Tribes dance for Klamath at Buffet's meeting

Klamath Riverkeeper , 04.05.2007 21:05

California tribes Hold demonstration dance for sick river in the midst of the woodstock of capitalism

Omaha, NE – Members of California’s three largest Indian Tribes and allies from commercial fishing and conservation groups continue to hold outreach events in Omaha, Nebraska in an appeal to shareholders of the company that is destroying their livelihoods and culture.

Brian Colgrove dancing: Do not take contact us if you want these

Karuk Medicine woman with dancers: Do not take

Instead of familiar dance grounds, traditional healer and medicine woman Kathy McCovey prepares the materials for the demonstration on the banks of an unfamiliar river near a bustling downtown business district. “This is very unusual for us. We don’t typically perform ceremonies outside of our ancestral territory, but we felt we had to come and share some of our culture with the people here.”

The dance involves about 15 singers and dancers, elaborate bead necklaces, hand woven caps, and elaborate buckskin skirts decorated with shells and other natural materials from the Klamath region.

“I’ve trained for many years, since I was a little girl, to learn these skills. I inherited this responsibility from my great grandmother . Certainly she never dreamed that I would have to come to Omaha in order to protect our river,” said McCovey.

Four Karuk fatevaneen, or world renewal priests, came to support the event. The fatavaneen are in the seventh day of a nine day fast. “We make medicine for Pikiawish, which is our fix the world ceremony. We’re fasting to purify ourselves so our prayers will be strong and so the creator will hear us loudly when we ask that the dams be removed so our salmon can come home,” said a very lean Chook Chook Hillman.

Pikiawish is held each fall to ‘fix the world’ for all people. The Three tribes represented here, Yurok, Karuk, and Hoopa, each hold their own ceremonies to ‘renew the world’ annually.

Ronnie Pellegrini, her husband Paul and her two daughters are a commercial salmon fishing family from Humboldt Bay near the mouth of the Klamath River. “Our river is sick and the result is that both Tribes and non-native fishermen are losing jobs and their means to make a living. I’m praying along side the singers and dancers here that in the end, Warren Buffett will do the right thing and remove these dams,” said Pellegrini.

The demonstration dance begins at 4 p.m. at Heartland of America Park, corner of 8th and Douglas in downtown Omaha.

UPCOMING EVENTS
On Saturday May 5th from 8 a.m. to noon, the groups plan a demonstration outside of the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting at the Qwest Center in downtown Omaha.

e-mail:: klamath@riseup.net
Homepage:: http://klamathnews.org

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