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What an honor to serve healthy organic food at our annual Elder’s dinner this year! We served fresh organic salad; chia seed parfaits with figs & strawberries, and; wild crafted herbal teas including megel, nettles and elderberry. We would like to say thank you to Marissa Yakaitis and team at the North Lake Tahoe Food Shed and their illusive donor [Annette] who so generously provided the funds for the local, seasonal, and organic food we served to our elders. It is our desire to serve only the best food to our people, especially our Elders. (Drawing by Aspen Carillo, WZGT Youth Representative).
It is no secret that Western food sources with its highly processed and marketed processed foods have wreaked havoc on our people’s health. We are excited to do our part in promoting a traditional, or traditional-like diet. We would also like to thank the Red Bear Youth Group for assisting with serving the elders and others who joined the feast. As a double bonus Galina Angarova (Buryat), and Executive Director of the non-profit organization Cultural Survival joined us for the gathering. Galina is a Buryat from Lake Baikal. When she learned about our mission to fulfil the agreement made between the Washoe and the Buryat people back in the 1980’s, she expressed her gratitude and intention to help us achieve our goals. Galina was an intern and student at the University of New Mexico during the Tahoe/Baikal Institute’s cultural exchanges and attended a few of their events back then. Galina is a long-time activist and has been involved in Indigenous environmental issues for her entire career. She has represented the World Indigenous Peoples’ at the United Nations on issues such as the Sustainable Development Goals, and she has led Indigenous experts to review safeguards for Indigenous Peoples for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Green Climate Fund. Previously, Galina was the Russia Program Director at Pacific Environment, where she organized direct actions to block pipeline construction in the Altai region of Siberia, to close a toxic paper mill on Lake Baikal, and to stop a hydro-dam from flooding the Evenk Peoples’ lands. She additionally served on the board of International Funders for Indigenous Peoples for seven years. Galina is currently the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Securing Indigenous Peoples' Rights in the Green Economy Coalition. What an honor to have her and her organization in support of our endeavor to fulfill the promise that was made to her tribe almost 40 years ago.
As a result of Galina’s visit, we are now in touch with Erjen Khamaganova, (second from the right), who is one of the original organizers of the exchange. We will be meeting with her and a few elders to discuss the agreement that was made between our people back in the 1980’s. Erjen remembers her visits with Melba and Darrel Cruz who attended a summit in Siberia at Lake Baikal in 2005. The agreement that was made so long ago includes that we align with their initiative to raise awareness and institute prayer to bring healing to the land the water and the people.
The following words were written by Erjen, following one of her visits so long ago:
“For me, ceremony and ritual are not important for conservation, they ARE conservation. I get angry because it IS conservation in its highest manifestation. It is very difficult to explain; let’s return to this Lake Tahoe/Lake Baikal example. So Tahoe was desecrated totally; the Washoe Indians who were the Indigenous Peoples of the land (the tribe is small numbered now) were pushed away from their lake, and the major sacred sites were destroyed by the US digging a tunnel nearby the lake. For the Washoe, Lake Tahoe was a place only for ceremonial use, like us with Lake Baikal – no one would build houses next to the lake. They believe their organ story is from the lake, and the major holy beings in Washoe cosmology live in the waters of Lake Tahoe. They have water babies that are the major spiritual beings of the Washoe people. Before I went to Lake Tahoe, a Buryat shamaness drew me this picture of Tahoe, and the rock on it – and she said that water babies love this lake,: but they don’t live in the lake any more. When I went to Lake Tahoe, I told them what the shamaness told me, and asked what they thought about this. They said “Yes, we know, they had to leave because the desecration was on a huge scale.” Then I told them how the Buryat shamaness had said that the water babies are still alive, living in a river southeast of the lake, in the bubbling water. The started laughing and took me to this place – and it is really a bubbling spring and the water babies are still alive, and taking care of Lake Tahoe’s waters, and the Washoe people, remotely. It’s a beautiful story.”
By re-establishing this relationship between two high-mountain tribes with deep, pristine lakes at the center of their homelands, we become stronger--along with other Indigenous peoples all over the world. By putting up a Yurt, we will be joining with the Buryat and fulfilling a promise along with other high mountain Sister Lake Peoples around the world in a prayer for the healing of the land, the water and the people.
Note: Call To All Washiw; We Need To Hear From You!
As the executive director of Wašiw Zulšiš Gum Tanu, I am excited and overwhelmed with the support we are receiving from local and international organizations to see this vision through. However, most importantly, is the support we are receiving from our own people. Please e-mail us at [email protected] to get on our mailing list and receive updates for news and events.
Di:gum hi:ki 'angaw hulew
We are all in this together.
Onward,
Dr. Lisa GrayShield
Executive Director of Wašiw Zulšiš Gum Tanu
[email protected]