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Local Indigenous leaders hope to reignite the conversation around traditional cultural fire practices in an upcoming multimedia stage play, “Wusatoumuduk: We Make It Burn,” set to premiere at the North Coast Repertory Theater (NCRT) this weekend. 

The production, which will be partially depicted in Soulatluk, the language spoken by the Wiyot people, delves into the cultural and ecological importance of traditional fire management practices. The story follows the journey of a young Wiyot woman grappling with her identity as she learns about fire ecology in college and how modern practices conflict with traditional tribal land management techniques.

“She’s learning what it means to be Wiyot and what it means to take part in traditional practices, including cultural fire,” Michelle Hernandez, co-artistic director of “Wusatoumuduk,” told the Outpost in a recent phone interview. “It’s taken modern science a while to get on board [with the practice] but we’ve been talking about how important it is for ages. … I’m an artist, not a scientist, and this is my way of bringing this conversation to a wider audience.”

Native communities have used small, intentional burns as a form of land management for thousands of years. The practice was essentially eradicated with European colonization and the forced relocation and genocide of native people who had historically maintained the landscape. In 1850, the California legislature passed the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians, which outlawed intentional burning in the newly formed state. Decades later, the U.S. Forest Service implemented its “10 a.m. policy,” which decreed that all fires must be extinguished by 10 o’clock the morning after their initial report to eliminate fire from the landscape. 

The last century of restrictive fire suppression practices has resulted in increased fuel loads (dried grasses, trees, dead leaves, etc.) across the landscape that allow fires to burn longer, hotter and faster, making them more difficult to manage.

For decades, tribes across Northern California have advocated for “good fire” to be reintroduced to the landscape. Various state and federal agencies have implemented prescribed burning practices to remove excess vegetation, but some tribal leaders want to see a more intentional approach to land stewardship.

“The Wiyot people – and many, many other Indigenous peoples across the country – have used cultural fire to help us survive,” Wiyot Tribal Councilmember Marnie Atkins, one of the lead writers for “Wusatoumuduk,” told the Outpost. “Not only did we use fire to manage the landscape [and] keep our communities as fire resistant as possible, but we also used fire to care for the land. Some plants thrive after a fire, not the huge, devastating fires we see now, but the pointed burning of specific plants. We have a reciprocal relationship with the land – we ensure the plants and animals are healthy and well, and they keep us healthy and well.”

Atkins hopes the play will diminish some of the anxiety surrounding cultural burning practices. “I think there is still apprehension among people who think this is something new,” she said. “It’s not new, but I do still hear the apprehension and concern. Understanding the generational, observational knowledge of a landscape and plants and what they need is important – that’s where [tribal communities] come in. We’ve engaged with these spaces for time immemorial.”

Atkins has been looking for a way to bring the subject of cultural fire to a wider audience, either through an educational or artistic medium. Two or three years ago, she struck up a conversation with Calder Johnson, NCRT’s managing artistic director, and asked him if he could help her turn the idea into a stage production.

“In my mind, the place to start was through education and what better way to educate than with art,” Atkins said. “I had been mentioning wanting to do this project for a bit and, one day, Calder happened to be at a meeting where I was talking about this idea. Being as awesome as Calder is, he said that if NCRT could ever be a partner or support this work, or even if I needed help writing a grant, I should reach out.”

“I was more than happy to help Marnie make this idea happen,” Johnson told the Outpost. “Marnie is an incredible person and the whole concept was very inspiring to me. … This is a massive crisis that we have on our hands, and it’s good to see that more entities like CalFire and other state agencies incorporating native knowledge into an effective response, but it still needs to move faster.”

Atkins and Johnson applied for a few grants and secured funding from the California Arts Council, the Upstate Creative Corps and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

A few other people eventually joined the project, including artistic directors Michelle Hernandez and Zuzka Sabata, who worked together on the Bartow Project, as well as community contributors, Maggie Peters, Kate Droz and Solomon Everta. 

Lynnika Butler, the Wiyot Tribe’s linguist, has also worked closely with the writing team to translate various words and phrases in the play into Soulatluk.

“I’m thrilled that we have the opportunity to reintroduce Wiyot phrases and language to the public sphere,” Atkins said. “[The Wiyot Tribe] has been working on language revitalization for a very long time. Some people have said it is a ‘dead language’, but a language isn’t dead if you have speakers and the ability to learn your language – and we have all of that. … [Soulatluk] isn’t dead, it’s just sleeping.”

