Miwok Medicine

07/01/2024

https://apple.news/Ae6NvDfTIQBCQDrhpLJg-DQ

05/20/2024

Miwok Elections: Selected Suggestions for Tribal Leaders

Real Talk
You Miwoks and some of you reading know the story of us natives in California. Some 300,000 of us natives lived here in what is known as California prior to the gold rush (LOC, n.d.). After the gold rush there were only 30,000 natives remaining (AE, n.d.), I’ve heard other estimates of only 13,000 to 15,000 people. Perhaps you are wondering why so many of us all died? You likely know already, however in this moment let’s not dwell on this thought.

We persist and now we prosper in wealth, as for culture that’s another matter. In the present tense and without crying about our tremendous loss of the past, some 700 of us in this small Miwok tribe are thriving. I suggest we should look forward. Yes, forward despite the money guilt (perhaps you too) I have about being alive and receiving money based on the elders who have endured and those many who have passed on. One of whom signed the paperwork establishing our Rancheria.

The election season approaches, and it seems that some individuals and some families in the tribe regard each other as enemies or potential enemies, not all of course. As an adult in the real world of conflict, compromise, and realpolitik, you would recognize a source of this present-day tribal turmoil is embroidered or deeply imprinted in that real past the elders lived through. Surely some of those past experiences have scarred some of our elders. I recall an elder who spoke at the Miwok Language symposium, who was in his 70’s said he only realized a few years earlier why his native community always anxiously sent all the children away to hide when any unrecognized vehicles came nearby. His community was afraid of the children being separated from their families and sent to so called American Indian Boarding Schools a notorious legacy of the recent past (Lajimodiere, 2023).

The internal animosity that currently exists in the tribe is certainly a function of bad historical events as described above as well as events from our own internal tribal history dynamics both legitimate and illegitimate. However, if we are to heal if we are interested in thriving as a cohesive community into the future then we must find ways to again look forward with a mind towards building solid and friendly relationships with one another that will help us achieve future success for ourselves, our families, and the health of our tribe.

Political Leadership Style
This article will conclude with some suggestions for Miwoks seeking and winning elected positions. However, let us first consider what kind of leader you, you actually would be!

History provides many examples. Say you’re the son of a farmer and a teacher and you successfully manage to develop wealth in the range of $30 billion dollars, (you’d have a hard time developing this kind of fortune in our tribe), nevertheless you could be this kind of leader like Pablo Escobar (Montgomery, 2023). Let’s say drugs is not something you would be involved with while leading our tribe, you’d rather arrange to accomplish your financial and power grab goals in a technically legal manner. You could consider operating within the letter of the law to increase your wealth and influence and fame very much like George Washington Plunkitt of Tammany Hall. Plunkitt became very wealthy by manipulating the political system and trading political favors for insider information, he referred to these practices as “honest graft” (Sands, 2024). A third example and it's one many American politicians participate in (Antle, 2011). For details read Peter Schweizer’s 2011 book, “Throw them all out: How politicians and their friends get rich off insider stock tips, land deals, and cronyism that would send the rest of us to prison”. As a tribal leader you may have an opportunity to benefit as Schweizer suggests from stock tips with a big vendor, land deals you might have influence on, and of course the ever present, (like death) “cronyism” defined as the appointment of political hangers-on to positions without regard to their qualifications (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). For any of the above methods one important legal tool is non-disclosure agreements as used by both Harvey Weinstein (Farrow, 2017), Sean Diddy (Montero, 2024), and R. Kelly (Wagmeister, 2023). Two last thoughts in this vein you can read, “The dictator's handbook: Why bad behavior is almost always good politics” (Bueno de Mesquita and Smith, 2012) or watch the television series narrated by Peter Dinklage, named “How to Become a Tyrant” (Netflix, 2021). On the other hand, I’m sure you realize there are also many examples of good or at least honest so/so leadership as well. The above is real, now and yet satirical.

