big times / little times
big times / little times
Big Times / Little Times
Written by Vincent Medina & Terria Smith
spring is here ! One of the joys of having the News crew in both Northern and Southern California is our renewed ability to attend events in all areas of our beautiful state ! Terria Smith , our wonderful editor , has been crisscrossing Southern California attending events related to bird singing , poetry , and more . And Vincent Medina , our outreach coordinator , got to attend events in the Bay Area and Northern California . We often joke we are “ city mouse and country mouse ,” and we are so grateful that our experiences allow us to spread a multitude of voices to help share California ’ s most authentic sense of itself .
Let ’ s start with some great news from the far north ! As many of you might know , there is hope that four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in Karuk and Yurok Country might be removed . A partnership was announced in early February between the tribes , fishers , and government agencies to tear down the dams in tribal territories . “ I ’ m incredibly excited to think that we ’ re closer to dam removal than we ’ ve ever been ,” Karuk Tribe natural resource policy adviser Craig Tucker said . With the dams taken down , salmon would be able to flow free throughout the Klamath yet again . Wonderful news from up north !
Also from Yurok Country , good news about language . The Yurok Tribe Language Program expanded its education outreach for 2016 with a new weekend class for beginners that debuted in late January , led by James Gensaw ( Yurok ). The program has been nationally acclaimed as a success , even receiving acknowledgment from the New York Times in 2013 , with James ’ s work and passion rightfully recognized . James said , regarding the expansion of their classes , “ Twenty years ago , [ linguists ] said the Yurok language was going to be an extinct language by the year 2010 . But what they didn ’ t know was that the tribe had a history of longevity .” We send our best , and can ’ t wait to see what the Yurok Tribe Language Program does next !
In January , the University of California – Riverside along with the Riverside Metropolitan Museum hosted “ Unratified : A Symposium on the Eighteen Treaties between California Indians and the United States , 1851 – 1852 .” Among the presenting speakers were Edward Castillo ( Cahuilla / Luiseño ), professor emeritus of Native American Studies at Sonoma State University ; Sean Milanovich ( Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians ), associate curator of anthropology at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum ; Larry Banegas ( Barona Band of Mission Indians ), a doctoral student at UCR and president of Kumeyaay . com ; Myra Masiel-Zamora ( Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians ), assistant curator of Pechanga cultural resources ; Jack Norton ( Hupa / Cherokee ), professor emeritus of Native American Studies at Humboldt State University ; Willie Pink ( Pala Band of Mission Indians ); and Olivia Chilcote ( San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians ), a doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley .
Comedian Chelsea Handler visited the Campo Kumeyaay Nation to showcase the condition of Native people for her documentary on Netflix . Handler interviewed Vice Chairman Harry Paul Cuero , who described the injustices Kumeyaay people face in their traditional homelands . She also interviewed Dr . Joely Proudfit , a professor at Cal State San Marcos who is a descendant of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians . Dr . Proudfit discussed the harmful effects of mascots and stereotypes on Native youth . “ To be left standing alone and having your Native students say , ‘ Why aren ’ t we valued ?’” Proudfit said , “ That is frustrating . That is racist .” We thank our southern leaders for telling the nation about the real issues Native folks experience here in California .
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▼ NEWS FROM NATIVE CALIFORNIA