The play will also incorporate shadow puppetry developed by James Hildebrandt and performed by Jay Gehr, as well as animations developed by Chantal Jung.

“The animations will be incorporated into the play,” Hernandez explained. “There is a lot of storytelling in this play – all traditional Wiyot stories – and when that happens, we will play an animation of the story as the characters are telling them. The shadow puppets are another aspect of that. It’s like the story is coming to life.”

The production team will host a free stage reading of “Wusatoumuduk” on Saturday and Sunday, a sort of first draft of the play. Attendees are encouraged to provide feedback in a community “talkback” session after the play.

The writers will incorporate that feedback into a future rendition of the production, which, Atkins hopes, will begin to take form in the coming months. But first, they need to secure additional grant funding. Her ultimate goal is for the play to serve as a foundation of sorts for similar projects on cultural fire. 

“Maybe this play will make its way throughout the state or beyond,” Atkins said. “If it resonates with other native communities, maybe they will want to produce this play in their community and add in changes that address their local concerns or put it in their language. We see this as a foundation to build upon. … Maybe we can make a difference.”

There will be two separate stage readings of “Wusatoumuduk: We Make It Burn” on Saturday, June 15 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, June 16 at 2 p.m. More information can be found in the flier below.

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Victor Dale Lee
Born January 24,1949
Passed April 22, 2024
Age 75

Victor was born Jan 24, 1949 in Fort Worth, Texas. He attended and graduated high school at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Wisconsin. He briefly returned to Texas to attend college, but moved back to Wisconsin to marry Judith Wagner (Lee), whom he had met while attending St John’s.

They had one son, Christopher Lee. There they owned and operated a small homemade candle store.

Like many other young people of his generation they were inspired by the Summer of Love. They embraced the hippie counterculture and relocated the family to San Jose in 1974. He spent the majority of the next 30 years working and living in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, at one point living on the waterfront in Alameda.

In 2006 he made the move to retire to Eureka. In 2015 Victor remarried Linda Robb, but sadly was widowed in 2020. At the time of his passing, he was a resident of The Lodge in Eureka, where he had several friends in the community. .

Victor was an avid reader his entire life, and enjoyed spiritual books and thought provoking sci-fi. He was an avid 49ers fan, and he loved the views of Humboldt County redwoods and the California coast.

Sadly, on April 22, 2024 Victor lost his long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Ayers Family Cremation prepared him for his final wishes — to have his ashes scattered at sea in the Pacific Ocean he loved. He will be missed.

Catherine Ellen Barnes
August 31, 1950- March 13, 2024

Catherine Ellen Barnes went to do God’s Laundry. Her departing flight was out of Eureka, CA. She loved the sensation of flight, as she would bungee jump over the waters of Mexico.

Born in Long Beach, Calif. to Betty Jean Hubbard (Barnes /McElhill) and Philip Barnes, she spent time as a young person fishing in Humboldt County with her Grandmother Harriet “Jane “Hubbard. Having raised her daughters Wendi D. Wood, Deborah L. Hart and Karyn B. Hart in Martinez, Calif. — children of her marriage to Gregory E. Hart — she moved to Eureka in 1996 to enjoy the ocean with her grandchildren Kelli Wood, Kevyn Harris, Dylan Hart Arnold and Gage Hart Arnold.

Being an excellent cook, she taught them how to run a proper kitchen and make pies. Any child under her influence emerged with excellent comprehension of the English language. She loved babies and considered her job done when they were able to speak in complete sentences. The friends of her children were taken under her wing as family, most notably Missy Ferguson.

As a woman of many great talents, best known publicly for her masterful capacity in physical therapy, fitness instruction, massage therapy and paralegal services. Catherine retired from the City of Eureka after her years as a fitness instructor at the Adorni Center and also was a member of the team at The Spa Personal Choice, certified in Swedish and Esalon Massage earned at The McKinnon Institute.

Known personally for her ability to laugh at every challenge life lobbed her way. Cat always landed on her feet.

Survived by Marge Barnes, Mark and Jeanette Barnes, children, grandchildren, nephew Philip and nieces Marcy, Valerie and Camila.

Brother Mark Barnes says:

My sister was at her best when she was caring for others… which was especially evident when she was caring for the elderly in the latter stages of their earthly lives.

This was her special gift.

Her daughters would say their mother took doing laundry to an art form. Those of you who knew Catherine, Cathy, Cat personally will need no interpretation of these thoughts and instructions of hers, to be read upon her passing. The rest of you… just try to follow along.

