A sunrise ceremony will take place at Bloody Island (actual name Bo donnapoti) on May 12, 2007.
This island became bloody on May 15, 1850 when dragoons, under Captain Lyon, and a militia raised by the Kelsey brothers, massacred 150 Pomo people, many of them old and infirm, and women, children and infants, as a retaliation for the execution, by two Pomos, of Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone, who had themselves continually mistreated, abused and killed Pomos for no reason but greed and blind hatred.
The outcome of the massacre was that the Kelsey”s were arrested and charged for their inhuman treatment of the Indians, but they not surprisingly escaped punishment, and Captain Lyon was eventually promoted. Many prominent members of the militia subsequently obtained free Indian land.
Every year since 2000, more people have come to honor the ancestors who died so horribly at Bloody Island, and to seek truth, forgiveness and reconciliation. This is a real ceremony, a real prayer.
This year, for the first time since the massacre, or 157 years, there will be Native dancers on the island. People will start gathering at 5 a.m., and the ceremony will start at sunrise. If you bring a camera, please ask permission before photographing a Native person who is praying, singing or dancing.
To get to the ceremony, on highway 20 east of Upper Lake turn at the commemorative Bloody Island plaque towards the island. Around 8 a.m., people will go to the Bingo hall at the Robinson Rancheria where there will be more Native dancing and speakers.
Raphael Montoliu
Lakeport