Selected Suggestions for Tribal Leadership (in no particular order)

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA)
Is our tribe creating such NDA agreements for our own tribal members? These legal documents may or may not be appropriate in similar fashion to Weinstein, Diddy, and Kelly as mentioned above. The suggestion here for transparency is that there should be a record kept of such documents and the date issued, the number of members it applies to and the basic purpose (i.e., financial) and length. Too many of these NDAs may be a red flag that our tribal leadership is oriented towards not disclosing information rather than offering transparency.

Transparency on Employment Compensation
To be clear, a report with actual data, year over year (or quarterly), with the information would accomplish this suggestion. Something that troubles me is that I’ve heard there are one or two tribal members that get compensation from multiple entities, “double dipping” so to speak.

-Tribal Office - Salary/Compensation Disclosure
-For every tribal member employed by the tribe, salary and any other compensation provided by the tribe. This document should be able to be viewed at the tribal office.
-Casino: For every tribal member employed by the tribe, salary and any other compensation provided by the tribe.
-Compensation from Multiple Entities: For every tribal member employed by the tribe that receives compensation from more than one tribal entity.

Transparency on other Compensation
It should be a mandatory reporting requirement that Tribal Members must disclose in compensation in the form commissions, rebates, or discounts received from facilitating business with any Tribal entity. As an example, if a tribal member introduced a beer manufacturer or distributor to the casino Food & Beverage Manager or Purchasing Manager and then in turn received a commission, rebate, or discount as a form of compensation then the value of that compensation must be reported to the tribe. More importantly, this is a practice that should be restricted so as to prevent unethical behavior.

Cultural Suggestions
-Visits and Tours to the Rancheria – we should insist as a matter of policy or tribal encouragement that we ask every new member to physically visit our Rancheria.
-Host an annual visit day or week to the Rancheria.
-Xmas Party - set up elder tables, have the young people come up and visit the elders.
-Dance group - it’s embarrassing as I understand that we don’t have our own dance group.
-Tribal Song – create one.
-Large Tribal Map of The Rancheria with the Name of the Families Living There on the Date the Tribe was recognized.
-Drone footage with native music of the Rancheria would be beautiful, powerful, and certainly touch many hearts.

Honor All Tribal Leaders
Let us all honor all the previous chairpersons and leadership. The animosity towards present and past chairpersons is almost tangible and uncomfortable. Yet they have all so far led us to our current prosperity. Let us as a tribe honor and recognize their individual and group contributions. I’d like to see tasteful, complementary, and high-quality painted portraits of these former leaders. Cohesiveness is a valve that makes sense for people that value leadership over long periods of time, that’s us!

Medicine Man and/or Women
I’m not certain of our historical heritage on this topic. It seems to me, however, there is room for a leadership position in this area. I would think preferably an elder who has knowledge or is willing to learn and communicate Native Spiritual Values. Ideally, someone who is connected to every family, our land, and nature. This person would have the knowledge, ability, and desire to connect us to one another and ourselves in a traditional native way. They should be able to minister to us as individuals and groups. Should there be a person with these skills and abilities we should pay attention and make plans when the timing is right.

Sovereignty
This is a concept, definition, or word, that our chairpersons think they understand, yet I happen to think there will always be big money and powerful influence that would influence in a way that is sweet and comforting to them. You must know, depending on the situation, twisting your arm is easy. As a leader you must resist individuals, organizations, local governments, big powerful companies, and governments – don’t give an inch, they will take a mile. Read just a little of any native history and it’s obvious. Resist any encroachment soft or hard.

Actuary and Tribal Forever Fund Idea
Imagine you are close to retirement, how much money will you need for housing, healthcare, and other expenses to live comfortably? The tribe has an opportunity to think this way as well. How about we set up a fund that thinks the same way, how many people do we have now, how many do we expect to have in future, what will be our income and our expenses, including the investments we intend to make. In other words, just how much do we require to be able to fund us forever (theoretically) into the future? One idea is to send out a request for proposal to an actuary (these are people who do this kind of math for insurance companies) and an accountant (perhaps internally) who can together calculate this figure and then suggest with leadership how to go about accomplishing this goal.