• “I have gone on to do God’s laundry and offer a massage if one is wanted” 
• “At my passing, in lieu of flowers, go to Bed Bath and Beyond and buy yourself a present.” 
• “Cancel all my book and movie clubs… immediately!” 
• “Bury me in this cooking apron.”
• “Bury me wearing these green gardening gloves.”
• “After settling my affairs, if there is any money left over, spend it buying booze for my memorial.”
• “I love to eat.”
• “If you insist on having a memorial, make it a potluck and use real plates, knives and forks. No plastic allowed.”
• “When it’s time to go… it’s time to go!”

And lastly, this joke found amongst her files…

• “When I die, I want to go peacefully, like my grandfather did, in his sleep. Not yelling and screaming like the passengers in his car.”- Will Rogers

No public service will be held. We invite you to privately celebrate and honor her as you wish. Read a book. Laugh with the funny pages. Touch high quality textiles. Walk the beach. Go fishing. Eat great food. Swim. Grow plants. Watch the birds. If you wish, support Friends of the Redwood Library, Food for People, The Rescue Mission or Hospice of Humboldt.

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Humboldt County will soon have a new resource in its efforts to help people suffering from acute mental health issues. Opening later this summer, the Hyperion Crisis Residential Treatment Facility, located at 528 N Street in Eureka, will offer ‘round-the-clock care for people who might otherwise be sent to the Sempervirens Psychiatric Hospital or left to fend for themselves at home or on the street.

“This facility will not only improve a long-blighted site in the neighborhood, but will provide a safe location so people can stabilize and get connected to necessary medical treatment,” Fourth District Humboldt County Supervisor Natalie Arroyo told the Outpost via email.

With initial funding coming via a $2 million in state financing, the facility will offer patients room, board and a variety of services, including psychiatric care, case management, access to housing resources and more, all billable through Medi-Cal. 

Jack Breazeal, deputy director for behavioral health with the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), said that many of the folks who wind up in Sempervirens (aka SV) arrive in a state of grave disability or destitution, “meaning they’re up there because they kind of lost their ability to take care of themselves and meet their basic needs.”

Many of these people are homeless and suffer from substance use disorder alongside their mental health issues. “I mean, it is not a good spot,” Breazeal said. “So to think that SV is going to fix everything in their life in a few days is not reasonable.” 

At the crisis residential treatment facility, people will be able to stay for up to 45 days, with the average stay at similar facilities across the state lasting about two weeks. It will be an outpatient facility, meaning people can leave whenever they choose, but those who stay will be assigned a case manager, a therapist and psychiatrist, and they’ll be linked up with other outpatient services. 

Housed in a renovated duplex, the facility has a capacity of 10 patients at a time, with five double-occupancy bedrooms. The county has contracted the Yuba-City-based nonprofit Willow Glen Care Center to operate the center with its own staff of nurses, case managers and mental health workers. Willow Glen already operates such crisis care centers in more than half a dozen Northern California locations.

“I appreciate that Willow Glen staff will provide 24-hour-a-day staffing to support people staying at the site as well as the community that surrounds the home,” Arroyo said. “I’m very grateful to the funders and partners in this effort!”

Breazeal elaborated about who will most benefit from this new facility and the services it offers. Some patients will be those who’ve recently been released from Sempervirens but who may worry that without more help they’ll decompensate and sink quickly back into the thoughts and behaviors that got them hospitalized in the first place. 

Others might be people who, say, wind up in a local emergency room in distress but who, after evaluation, don’t quite meet the criteria for a mandatory 5150 psychiatric hold. Hospital employees or other health care professionals can recommend a stay at Hyperion, which may help prevent the need for acute hospitalization.

Meanwhile, Sempervirens’ 16 beds are often fully occupied, and Breazeal said his grand hope is that the new Hyperion center will relieve some of that pressure. 

“I really am excited about that,” he said. “That’s what’s going to end up happening.”

A substantial subset of people who wind up at Sempervirens are under the legal guardianship of the county, conserved per the terms of the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act. These people are sometimes held as SV because the county has not managed to find an available long-term care placement. Once Hyperion opens, some such patients can stay there while they wait, according to Breazeal.

The big benefit to this facility, he added, will be the ability to ensure that residents are taking their medications as prescribed.

“That’s where we generally lose people, is on that med compliance,” Breazeal said. “In this place we will get at least 14 days of ongoing medication into your system and get you a rhythm of taking them and making sure that you have a case manager [who will] take you to the pharmacy and get your meds and then take you back to your residence.”

