We walk through our world in the footsteps of those who came before, sometimes treading the same path unaware. As a teen, I visited the Ulysses S. Grant home in Galena, Illinois. As an adult I helped with an historical recreation of the dinner U.S. Army pork supplier William “Hog” Ryan threw for his friend […]
Wiyot
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Winter Hotel
When recovering after surgery, I was faced with a dilemma: Where to go for a gentle walk that was long enough without tempting me beyond limitations, yet interesting enough to keep hardened hikers happy, as well as amply benched for when the spirit was willing but the flesh needed to take a load off? On […]
Posted inLifelines
Velva Elaine Angell: 1929-2021
Our beloved Mother and “Auntie” Velva Angell passed from this earth on Aug. 14, 2021 at the age of 92. She was proud of her Native American heritage as she was Wiyot, Yurok and Wintun Indian. Velva was born in Eureka, California on April 5, 1929 to her parents, Elizabeth Logan Cooper and Henry Clay […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Photos: Baduwa’t Festival Gathers the People
Last Wednesday through Sunday, a memorable Baduwa’t Festival: A Gathering of the People (formerly known as the Mad River Festival) took place in Dadiqhoughuk (Blue Lake) at Dell’Arte’s outdoor performance spaces. To the chagrin of a few turned away at the door, a well-publicized policy required a vaccination card or proof of a recent negative COVID-19. […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
NCJ Preview: Land Trust Goals and Soul Food on Wheels
Can a land trust fix what ails Humboldt? The Wiyot Tribe and Cooperation Humboldt are going to find out. We’re looking Wiyot-led Dishgamu Humboldt and its plans to address housing, job training and returning land to Indigenous ownership. We’re also talking about the Razz-Ma-Tazz soul food truck bringing African American home cooking traditions to Eureka. […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Dell’Arte-Wiyot Rural Residency in Place
Dell’Arte International’s rural residency program has adapted itself for the times. The 10-day program normally sees Dell’Arte students living and camping in a rural community, engaging in a cultural and artistic exchange with residents. However, in light of COVID-19 and the need for physical distancing, this year’s program will take to social media to carry out its […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The End of the Intertribal Gathering is the End of an Era
Many people were recently left without what has become their fall tradition. For 38 years the Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC) has put on the Intertribal Gathering and Elders Dinner around Veterans Day. This year there was no reveling in the reunion of friends and family, no basking in the glow of honor placed […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Local Native Basketry at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
If you were scrolling Instagram this morning (as one of our readers was), you might have seen a familiar basket form on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s account. The shot from the museum’s ongoing show Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection features a gorgeous piece by Elizabeth Hickox, a Wiyot and […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Genocide and Fugly Chairs
Recently, Antiques Roadshow did an appraisal of a Colt Model 1851 pistol that apparently belonged to early Humboldt County settler Seth Kinman. Spoiler alert: It’s supposedly worth $50,000. During the show, the appraiser took the opportunity to wax poetic on the value of the gun because of its known tie to Kinman who is described […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
The Flower Dancers
The Hupa women’s coming-of-age ceremony (Ch’iwa:l) lasts for three, five, or 10 days and is held after a girl starts menstruating. The ceremony is a public celebration that includes specific practices and ritual guidelines for the young girl. This ceremony is particularly important to the Hupa people, as it was thought that the girl’s behavior […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Making Amends on the Plaza
I grew up at the base of Fort Humboldt, in the cul-de-sac right across the street. As a child, I played over every inch of that land, including the boggy area at the bottom of the bluff. We would lay boards down into the blackberry thickets, moving forward until we were in the center of […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
TL;DR: Five Questions to Catch You Up
Busy week? We’ll help you catch up on the basics of this week’s cover story, which details the conversation about what should be done about the statue of President William McKinley and a plaque commemorating the Jacoby Storehouse on the Arcata Plaza. Read the full story here before you dive into a Facebook comments debate. Below, […]