Opportunity Investment Fund
The economy is somewhat of a puzzle at the moment, yet the stock market is doing very well despite high inflation. At some point in future the economy will turn down as it always does. If we had a fund set up specifically to purchase assets in a downturn, we could reap lucrative return on investment if carefully executed. During Covid for example a Casino General Manager told me a story of how several hotels and casinos were purchased at bargain basement prices.

Elders
Lastly and most importantly, go out of your way to contact every single elder in the tribe. Establish and elder day at your office perhaps with other tribal leaders. Be the person who shows the most care towards elders. Also, if you ever open a new tribal casino or any other tribal entity always invite the elders first and not non-tribal people! You will be judged severely if you do not put elders first. No lip service, leadership by example is imperative! If you love our people and our tribe, you’ll find the time.

References

American Experience (AE). (n.d.). The Gold Rush Impact on Native Tribes. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldrush-value-land/

Antle III, W. J. (2011). BOOK REVIEW: ‘Throw Them All Out’. Washington Times. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/22/legislators-and-honest-graft/

Bueno de Mesquita, B., & Smith, A. (2012). The dictator's handbook: why bad behavior is almost always good politics. New York, PublicAffairs.

Farrow, R. (2017). Harvey Weinstein’s Secret Settlements. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/harvey-weinsteins-secret-settlements

Ginsberg, D., Laufer, J., Pasht, J.B., Dinklage, P. Bekhor, J. (2021). How to Become a Tyrant [TV series]. Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/80989772

Lajimodiere, Denise K. (2023). Legacy of Trauma: The Impact of American Indian Boarding Schools Across Generations. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). https://www.pbs.org/native-america/blog/legacy-of-trauma-the-impact-of-american-indian-boarding-schools-across-generations

Library of Congress (LOC). (n.d.). The First Peoples of California. https://www.loc.gov/collections/california-first-person-narratives/articles-and-essays/early-california-history/first-peoples-of-california/

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Cronyism. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved May 20, 2024, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cronyism

Montero, D. (2024). READ: Diddy's Ironclad Non-Disclosure Agreement His Employees Had to Sign. Radar Online. https://radaronline.com/p/read-the-ironclad-nda-sean-diddy-combs-used-to-silence-his-artists-employees/

Montgomery, R. (2023). The Criminal Mystique of Pablo Escobar. Western Museums Association. https://westmuse.org/articles/criminal-mystique-pablo-escobar

Sands, Eric C. (2024). Plunkitt of Tammany Hall. Ashbrook Center. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/plunkitt-of-tammany-hall/

Schweizer, P. (2011). Throw them all out: How politicians and their friends get rich off insider stock tips, land deals, and cronyism that would send the rest of us to prison. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Wagmeister, E. (2023). R. Kelly Silenced Aaliyah and Her Family With Non-Disclosure Agreement After Marriage Annulment, Docuseries Reveals. Variety. https://variety.com/2023/music/news/r-kelly-aaliyah-nda-marriage-annulment-1235478393/

11/27/2023

Miwok Casino Wealth and Myth
R. Taylor 11.26.2023

The Miwok people have survived the many historical wrongs perpetrated by migrants to California and pernicious government policy, such as the very first California Governor who said, “... a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the two races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected” and then proceeded to authorize $1.29 million in 1850's dollars to subsidize militia campaigns (men with guns) towards that goal (State of California, 2019).

Having survived and even thrived since those vicious times we are now on the precipice of individual financial security from gaming revenue. Let us take a moment as a native people, as we do before a hunt or fishing a river or contemplating a serious thought, in order to get in the right frame of mind that recognizes our situation and our surroundings.

