Butte, Montana

The culture of the Concow Maidu Indians of Northern California has had a great impact on the themes of my art. I lived off and on for 35 years at Chi Chi Te, or Black Earth Village, up on Mooretown Ridge in the Feather Falls area of Butte County, California. See more of my art on Art Blog/ Eric Whollem http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/maidu%20indians The Concow Maidu are called the West People and are a major subdivision of the Maidu Native Americans. To the south live the Nisenan. And to the north live the Mountain Maidu. Tribes among the Maidu are based on family. There are a number of modern Maidu tribal authorities today, reflecting changing times. For example the people of Feather Falls are called the Mooretown Rancheria, while the people from Berry Creek are called the Tyme. The Konkow Valley Band of Maidu represent the descendants of the inhabitants of Concow Valley, a region that is found at a high elevation in a mountainous area at the gateway to the Feather River Canyon. The Mechoopda are a Maidu tribe from the Chico area. Many speculations exist on the tribal origins of the Maidu. One story is that a long, long time ago they lived on the Trinity River, not far from Mt. Shasta, California. Mt. Shasta is called Kom by the Concow. This means 'Snow.' Another account is that they are linked to the Reed Boat People and may have ancient roots among the Mayans. When I first moved to Chi Chi Te in 1972, Bob Jackson, the old Maidu patriarch was still alive. He used to sit much of the day out under the old walnut tree, waiting for friends and neighbors to stop by. The was very old fashioned, having been born in the village site on the trail to Feather Falls. He believed the world was flat. He had stories of how he used to talk to the Chinese railway workers who built the logging railway track that ran on the other side of the road. For a time I lived in the house of Herb Young, a Mountain Maidu, who had intermarried with the Concow. He was a shaman. He left many fine recordings of traditional Maidu songs. His dog, Fido, outlived him. Though blind, she was able to travel far and wide, visiting people up and down the road. I remember the day that he came to see Lily Baker, the basketmaker from Taylorsville, when she came to visit one day. She and Ennis, a beadworker from Indian Valley, are relatives of Herb. I have interacted with many Maidu individuals over the years, including Adrian Smith, former head of the Butte County Tribal Council. He taught me a lot of language and culture. Cousin Lorraine also related many old stories to me. Ralph Martin, one of the last of the local native speakers used to live off and on at Frank Jones place, just down the road from Black Earth Village. Ralph is well known for having made a Hemeni, or sacred dance hall, out of cedar bark shakes, cedar posts and other native materials. The Hemeni is set back in the forest a few miles from the site of Feather Falls. EARTH PAINTS Martin, a headman from Berry Creek, taught me about the use of earth paints by the Maidu. These were traditionally used as body paint in the sacred dances. Pine pollen and acorn meal were also used as paints by the Maidu. In the old days a green earth pigment was traded on foot across the Sacramento Valley to the tribes over in the Coast Range. Robert Steidl, Bob Jackson's grandson, gave me a copy of a book on Australian aboriginal rock art years ago. He commented on how the pictographs of the Australian tribespeople were quite similar to those of the prehistoric peoples of California. I began making my own paints from raw earth, bark fibre and other materials in 1973, Many of my earth paintings reflect Maidu culture. See examples of my earth paintings on this link: http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/earth%20paints EXHIBITS AND COLLECTIONS Herb Puffer, of Folsom, California, the founder of Pacific Western Traders, began collecting my earth paintings back in the 1980's when I had an exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. Herb helped Adrian Smith publish an album of traditional Maidu songs, A number of my earth paintings are housed in the Lowie Anthropology Museum, in Berkeley, California. This is in Kroeber Hall, named after the famous anthropologist who worked with Ishi, the last of the Yahi Indians. Tribal Elder, Frank Day, had a story that Ishi's mother was Maidu. Many of the arrow heads Ishi made had Maidu characteristics. MUSIC: The Music on this video is not traditional Maidu music, but a modern composition by Kevin MacLeod. The Maidu do not use drums. But flutes and whistles are quite traditional. MUSIC: Kevin MacLeod/ 'Thunderhead'/ Incompetech.com/ creative commons

• published: 17 Jun 2011
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