Marc Valdez Weblog: Spring Celebration At The Maidu Museum & Historic Site

Left: Nice oak trees at the Maidu Museum in Roseville. Beautiful (but remnant) oak woodland.

On Sunday, Sally and I went over to this event:

This weekend: Yomen, A Spring Celebration

Join us 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sun, Apr. 29 to celebrate the spring season. Explore and experience California Indian culture: opening blessing, dance groups, traditional art and craft demonstrations, guided tours, storytelling, children's activities and craft fair. Great event for the whole family. Indian tacos, other foods, and crafts for sale. Free event.

Maidu Museum & Historic Site
1970 Johnson Ranch Dr, Roseville

Left: No pictures of the dancers were permitted. I wanted to compare the dancers with dancers of Southwestern native peoples. The California natural landscape is richer than the Southwest, and the native costumes are more varied, and more curious.

First time I've been to this place. Sally had become interested because one of Brian's second cousins, Pat Lindgren-Kurtz had recently appeared here, to celebrate her new book on Maidu basketweaving:

In her heartfelt memoir, Lindgren-Kurtz not only retells the story of a lifelong friendship, but also details how two cultures intertwined while Daisy and Lilly create beautiful baskets to be cherished by many generations. As she shares charming anecdotes from her life living with the California Mountain Maidu people, picking willows, and observing their basket-making techniques, she offers an intriguing glimpse into the Maidu culture, their personal trials and tragedies, and the dramatic environmental changes affecting Maidu life from the Gold Rush to contemporary times. Lindgren-Kurtz details that Lilly and Daisy, as part of a large family of skilled basket-makers, persisted in sharing their culture and and traditional art through hands-on demonstrations for thousands.