Let us pause a moment as the Miwok do and imagine the potential of this new wealth. One might think it commonsense that our lot will naturally and automatically improve with money. On an individual level this may very well be true for the majority of us who will see increases in rates of home ownership, car ownership, and health indicators. It is easy to think things can automatically be solved with money. But what of tribal health, the Miwok, as a people? Will we in some natural or automatic sense be more cohesive, closer in friendship and in spirit on a cultural level because of this new wealth? Perhaps redundant, will we Miwok establish greater appreciation for our culture, will we come to develop cultural strength as a native people because of a few golden coins? Will positive cultural achievements and success occur naturally? To be clear then, the position here is that it is a dangerous myth that more money alone builds cultural strength for our or any native people.

Just think about it, positive things don’t just automatically happen and it is a dangerous myth for tribal leaders and members and us native elders to think so. Pause to ponder this. As humans we are easily susceptible to lazy thought and going along with the crowd. Just a few examples which would make you think like in the old days adults would say, “don’t believe everything that you read”.

Ten Percent Brain Myth
There is a popular myth alleging us humans only use ten percent of our brain, the myth has been called, “a myth that just won't die” (Jarett, 2014). Unfortunately or rather perhaps fortunately, it is just not true, according to neurologist Barry Gordon at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, “the 10 percent myth is so wrong it is almost laughable” (Boyd, 2008), he contends we use most of our brain capacity. The point here with the other points below is that myth pervades all levels of education. By the way, despite the myth being incorrect there is a fantastic 2014 action movie directed by Luc Besson titled “Lucy” (Besson, 2014) starring Scarlett Johansson on this exact topic.

Cautionary Tales
Back to the point, witness the Bill Maher interview with Mayim Bialik (CRP, 2023) who holds a P.h.D in neuroscience sharing her thoughts on “Little Mermaid” (Andersen, 1837) story by Hans Christian Andersen where she has turned it into an anti feminist plot rather than the cautionary tale that it is, see Martin (2018). Of course, as you know, this is similar to viewing Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare, n.d.) as a romance rather than a tragedy, the view may be that the young lovers are just naive or if like Antonini (2022) who blames the adults, regardless it’s not a love story, it’s a pathetic, sad, tragedy.

Population “Bomb”
You will meet people today who believe this. A persistent myth is the so-called “population bomb”, in essence too many people for planet earth. Paul Erlich, a Stanford University professor advocated that position in his book “The Population Bomb” (Erlich, 1971) turns out to have totally been wrong, here are some links in case you might be interested in reviewing the debunks the scare tactic further. And politicians, academics, and business leaders wonder why people look at the experts and the media with a cautious eye.

Population Bomb: The Overpopulation Theory That Fell Flat, (2019).
There never was a “population bomb”, (2021).
The Population Bomb? (2015). (luxury taxes on diapers, mass sterilization, sometime in the next 15 years…). Dare I say think about the source of climate change?

Being a young adult or an elder, it is likely you’ve heard of nasty vindictive emotional and perhaps physical fights among family members over inheritances? Now thinking on a tribal level, imagine the millions and millions of casino dollars that are on the table. There is great potential for the profits (of what you might know about) and the “dry powder” (Daltorio, 2023) to be internal tribal family battles over. Legitimate and perhaps not, concerns about the flow, use, and decisions about who can and cannot have access to these funds, requires fair and visionary leadership, if the valuing of tribal cohesion and strength is thought worthwhile.

The suggestion here is, it is simply a myth that the Miwok will be stronger culturally as a tribe because of money. What is the framework for building and strengthening tribal relationships and perpetuating its culture? I would suggest as a start it should be started without academic buzzwords like “decolonize”. One author who is a proponent of the concept but is critical of it lackadaisical use, “At a conference on educational research, it is not uncommon to hear speakers refer, almost casually, to the need to “decolonize our schools,” or use “decolonizing methods,” or “decolonize student thinking” (Tuck and Yang, 2012).

It is suggested here that tribal leaders undertake simple practical means that don’t require much in the way of resources, to strengthen the bonds among individual tribal members and thus the tribe itself. In the next writing there will be some of the proposed practical suggestions.

