DUMNA TRIBAL GOVERNMENT NEWS www.dumnaindians.org www.dumna.org

Yokuts Harvest......wonderful painting of Yokut's Women by Ben Barker of Susanville, Ca, picking sour berries....from the Exeter Ca Web page

Map of Dumna and Kechayi Tribal areas on Western slopes of Sierra Nevada Mountains, Spier, Robert F.G., HANDBOOK OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS, Vol 8, CALIFORNIA, pg 471, Smithsonian Institute, Wash DC, 1978.

Dumna Tribal Government (Dumna Cultural Preservation Association)

www.dumnaindians.org www.dumna.org

PO Box 306

Auberry, CA 93602

600 Coldstream Drive

El Cajon, Ca 92020-7721

619 444-1944

619 447-3219(Fax)

Tribal Contact Keith Turner

PO Box 306

Auberry, Ca 93602

Tribal Operations Yet-choo-nook Patricia Ann Murphy Brattland

600 Coldstream Drive

El Cajon, Ca 92020-7721

Left to Right, Keith Turner,Spirtual Advisor and Most Likely descendent of the Dumna Tribe; The late(2006)Tony Behill, Chumash Tribe; Norma Turner Behill, Dumna and Mono Tribes, Cultural Resources Adviser Dumna Tribe, Mike Smith of Millerton State Park. 2003 Photo...naming ceremony of San Joaquin River Ferry, Fresno California

OPEN ENROLLMENT NOTICE

The Dumna Cultural Preservation Association is holding open enrollment until further notice. The tribe is seeking federal recognition tackling land and repatriation issues, including conducting traditional ceremonies on ancestral lands.

The tribal government invites all descendents of the Dumna People to submit their letter of application, including their lineage, to:

Dumna Cultural Preservation Association

PO Box 306. Auberry, Ca 93602

600 Coldstream Drive

El Cajon, Ca 92020-7721

619 444-1944

info@dumnaindians.org

For further information or inquiry, please direct them to the tribal government. Currently, the only e-mail access is yet-choo-nook@gerlecreek.com .

http://www.actaonline.org/grants_and_programs/TADP/2001_rounds/dumna.htm

Interesting Yokuts Indian-Dumna Band Links follow:

From: Hashukmalli2@aol.com
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 11:06:07 EST
Subject: Re: Moccasin Project
To: pabrattland@gerlecreek.com
X-Mailer: 9.0 Security Edition for Windows sub 1200

Dear Ms. Brattland,

I thank you for your e-mail of 12/2.

I am glad I could clear up the issues and questions you had concerning the "Moccasin Project." Our peoples have always been there to answer the call in this country's time of need and I can not foresee any time when we will not be there to continue the tradition of our fathers and grandfathers.

The "Moccasin Project" will be carried out as I described to you for as long as I hold the position of Chairperson of this organizations. That much I can promise you. This project means a great deal to me personally. I am a combat vet with multiple tours in Southeast Asia. I also participated in Granada, Panama, and Desert Shield and Storm as well as other actions around the world in which our involvement was not publicized.

I also understand your feelings in having concerns going back to your ancestors. My Grandfather, who was a Choctaw from Oklahoma, was a member of the 36th Infantry Division during the First World War. He was decorated for valor and received two purple hearts while in France. A fact I never knew until after his death. One reason I started this organization was to honor his memory and the sacrifice he and his Native Brothers made for this country. At the time of his service, he wasn't even a citizen of the United States.

I am attaching a file to this e-mail. The attachment is an application for membership with the National Native American Veterans Association. The file is in PDF format and may be downloaded and printed out for completion. I hope you will consider joining the NNAVA. It is individuals such as yourself, with the concerns the for honor and traditions of our warrior ancestors as well as our warriors today, that this organization desperately needs.

I would ask that you also spread the word about the National Native American Veterans Association and refer those veterans you know to visit our web site at www.nativeamericanveteransassoc.org.

Again thank you for concerns and giving me the opportunity to answer your questions. Please feel free to contact me in the future about questions, concerns, suggestions, or comments.

Sincerely,

Thomas M Berry
Chairperson
National Native American Veterans Association

Squaw Leap Article Fresno Bee, June 2003

San Joaquin River Gorge

Squaw Leap near Millerton renamed

Many American Indians found the name offensive.

By Mark Grossi
The Fresno Bee

(Updated Monday, June 30, 2003, 8:51 AM)

Squaw Leap, a name that has long grated on American Indians, has passed into Central California history -- at least, as far as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is concerned.