Residents will also be able to get checkups and other appointments through Open Door Community Health Centers.

Care provided at the facility will be covered by Medi-Cal reimbursements and the Mental Health Services Act, a tax on millionaires passed by California voters in 2004.

The county is hoping to open the Hyperion Crisis Residential Treatment Facility by Aug. 1.

“I am very hopeful about its impact on the community, both at our level with Sempervirens, with the local emergency rooms, and then the community at large,” Breazeal said, “just really clearing up some congestion and getting people the help they need.”

PREVIOUSLY:

• Caltrans Town Hall Does Deep Dive Into Last Chance Grade Project’s Impact to Trees; Agency Expected to Decide On Preferred Alternative This Summer

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Press release from Caltrans:

In a significant step toward securing a long-term solution at Last Chance Grade, Caltrans has selected a preferred alternative that could pave the way for constructing a tunnel along U.S. 101 in Del Norte County. 

This coastal stretch of highway south of Crescent City has long been marred by landslide activity and indefinite maintenance costs. As a vital artery connecting Del Norte County with its neighbors, any closure of U.S. 101 at Last Chance Grade has far-reaching economic and service consequences.

Caltrans has selected Alternative F, a 6,000-foot tunnel that bypasses area landslides and realigns the highway, in a move that is essential to advancing the Last Chance Grade Project efficiently. The proposed tunnel would be the longest constructed in Caltrans history.

Close collaboration with tribes, environmental groups, lawmakers, and other stakeholders resulted in a decision that maximizes long-term reliability. With construction estimated to cost around $2.1B in 2031 dollars, the tunnel avoids chronic landslides, coastal erosion, and the impacts of climate change while ensuring safety during seismic events. While the option presents challenges due to the sensitive environment and potential impacts on large-diameter, old-growth redwood trees, Caltrans is committed to delivering a successful project through partnership, community support, and collaborative mitigation efforts, exploring all avenues to stay on schedule while prioritizing quality, efficiency, and preservation. 

Alternative X, which wasn’t selected, involved re-engineering the existing route in the hopes it would be resilient among the area’s mapped landslides. 

Caltrans continues to seek all possible funding opportunities to realize this project. The project has remained on schedule and on budget and the project team is on track to finalize its environmental document by late 2025. Further design refinements would occur in the coming years. To keep on track, the project would need to fund design, support, right-of-way acquisition, and other costs by December 2025, and it would need to fund construction costs by 2029. If all goes according to plan, construction could begin as early as 2030. If that happens, the tunnel could be open as early as 2038, however, Caltrans is looking for any and all opportunities to accelerate this timeline. 

Caltrans remains appreciative to stakeholders and leaders for their support in this timely and important decision. 

A solution at Last Chance Grade has been desired for decades. The announcement of a preferred alternative follows the February release of the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS), including a Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation. These documents were the culmination of extensive engineering and scientific studies, strengthened by far-reaching collaboration. 

“The selection of Alternative F is a testament to our commitment to providing a reliable long-term solution for Last Chance Grade,” said Caltrans District 1 Director Matt Brady. “We are grateful for the support of our community and partners, and we are confident that together, we can overcome the challenges ahead and deliver this critical project for the people of the region and the state of California.” 

“Caltrans has diligently pursued a stakeholder-guided process with tribes, community representatives, environmental groups, agencies, and business interests to arrive at the best possible option for this landslide-plagued stretch of U.S. Highway 101,” said U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman, who convened the Last Chance Grade Huffman Stakeholder Group in 2014. “These efforts have presented an option that is the safest and most reliable alternative for Last Chance Grade. I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure North Coast residents get the best project they can as we move toward funding and construction.”

“This bold alternative was chosen after much research and stakeholder involvement and will the most reliable solution in the long run,” said California Assemblymember Jim Wood. “I appreciate all the work that Caltrans and their many partners have done to move this crucial project along and I look forward to its eventual completion.” 

“After many generations of Del Norte County citizens traversing this fabled, continuously failing section of our state highway system, we have reached the conclusion to construct a tunnel with broad agreement among regional stakeholders,” said Del Norte County Supervisor Chris Howard. “Del Norte County is grateful to our community, tribal, environmental, and agency partners that have dedicated many years to finding a path forward.”