References
Anderson, H.C. (1837). The Little Mermaid. H.C. Andersen Centre. https://andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheLittleMermaid_e.html

Antonini, J. (2022). The real tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. CUInsight. https://www.cuinsight.com/the-real-tragedy-of-romeo-and-juliet/

Besson, L. (2014). Lucy. IMDB. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2872732

Boyd, R. (2008). Do People Only Use 10 Percent of Their Brains? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerichttps://clas.osu.edu/sites/clas.osu.edu/files/Tuck%20and%20Yang%202012%20Decolonization%20is%20not%20a%20metaphor.pdfan.com/article/do-people-only-use-10-percent-of-their-brains

Club Random Podcast (CRP). (2023). Mayim Bialik Explains the Little Mermaid to Bill Maher. [Club Random with Bill Maher]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7EpYBx6EiQ

Daltorio, T. (2023). Dry Powder in the Financial World? Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/08/dry-powder.asp

Ehrlich, P. R. (1971). The population bomb. Rev. ed. New York, Intext.

Jarrett, C. (2014). All You Need To Know About the 10 Percent Brain Myth, in 60 Seconds. Wired. https://www.wired.com/2014/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-10-brain-myth-explained-in-60-seconds

Martine, A. (2018). Morality Through the Ages: A Comparative Essay on the Little Mermaid and its Adaptation. Maelstrom. https://www.maelllstrom.com/filmtheatre/2018/1/8/morality-through-the-ages-a-comparative-essay-on-the-little-mermaid-and-its-adaptationpages

Shakespeare, W. (n.d.) Much Ado About Nothing (B. Mowat, P. Werstine, M. Poston, and R. Niles, eds.). The Folger Shakespeare. https://folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing

State of California. (2019). Governor Newsom Issues Apology to Native Americans for State’s Historical Wrongdoings, Establishes Truth and Healing Council. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/06/18/governor-newsom-issues-apology-to-native-americans-for-states-historical-wrongdoings-establishes-truth-and-healing-council

Tuck, E. & Yang, K. (2012). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1), 1-40.https://clas.osu.edu/sites/clas.osu.edu/files/Tuck%20and%20Yang%202012%20Decolonization%20is%20not%20a%20metaphor.pdf

08/13/2023

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Miwok

Normally, when writing, an author is supposed to consider and ponder the intended audience and the major purpose prior to writing. What follows here is an attempt to somewhat disregard this standard approach not so much so on the audience aspect but rather sidestepping the focus on a focused detailed purpose. Simply put, the aspect of writing may lead to the purpose.

Frankly, the conclusion and the writing may end up being absurd because I’m exploring the impossible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the past. You should be informed that the education this author has on the topic is limited to a four week class centered on the understanding and use of IBM’s Watson (IBM, n.d.). If you follow the stock market and faddish news sources then it’s like you’ve read some hype about AI. Lohr (2021), reports that Watson has not, “panned out”.

However, it depends on what is being promised and promoted, the view here is that AI has incredible potential, despite or beyond the hype. Perhaps AI could have saved Jean-François Champollion and others the 20 years it took to decipher the Rosetta Stone and three scripts it contained; hieroglyphs, Demotic (a shorthand form of hieroglyphs) and ancient Greek (Solly, 2022).

Could AI, if it had been available in the past, suggested an expanded use of “96 hour” (AHF, 2022) U.S. Air Force aerial refueling missions and thus more focused bombing near the end of WWII rather than dropping nuclear weapons on civilian populations in Japan, thus saving many, many, innocent lives of children, women, and men.

This is perhaps an odd thought, “how could AI have helped us Natives in years past?” The question if it is to be regarded seriously or at least somewhat so requires some level of Coleridge’s (1817) “suspension of belief” (Batista, 2012). Let us assume then that Miwok Natives at the time had knowledge of this technology at the time and that they knew how to train and code properly for well developed AI.