The agency this month renamed 6,700-acre Squaw Leap Management Area, an outdoor recreation spot in the rugged hills above Millerton Lake, east of Fresno. It is now the San Joaquin River Gorge.

But the name Squaw Leap still lives.

A nearby table mountain will continue to be called Squaw Leap on U.S. Geological Survey maps -- meaning all official maps -- until someone asks USGS's Board of Geographic Names to change it.

"We don't have any control over that," said Land Management representative Tracy Rowland. "We will partner with local people to propose a change to USGS, but someone must approach us." American Indians think Rowland's agency has done its part. For decades, they have considered the name an insult and a reminder of a sad chapter of their history.

"There are many legends about how the name was started," Rowland said. "It's hard to settle on one."

Some members of local tribes believe the name comes from a mid-19th century story about young Indian women who purposely jumped to their deaths rather than face capture by the U.S. Army.

The captured women suffered sexual assault from soldiers, said Patricia Murphy Brattland, a descendant of local Kechayi members. Murphy Brattland, who has researched Indian issues for years, is considered spokesperson for the Kechayi by the state Native American Heritage Commission.

"The history is that 17 women escaped and jumped to their death," she said. "I don't need to go into a description of what went on when an Indian woman was captured, but the soldiers were rounding up all the young maidens."

American Indians had made sporadic efforts over many years to change the name. This year, more people approached the Bureau of Land Management.

Aside from the local history, Land Management officials said the word "squaw" has come under increasing fire across the country. The word is used in hundreds of names for mountains, cliffs, streams and lakes throughout the United States. But it carries disparaging and vulgar meanings, said Ron Fellows, Bakersfield field office manager for the agency.

"It may be objectionable for any public use area, but we feel it is particularly inappropriate for a site used for teaching children about Native American culture," Fellows said in a written statement.

Land Management officials promote cultural awareness by bringing children and tribal teachers together at the management area.

To rename the area, officials took suggestions from the community and settled on San Joaquin River Gorge as a descriptive, generic choice so one tribe's suggestion would not be picked ahead of others.

Officials intend to use some suggested tribal names on facilities and features within the management area.

The tribal suggestions included Ahol lul, the name of a Dumna-Kechayi Yokuts village site in the area; Pa'san Ridge, "pa'san" meaning pine nut; Tischachu, "salmon-spearing place"; and Ewahu, a word for the San Joaquin River.

The name of Ted Anderson, a local hunter who was instrumental in establishing the foothill recreation area, also was submitted and will be considered for use in the management area, officials said.

But the public will need to step forward one more time to completely remove the name from these foothills.

"Unless a proposal is submitted to the board and approved," said spokeswoman Karen Wood, "the official name for the cliff shall remain Squaw Leap."

The reporter can be reached at mgrossi@fresnobee.com or 441-6316.

Dumna Cultural Preservation Association

The Dumna people, who originally lived in the area that is now Fresno and Madera counties, are related to the surrounding Monache tribes. Funds supported costs associated with planning and implementing a “Dumna Tribal Coming Out Ceremony,” which was the first public ceremony to be practiced by the Dumna for over five decades. The gathering provided an opportunity to teach Dumna descendents the history, ceremonies and dances of their people.

Norma Behill Turner (center) with family members in Fresno showing newly made regalia in preparation for the Dumna Coming Out Ceremony

“ Some of our people did not know what tribe of Indian they were. I, with my strong up-bringing, knew who we were. Our tribe is getting bigger through research and meetings. Our gathering was very good. People talked about who was related to whom. The gathering was a ‘coming out gathering’ to let the people know we are back – the Dumna (‘Wo-wah’) tribe of ‘Chiqiloo’ (Table Mountain area).”

—Norma Behill Turner, tribal elder and project director

Contact Information
Norma Turner Behill
Dumna Cultural Preservation Association
P.O. Box 1386
Fresno, CA 92716
(559) 855-3128
(559) 855-5418 (fax)

http://www.actaonline.org/grants_and_programs/TADP/2001_rounds/dumna.htm

Yokut Languages

California Native American Heritage Commission

CDF Native American Advisory Commission

San Joaquin River Gorge

Alternate Names and/or Spellings for Tribal Groups...Dumna, Kechayi

Historical article on Pahmit, Dumna Band

Historical Article Merced Sun Pahmit

Native American Land Use Practices and Ecological Impacts

The Dumna and Kechayi Word for "No"

Treaties1851

Treaties N 1851

Costanoan Ohlone Indian Canyon Resource

1928 Census

1928 Census Madera County Only

http://www.indiancanyon.org/ACTof1850.html

http://www.sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/native/index.html