A Trip To Arcata (Oct. 15 -19, 2008)

I don't know why it took me so long to finally get to blogging about this trip, but here it is--better late than never, eh?

I had just got back from a trip to Salt Lake City (worked a few days), and then made the long drive down to Humboldt County. The drive down was fairly uneventful (which is good and bad for an 11-hr drive). A high point--catching the sunset as I hit the Pacific coast in Crescent City. The California Coast is hard to be away from.

Sunset At Crescent City

One of the primary reasons for the trip to Humboldt was to hang out with Ari and Jeremy, but another thing going on at Humboldt was the Indigenous People's Week (IPW) at HSU. This was something which started back in about 1996-97 when I was there. A group of us Native students organized the first IPW---wow, such a long time ago. I remember how we all dressed up in black, like ninjas, boarded Tee's old white Nissan pickup, and then posted all sorts of Native signs around the campus. It was subversive and fun.

Here we are over 10-years later, and the IPW is still around. This year my sister Ari, and her boyfriend worked with others in organizing it. One of the highlights for me was my mother being invited to be a keynote speaker for the Week. She was there to give two talks. One on her Residential School experience in Canada, and another on her work with Siksika Language and Its Preservation.

My Mom and Her Class

Sharon Yellow Fly, our mom, gave a heartfelt and powerful presentation on her experience in "Boarding School". My mother gave a history on the governmental policy of Canada and the Queen with regards to Native children. A policy which was carried out for over a century and which lasted as recently as the '70s. Generations of children were scarred by this and it started a cycle of dysfunction generations of Native communities still deal with. My mom survived this and she came out on top and became a very loving, intelligent, and strong Native woman. My mom gave a really informative talk, but it was also personal and there were some moments which were hard to hear, but it was still good to hear her words. I know my sister and I were very proud of her talk.

Names In Our Family

The next morning my mom gave a more technical talk on her work with our tribe's language. She covered some of the basics of the Siksika language. She also talked about the Siksika Dictionary she has written. This is a project I hope she publishes, but her main priority was making this document for us, her children. It was an awesome talk, and I was happy that one of my good friends (Vincent Feliz) from Humboldt was able to make the talk.

My Home For Several Years (right next to the laundromat)

Ari and Dogs At Mad River Beach

The Ear of Gomez

After these duties were fulfilled we hung out in Humboldt. We had an awesome time heading down to the Lost Coast one morning. We also took a trip out to the Mad River Beach. This is a beach I went to all the time, and this is the closest one to Ari & Jeremy's house. Had a cool time taking a salsa lesson at Muddy's Coffee shop.

Un-Dam the Klamath!!

Arcata Farmer's Market

Honey

What else, oh I also did the "ceremonial" game of "21" with my homies, Vinny "Bag 'o Donuts" and Chag "Two Egg Breakfast". Even though we're all older, Chag still has that money outside shot, Vince has some crazy ball-handling skills, and I still run around like I'm on crack. Many laughs ensued and my jaw was sore from laughing so hard.

California N8V Ballers

Our stay was capped off by heading to the Lowry household for a nice yummy meal (a la Luzmila's) and then playing a game of cards. I'd never really played much before, but I ended up doing alright. I didn't get spanked like Vince did, so I was happy. ;)

Pimps


Cards With The Homies!


Getting His Hat Handed--I Love Ya, Chumash!!