My response would be of course “no” because there was an unwillingness on the part of the incoming settlers, pioneers, and gold rush immigrants to treat natives as fellow humans. This opinion is shared by one AI program - ChatGPT when asked, “Could the Miwok have survived the California gold rush with artificial intelligence? Answered with the following (see full answer at end end of this

“Artificial intelligence, had it existed during that period, would likely not have been a determining factor in whether the Miwok could have survived the gold rush.”

“If we were to apply modern technology, including artificial intelligence, to historical situations, it's important to remember that technology alone cannot address the deeply rooted historical injustices and structural changes that occurred.”

These responses aren’t particularly enlightening and in fact the whole exercise seems a little underwhelming. The future seems more exciting to consider and while we may not be able to fully move on from “historical injustices” (yet we might be able to) there certainly have been some positive “structural changes” such as income from casinos for many (although not all) Miwoks.

West and Allen (2018) suggest that “is transforming the world” and that it has great potential in these areas, you may note they listed "finance" first.

-Finance
-National Security
-Health Care
-Criminal Justice
-Transportation
-Smart Cities

Perhaps it’s important to consider some strategy and tactics to leverage this technology for the Miwok in our time now and for the future?
References and Links
Atomic Heritage Foundation (AHF). (2022). Curtis LeMay (1906-1990) was a United States Air Force general. https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/curtis-lemay/

Batista, E. (2012). Suspension of Belief. https://www.edbatista.com/2012/02/suspension-of-belief.html

Coleridge, W. (1817). Biographia Literaria, Chapter XIV.

IBM. (n.d.) IBM Watson. https://www.ibm.com/watson?utm_content

Lohr, S. (2021). What Ever Happened to IBM’s Watson? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/technology/what-happened-ibm-watson.html

Solly, M. (2022). Two Hundred Years Ago, the Rosetta Stone Unlocked the Secrets of Ancient Egypt. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/rosetta-stone-hieroglyphs-champollion-decipherment-egypt-180980834/

West, D. M. & Allen, J. R. (2018). How artificial intelligence is transforming the world. The Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-artificial-intelligence-is-transforming-the-world/

ChatGPT
Question: Could the Miwok have survived the California gold rush with artificial intelligence?
Default (GPT-3.5) https://chat.openai.com/

The Miwok people, like many Native American tribes, faced significant challenges during the California gold rush. The sudden influx of settlers, prospectors, and miners in the mid-19th century brought about major changes to their traditional way of life, including displacement, disease, and conflict. While artificial intelligence did not exist during that time, it's important to consider the historical context and the factors that contributed to the challenges the Miwok and other Native American tribes faced.

Artificial intelligence, had it existed during that period, would likely not have been a determining factor in whether the Miwok could have survived the gold rush. The survival of the Miwok and other tribes depended on complex interactions between factors such as land dispossession, disease, violence, and social disruption caused by the rapid influx of newcomers.

If we were to apply modern technology, including artificial intelligence, to historical situations, it's important to remember that technology alone cannot address the deeply rooted historical injustices and structural changes that occurred. While advancements in technology might offer new tools for understanding and addressing historical challenges, they would not have been a decisive factor in determining the Miwoks' survival during the California gold rush.

In summary, the survival of the Miwok during the California gold rush was influenced by a complex interplay of historical, social, and economic factors. While modern technologies like artificial intelligence can provide valuable insights into historical events, their impact on the outcome of such events would likely have been limited. It's crucial to approach historical analysis with a comprehensive understanding of the context and dynamics at play.

A conversational AI system that listens, learns, and challenges

04/25/2023

Miwok & Lost Lake Effect
R. Taylor

In California it has been a wet year, meaning of course we have had lots of rain and other forms of precipitation, so much so that “ghostly” appearances are occurring (Walters, 2023).

