MIDDLETOWN >> Barbara White’s work as zone archeologist for the U. S. Forest Service digs into the history of 20 or more native American tribes, collectively now referred to as the Yuki, who lived in what is now the Mendocino National Forest in the ages preceding settlement by white men.
Her appearance as speaker for Gibson Museum’s Fireside Chat Saturday, Sept. 9, at 3 p.m, coincides with the kickoff of the 22nd annual Nome Cult Walk from Chico through Mendocino National Forest to the Round Valley Indian Reservation in Covelo.
The Forest Service annually participates in the commemorative march. Barbara will share more about its history, along with an inside look at the efforts that go into finding all that history.
In 1856, the US government established the Indian reservation of Nome Cult Farm (later renamed Round Valley Indian Reservation). It forced thousands of Yuki and other local tribes onto these lands, with inadequate support for the transition. These events and tensions led to the Mendocino War (1859), where US forces killed hundreds of Yuki and took others by force to the Nome Cult Farm.
Descendants of the native peoples who took part in the original relocation and other supporters each year walk a week-long, 100-mile trek that follows the route that one group of Americans Indians was herded across from Chico to the Nome Cult Reservation in 1863. Only 277 of the original group of 461 survived the journey.
Fireside Chats begin at 3 p.m. the second Saturday of each month. Questions are welcomed after the speaker’s initial presentation. There is no charge, although donations to support Gibson Museum are welcomed.
Gibson Museum is located at 21267 Calistoga Rd. (Hwy/ 29), across the street from Middletown Square. For further information, phone 809-8009 or write to info@friendsofgibson.com.
