Recap: Walker River
Paiute Reservation Rewilding Camp
13 April 2008
Our "Rewilding Camp" on the
Walker River Paiute Reservation at Shurz, Nevada from March 30th - April 12th,
2008 was such a positive and rewarding experience for everyone
involved. We had 20 different people come out with us to learn about the
plants, over the 2 week period. Overall, we were received very well by
everyone. Our expeditions in search of native plants included Christians,
traditionalists, secular individuals, families with children, both Native
American and European descent, all ages and all walks of life. No one left
us untouched by what they could see.
We spoke with numerous other people as
well, including a meeting with Tribal members, and representatives of the Forest
Service and Bureau of Land Management. The meeting was related to the management
of culturally significant historical sites. We addressed the group
on the concept of Tribal Management of culturally and historically significant
Plants, as is included in the policies of the California
Forest Service. We hope that this policy will be adopted and extended
to all Native American Tribes and Lands.
Our love and gratitude especially to
Wayne Powell who was more or less our everyday companion, our Sacred Clown,
always loving, giving, full of humor, and helpful in so many ways. We love you
Wayne, Thank You!! We also owe so many thanks to Mel Brown for
arranging with everyone for us to stay in tow for 2 weeks. We've known Mel
for a few years and he has helped smooth the way for us many times. It is to him
that we owe the huge success that we enjoyed with everyone. Thank You Mel.
We Love You! We also wish to extend our Love and Gratitude to John,
Vernadine, Doug,
Joan, Richard, Johnny Bob,
Bonny, Phil, Marta, Ernest, Cheryl, and Clyde. Let's keep in touch,
Please.
An interesting side note concerning the
native plants. All of the Cymopterus
we found had corresponding Paiute names. In other words, the Paiutes had
also grouped all of the Cymopterus into the same family of plants... the
"Rabbit" family, because of the plants resemblance. Check out
the plant names in the Gallery.
by Kim, Finisia, Jon, Forest and Lauren
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