One apparition or “phantom” is the former, yet always ready Tulare Lake (SMM, n.d) which the Tachi Yokut Tribe reveres in name as Pa’ashi (TS, 2023). “Ready” as in “born ready” and ready for opportunity, willing to speak up, “put me in coach”. The Los Angeles Times’ headline describes this recent appearance of the Pa’ashi, in part as returning, “with a vengeance, unearthing an ugly history” (TS, 2023).

As a Miwok or other various persons, you may find it interesting that according to the Tachi Yokut Tribe, “Yokut” means “people” (SRR, 2023) just as Miwok also means “people” (Conrotto, 2016) somehow I think, feel, and opine, these native “people” referred to themselves beyond just one general non-specific way. Perhaps our ancestors were so humble as to refer to themselves in this manner or too clever to reveal our heart and spirit to others so easily. Sorry to digress.

In a sense, the Miwoks are the Lost Lake Effect (which I’ve purposely not defined). It is the case that we “people” are also a natural phenomenon. We were already here without “vengeance”, even now the lake has no malice or intent beyond being. It was created by our God however you might describe that concept or created by a “mother” nature or simply science if you are so inclined. However you think about the source of creation by a divinity or otherwise, nature is not Al Capone, Vin Diesel, Buddha, or Jesus, it doesn’t have the human emotions that are ascribed to it and it’s certainly not a ghost.

Very much like Pa’ashi we were here and then got “drained” (killed) of people, by civilization and then “diverted” meaning enslaved (Brown University, 2017), and bountied to death (Blakemore, 2020) into a stream of culture that didn’t want us. Later on, still being around, whenever we tried to enter the sweet stream towards self sufficiency and prosperity, we like great Pa’ashi recognized the physical constraints of “levees and (the) dams prevent water from entering the basin” of community sustainability (Dickman, 2023).

Yet the “people”, Yokut, Miwok, and many other Natives will have always been and will always be here despite the levees and diversions. We are here now in a bigger way. Yet the Miwok and other natives must recognize the wisdom inherent in what Pa’ashi has given us in this moment. We have financial lakes that are filling and some more quickly with the casinos and related endeavors. And so at this point it is important to recognize that we, like Pa’ashi might, very soon, and like normal retreat back underground. And so we can leave the metaphor and as Natives recognize what Pa’ashi is telling us. We are not a body of water but a body of people who have the potential to build and lead ourselves and our communities into a healthy resurgence that remains and does not retreat.

The challenge is to find ways to rebuild our Native communities around Native values and I fear instead, our current values are organized primarily around these very competitive financial lakes. This type of lake I fear will completely dry up compared to one that is constituted of a body or community that largely shares human values and interests.

What is the honest and current “State of the Miwok” in 2023, and how can we strengthen it?

References
Blakemore, E. (2020). California’s Little-Known Genocide. History Channel. https://www.history.com/news/californias-little-known-genocide

Brown University. (2017). Colonial enslavement of Native Americans included those who surrendered, too. https://www.brown.edu/news/2017-02-15/enslavement

Conrotto, E. L. (2016). Miwok Means People: The life and fate of the native inhabitants of the California Gold Rush country.

Dickman, J. (2023). This phantom lake in California is back with a vengeance. Popular Science. https://www.popsci.com/environment/tulare-lake-flooding

Santa Rosa Rancheria (SRR). (2023). Welcome To The Tachi-Yokut Tribe. https://www.tachi-yokut-nsn.gov/

Sarah Mooney Museum (SMM, n.d.). Tulare Lake was once considered largest body of water west of Mississippi.https://sarahamooneymuseum.org/a-look-back/tulare-lake-was-once-considered-largest-body-of-water-west-of-mississippi

Times Staff (TS). (2023). California’s ‘phantom lake’ returns with a vengeance, unearthing an ugly history of water. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-28/phantom-tulare-lake-returns-with-a-vengeance

Walters, D. (2023). California’s ghostly Tulare Lake will be revived this year. Cal Matters. https://calmatters.org/commentary/2023/03/tulare-lake-water-california/

Tulare Lake disappeared as water was diverted to irrigate California crops. This year, however, the lake will once again emerge.