“After decades of inaction, the Last Chance Grade permanent improvement project is on the move,” said California Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire. “The decision to advance with a tunnel will finally give Del Norte the safe and secure passage on Highway 101 that the community has long deserved. Building this tunnel will be a feat in engineering that also protects the old-growth redwoods that have grown for centuries at this World Heritage Site and treats ancestral lands and cultural sites with the utmost care and sensitivity. This decision is an incredible milestone for Caltrans District 1 and represents six years of intensive collaboration and analysis. We owe huge gratitude to Del Norte neighbors for their patience along with city, county leaders, and tribal leaders, local environmental leaders, the State of California, and the federal government who have been working overtime to get this job across the finish line.”

For more information about the Last Chance Grade Project, visit lastchancegrade.com. 

Press release from Arcata Fire District:

On Wednesday, June 12 at 6:30 P.M. three engines from Arcata Fire were dispatched to a commercial structure fire at the 1500 block of Nursery Way. The first arriving engine found light smoke coming from a commercial structure. Fire personnel entered the structure and confirmed the fire was out. There was smoke throughout the structure. At that point, the fire officer in charge canceled all additional responding fire units and began ventilating the building.

A neighboring business owner reported to fire personnel that he had entered the business where the fire was and had extinguished a Lithium Ion battery that was burning.

Fire damage was limited to E-bike components and a table within the business, and light smoke damage throughout the business space.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an E-Bike battery that was left charging and had failed.

Arcata Fire would like to thank citizen Andrew Jordan of Surfside Sips for his actions which likely saved the entire building and its contents. We would also like to remind the public to make sure that their fire extinguishers are charged annually and after use. Also, use caution when charging Lithium Ion batteries, and never leave them unattended while charging.

California has 44 state symbols, including a state folk dance, dinosaur and mushroom. But Assemblymember Diane Dixon says we need another — an official state seashell.

And she says the shell of the black abalone, an endangered marine snail, is the ideal choice — to represent resilience to climate change and to honor its history with Native American tribes.

“In my legislative package, we have a lot of serious bills related to public safety and business taxation, and one of my staff members said we don’t have a state seashell,” Dixon, a Republican from Newport Beach, said in an interview Wednesday. “I’m from the coastal district with 37 miles of coastal sand on the Pacific Ocean, and I thought we should look at something that protects that vital and critical natural resource.”

No opposition has emerged to her bill. The Assembly passed it on a 72-0 vote in April; the Senate could vote as early as Thursday to send Assembly Bill 2504 to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The shell of the black abalone — unique to the shorelines of California and Northern Mexico — could become one of 15 official state shells in the United States. It has a rich history for Native American tribes in the region: The snail was a source of food for thousands of years, and tribes used the shell for trading and to make jewelry and ceremony regalia.

Last weekend, Dixon talked about her proposal at KelpFest in Laguna Beach. Before she went on stage, Adelia Sandoval and other members of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation provided a blessing.

“Part of her ritual was to honor and bless the ocean and the event was smoke coming out of the abalone shell,” Dixon recalled. “They had no idea I was gonna be talking about this.”

She said her announcement was “very touching” to both herself and the Native Americans who provided the blessing.

“My staff called this — given all the seriousness of other legislation at our times with inflation and all these other issues, like homelessness — kind of a fun bill,” she said. “But it’s more than fun now. I realized last weekend it’s really meaningful to people. And I’m just honored to be able to do this.”

Another reason Dixon chose the black abalone was to make Californians aware of the environmental dangers it faces. The black abalone became an endangered species in 2009 because of threats including overfishing, disease and natural disasters.

In 1983, the spread of withering foot syndrome — a fatal disease that affects the snail’s digestive organs — killed at least 80% of black abalone in Southern California. The population also took a large hit in 2020 after the Dolan Fire in Big Sur.

“We want people to know that it is a rare and endangered object and to leave it where it is,” Dixon said.

At an Assembly committee hearing, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley spoke alongside Dixon to present the bill. In an interview Wednesday, she said it “will help us to get more education out to the community and inform people about the types of things that threaten this species.”

Foley’s brother-in-law studies the reproductive habits of black abalone, and she said they have had many dinner table conversations about its relation to climate change.

“Scientists are studying abalone to see the ways that it adapts to be able to withstand climate change, to withstand some of these diseases that have threatened it, to withstand the warmer waters where it needs to thrive in colder waters,” she said. “So I think it can be used as a species where we can learn the adaptive techniques that it uses and how we can model those techniques in our everyday lives and in our planning.”

If chosen as the state shell, the black abalone will be permanently enshrined in the California State Capitol Museum.

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