Ezra Weems Indigenous Day 10/11/2021
What We Did.
On Indigenous Day, we did not wake up as early as we usually do when we go on walks. We woke up at 8:00am or 9:00am and everyone jumped in the car. When we were all safely sitting in the car, the drive was a two-hour drive to Arroyo Seco. When we arrived at Arroyo Seco, I was super hungry so I ate some quiche and after the quiche there was a good little jumping rock that my sister and I went to jump off. I also caught a few lizards. After we jumped into the water and we dried off, we drove again to a different place that was 10 minutes away and we started our walk. The walk was mostly uphill, but then the trail started to go down and we saw a good place to jump in that we had been to before. This place was called the Gorge of Arroyo Seco. We were surprised that there was nobody around, because usually this place is a popular place. The water was really cold. My dad, my mom and my sister jumped in but I decided not to jump in. After everyone stopped jumping in, we had a little picnic and then we walked back. The walk back was not that bad. I always do better on the walk back. The walk back was mostly downhill and I was able to run some of the trail. We arrived back at the car at 4:00pm and we were home by sunset. When we returned home there were leaves everywhere because the day was a really windy day. The day was a Level 4 Flag Warning according to the weather system.
What I Could Imagine While Walking to Chuttusqelis
The Gorge of Arroyo Seco was once inhabited by Native California Chalon People. The Chalon People called this place Chuttusqelis. While walking the trail to Chuttusqelis, I can imagine the Chalon People catching and cooking lizards and having lizard kabobs. I can imagine the Chalon People harvesting berries and gathering herbs. We saw big skat on the trail, and I can imagine the Chalon People hunting the animals whose skat we saw. I can imagine the Chalon People sitting around and talking. I can imagine the children of the Chalon jumping off the rocks into the water. I can imagine the Chalon People preparing for the first full moon of the fall. I can imagine other tribes like the Esselen and Yokuts tribe walking and visiting during this time of year.
The Horror That was Explained to Me
Now it is difficult to imagine any Chalon People still living around Chuttusqelis. On the drive out of the arroyo all you see are grapes from vineyards and wineries and signs saying “No Trespassing”. The apocalypse started for the Chalon People 250 years ago with the arrival of the Spanish and continues today. The Chalon people have been killed or displaced. The survivors of the Chalon People are living in a post-apocalyptic world. They have been scattered like the wind. On this windy day, many prayers were sent, many prayer flags whipped in the wind.
What the Prayers Might Bring On this Indigenous Day
Give back the land to the Native People.
Survivors exist.
Find Them.
Find the Chalon People.
-e
INDIGENOUS DAY
October 11, 2021 Viena
Mom said that there is a high wind warning, level four, for Indigenous Day.
Dad said that we were going to go on a hike in Arroyo Seco, for Indigenous Day.
Ezra said that he is going to bring the two biggest fussiest blankets, for Indigenous Day.
Normally if we go on an adventure we wake up super early depending on where we are going, usually from 2 am to around 4 am. On Indigenous Day though, we woke up around the time we typically wake up, at 7 am, or for me 6 am. After everyone was up we all started to make our way to the truck. Around 9:37 am Mom, Dad, Ezra, and I were all seated and ready to head off. That was after I carried up blankets, food(rice crackers), and agua(water) bottles. The drive to Arroyo Seco was 2 hours so we had plenty of time to contemplate Indigenous Day and eat yummy rice crackers. While we pondered Indigenous Day we had lots to see out our windows. Strawberry fields, Cornstalks, burned hills, dust storms, wind-blown trees and bushes, and so many agua(water) stealer wine vineyards. I also saw one brown horse and two black horses. They are probably the descendants of horses the Chalon people rode. The Chalon are Indigenous people who roamed the land of Arroyo Secco, they climbed the same earth mound we climbed.
By the time we arrived at the day-use parking of Arroyo Seco the wind was already blasting trees into outer space, naw just kidding. Though there were mini leaf storms, like dust storms but with leaves instead. Even though the wind and air were really cold, Ezra and I jumped out of the car right away because we were so hungry for quiche. The quiche Dad made for Indigenous Day was so good, I had two pieces. After all the quiche was gone, Ezra and I went to jump into the stream. I had seen a little jumping rock that looked like many people had already jumped off of it during the weekend. The ground near the rock was sandy(super plus!) and was around 12 feet deep in one part and 8 feet deep around the rest of the rock, so it was a pretty good jumping rock, it just needed to be like 9 feet higher. I tried to splash Ezra when I jumped in, and I almost did. The water was colder than I expected, since it was the middle of fall I had expected the water level and temperature to be lower, but the water was not extremely low and the water was really cold. After Ezra had finally jumped in we took off to the trailhead parking lot. The trail’s name is the Santa Lucia Trail and it needs to be changed for the sake and honor of the Indigenous People that lived there, the Chalon.
The trail was very leafy, the oak trees had already lost many leaves before windy Indigenous Day, and they made a satisfying crunch under my shoes. The red manzanita berries made it to, they covered many parts of the trail. The trail started with a big incline up, but after a few switchbacks, you could see the gorge from the top of the hill. There were so many baby lizards on the trail, they were about 1 to 2 inches long, I bet the Chalon used them for something. By the time we saw the fire road, it was already pretty hot because we had been walking in the baking sun, but it was still windy so that felt good. To access the gorge you had to cross a bridge that went over a dry creek then go down a steep rocky trail that Ezra and I had no problem making it down. Surprisingly, right when we made it down to the gorge a huge wind storm came picking up sand, leaves, dust and swirling them this way and that. It was cool. There were a few spots on the rock you could jump off but we had to jump off one of the lower ones because it was not that deep in some spots due to the water level being a little low. Dad, of course, was the first one in then Mom, then me, I was the last one to jump in because Ezra decided not to jump in. The second time I jumped in I visited a school of fish that were swimming right by the edge of the water. While Dad was still in the gorge a Peregrine falcon flew right over him, and then the Peregrine falcon flew over Mom, Ezra, and I who were having a picnic on a rock. So we were being protected by the majestic bird. The sky was really blue while we were at the gorge, so blue.
When Dad finally came out of the frigid water Mom started the ceremony for Indigenous Day. First, she started burning the Sage and waving it around so that the Sage could bless us and clean the air. Then we were all fed a spoon full of seal oil, though not the stinky kind my Uppa used to have that would stink up the whole neighborhood. Sage smells so good and Seal oil tastes so good a perfect match.
After the Ceremony Mom, Dad, and I all jumped in the gorge one last time, then headed on our way back. The way back was on a fire road that so many people walk on the weekends, so the way back was way faster and I think way windier. On one of the curves on the windy road, the wind was so strong I almost fell off the side of a steep cliff, haha just kidding, the wind was not that strong. Dad’s time when we would make it to the truck was right on! 4:33 was the exact time he said we would make it to the truck and we made it there at 4:32. While I was waiting for everyone to load up in the truck I saw 2 momma deer with 3 baby deer, one of the babies even had spots. Then on our way out of the park, we saw that the moon was sitting right on top of the rock mountain. That looked really cool. Next time we go back we are going to climb that sacred rock.
After we had left Arroyo Seco (which means dry stream) I realized I really wanted some food and an ice cream sundae, so since it was Indigenous Day Dad said he would let us have an ice cream sundae and food. Yummy. I had a great Indigenous Day.
-v
LANGUAGE MADNESS 