Erin Rofkar presented a workshop entitled "Raven ArtTlingit Raven Tail Robes & Basketry Demonstration." Teri was a featured demonstrator and panel participant at last year's Western Regional Indigenous Basketweavers Gathering. It was at that event that Johnson invited her to share Tlingit weaving with HSU students and the community.

Through a combination of demonstrations, slides, and lectures, the trio covered such subjects as the gathering of their spruce roots (which can be as much as 40 feet long!), twined basketweaving, the revitalization of Tlingit traditional robes, and the traditional method of spinning mountain goat wool into yarn by rolling it on the leg.

In addition to the day-long workshop, they attended Susan "Tweet" Burdick's basketry class. Discussions with California weavers explored the differences between gathering spruce root in their homeland versus the current situation in northern California, where development has reduced the number and size of existing spruce forests.

They rounded off their stay by going spruce root gathering northern California style. "We had a wonderful time in California!" said Teri from her home in Sitka. We thank you for visiting!

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Forest Service Releases Management Plan for Sierra Nevada Mountain Range

After approximately two years of intensive information gathering, public meetings, and intense controversy and scrutiny, the US Forest Service has finally released its proposed plan to address selected current management issues in the Sierra Nevada on a regionwide basis. After decades of management on a “forest-by-forest” basis, the agency has come to realize that protecting forests and their values requires a more coordinated and consistent approach between and among the 11 national forests of the region.

A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Sierra Nevada Framework for Conservation and Collaboration was released in May. The Framework covers management of the Modoc, Lassen, Plumas, Tahoe, Eldorado, Stanislaus, Sequoia, Sierra, and Inyo national forests; the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, and the California portion of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

The proposal contains a range of eight alternative management options, all of which would potentially provide better management of the forests, compared to historical management that has emphasized timber cutting over the needs of wildlife and waterged protection. No matter which alternative is finally selected, however, California Indians will stand to benefit. All of the alternatives contain the following standards and guidelines for improved coordination and consultation with Indian tribes:

• Improved protocols for government-to-government relations;
• Consultation prior to road decommissioning or closures;

• Protection of indigenous knowledge, including obtaining written permission, before releasing traditional knowledge to a third party;

• Consultation with tribes whenever herbicides are used;
• Establish herbicide-free zones when needed;
• Give priority to noxious weed contol projects that restore, enhance, and maintain culturally significant species and their habitats;
  

• Inventory culturally significant species in order to provide protection, and monitor their condition.

These standards will be of tremendous importance to us in the future, in our efforts to remove pesticide use from the forests and to protect and manage culturally important plants and animals.

We wish to thank Sonia Tamez, Tribal Relations Coordinator, Lorrie Planas from the Sierra National Forest, Linda Reynolds from the Inyo National Forest, and Jim Wiegand of the DEIS team, for their hard work and unswerving commitment to establish these policies in the plan. Comments on the draft are due on August 11, 2000. For more information, call Vivian Parker, CIBA Resource Policy Analyst, 530/622-8718.

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CIBA Seeks Northwestern California Field Director

CIBA is seeking a qualified candidate to fill the full-time Field Director position at our Northwestern Field Office in Willow Creek. The position has been established through a grant from the Ford Foundation to implement CIBA’s Community Outreach and Support Project. From this office, CIBA carries out projects and activities designed to meet the challenges and special needs basketweavers face in this region.
The Northwestern California Field Director will be responsible for all aspects of the operation and administration of the NWFO and CIBA programs carried out from the office. General responsibilities include establishing and maintaining communication with basketweavers, other Native people, and tribal governments; recruiting, training, and supervising NWFO staff and volunteers; interacting with local governments, residents, institutions, and organizations; communicating with the public; CIBA membership recruitment; fund raising; budget management; facility management; and office administration. Specific and immediate program responsibilities include supervising a northwestern California pesticide issues study project funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and implementing a 2-year grant from the Ford Foundation.
For more information, job description, and qualifications, contact CIBA, PO Box 2397, Nevada City, CA 95959; call CIBA Board Member Wendy Ferris-George (northwestern California) at 530/625-5432, or Steve Nicola, Acting Executive Director (Nevada City), at 530/468-5660. Anyone wishing to submit a resume and letter of inquiry should send it to CIBA's Nevada City office (see above).

Vacancy Anouncement - click her for details