What does it take to reawaken a Native language?

November 28, 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

This is a question that hardworking, dedicated tribal staff throughout California and many other regions are living every day. The ongoing efforts of my friends and colleagues Julian Lang in Karuk territory, Loren Bommelyn in Tolowa Dee-Ni, Nakia Zavalla in Samala[Chumash], and Jennifer Malone for the Wukchumni, are accompanied by hundreds of other people in […]

The Language of Silence

August 11, 2022.Reading time 21 minutes.

Why America’s oldest lake is in so much trouble Recently during a lunchtime conversation with a well-read, well-traveled friend, I mentioned Clear Lake. “Where’s that?” she asked. “California’s largest lake?” I responded, doing a quick calculation of how much contextual information I needed to share. “It’s in Lake County, a few hours from here. I […]

The Fight for an Invisible Fish

May 23, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

Allow me to introduce you to fish you’ve likely never seen in the wild. The Clear Lake hitch, the California salmon, the Pacific lamprey, the Owens Lake pupfish, the surf fish. These fish, ranging from tiny minnows to toothy eels to historical behemoths providing nitrogen fertilizer to forests hundreds of kilometers from waterways where the […]

the inconsolable loss of a mighty water warrior

July 1, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

The tribute below formed part of the eulogy read at Harry’s memorial service in Bishop. I also wrote a piece for KCET/PBS Southern California which can be read here. This week I join the Bishop Paiute and thousands of others who mourn the loss of Harry Williams: an elder, a Water Protector, and the world’s […]