Indians celebrate cultural milestone – California tribes join in opening of national museum
By David Whitney -- Bee Washington Bureau
Published 2:15 am PDT
WASHINGTON - Walking behind a banner proclaiming "Save the Klamath
Salmon," about 20 Yurok from Northern California stood as a stark
reminder that on a day of national Indian celebration Tuesday, problems
back home should not be forgotten. Two years ago, the Yurok Tribe
watched helplessly as more than 30,000 salmon washed up dead on the
banks of the Klamath River that runs through their fractured
reservation.
Tuesday's procession to the ceremony opening the National Museum of the
American Indian was seized as an opportunity to protest federal water
policy that they blame for the fish kill. "We have water problems, and
fish is one of our staples," said Lawrence Orcutt, who at 76 was the
elder in the Yurok group attending the ceremony.
Thousands of American Indians flowed in a river of celebration,
feathers and smiles through Washington on Tuesday, heading for Indian
country.
Their destination was the new National Museum of the American Indian, a
towering, honey-colored mesa of limestone and glass that faces east
toward the rising sun in a desert setting of tall grass and
boulder-bordered pools of water.
Their purpose was to mark the nation's belated recognition of who they
are and who they were.
Drums thudded, chants rose, feet stamped, and faces were framed in
elaborate headdresses of turkey and eagle feathers as the tribes rolled
along the National Mall.
Yet beyond the ceremony lay memories.
A member of a Wisconsin tribe explained that his streaks of white face
paint spelled out his name: "Rain clouds filled with thunder."
"This is all great," he said with a wry grin. "But I want my land
back."
How much land?
"About 16 million acres," he shot back.
Coming from coast to coast, the tribes were dressed in clothes ranging
from the ubiquitous blue jeans to regalia preserved by lost
generations, proudly identifying themselves to a world that knew them
as stereotypes. Their banners ranged from the Cherokees of Alabama to
the Chippewas of Wisconsin, the Paiutes of Arizona, the Navajos of New
Mexico and the Aleuts of Alaska.
The mood of the marchers was relaxed and amiable. They talked of the
museum as a place where their culture at last was identified and
defined for what it was.
"We are proud of who and what we are. But this gives us a sense of
belonging," said a woman of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina as she
marched with her people.
From the Pauma tribe of California, Sue Castillo said, "This is a
coming together. This gives us a sense of self. We always had our own
identity as tribes and communities, but we always lived in our own
world. This tells who we are."
Ned Barton of Fayetteville, N.C., a member of the Haliwa Saponi tribe,
was one of those who spoke of the lesson to be learned from the new
museum.
"This gives us a sense of belonging," he said.
Women of the Tohomo O'odham Nation of Arizona wielded crooked wooden
sticks as they played a traditional game called toka, while others
moved to a rain dance, and there rose a haunting chant to the
sun.
As they moved toward the museum, a $219 million structure that took 15
years to build, there awaited them a place of prisms and light, of
ancient pottery and a wall of golden ornaments, but also a reminder of
the history of Indian country. There are totem poles and ivory
sculpture. There is a star room with a black ceiling pinpointed by
lights.
One gallery is devoted to modern Indian artwork, and other exhibits
focus on the history and culture of the first Americans.
"Visitors will leave here knowing Indians are not part of history,"
said W. Richard West Jr., a member of the Southern Cheyennes who is
founding director of the museum. "We are still here and making
contributions."
Bill Pearson, another Yurok elder, said he journeyed to Washington not
just to support his tribe, but also in the hope that "we get our salmon
thing worked out."
With American Indians filling the National Mall, Orcutt, Pearson, 73,
and the others were inspired, even hopeful.
"When we get together, we should be a powerful voice," Orcutt said. "I
am proud to be an Indian."
The political message the Yuroks carried, rare as it was on this day of
festive traditional dress and dancing, did not overshadow the
moment.
Delores Sitts is a Yurok who now lives in Selma, N.C. But she was not
about to miss the day of celebration with the people from her homeland.
She wore a traditional necklace made with long dentalium shells and
ruby-red money beads. Clam and abalone shells were sewn into her dress,
and her hat was made from maidenhair fern and dried porcupine quills -
all symbols of the tribe's connection to the rugged northwestern
California coast.
"To me, this makes me feel proud," she said. "You feel it in your
heart. It's like one big family."
Former tribal chairwoman Sue Masten, a past president of the National
Congress of American Indians, said the museum gives American Indians a
place on the National Mall.
"For us, it is important that the United States formally recognize
native culture, tradition and history, with all the other museums on
the Mall," she said. "It focuses the attention on Native Americans,
that our culture, our traditions and our religions are still thriving
despite all the assaults. We are still alive."
The Yurok delegation was a mix of political and cultural leaders.
Orcutt, for example, is the tribe's keeper of regalia - the traditional
clothing, headwear and ceremonial items that often hold spiritual
significance.
"This is the first time something like this has ever happened," said
Orcutt, casting his gaze out over the endless gathering of colorfully
dressed Indians. "I am a private person, but this is really
something."
Yurok Tribal Council member Lyle McKinnon said he toured the museum on
Monday and was awed by the experience. His only disappointment, he
said, is that so far no Yurok artifacts are on display.
But with artifacts in regular rotation out of the museum's stunning and
reverential Cultural Resource Center in suburban Maryland, McKinnon
said, "Maybe we can get Yurok items in there next."
