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WINNEMEM WINTU Shasta-area natives bring fight for salmon to Ashland Uphill battle to return native fish to McCloud River, turn back bid to raise Shasta Dam By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 26, 2014 @ 3:16 pm Updated Oct 30, 2014 at 3:35 PM By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 26, 2014 @ 3:16 pm Updated Oct 30, 2014 at 3:35 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Film depicts Shasta tribe's struggle to bring fish back • California tribe fears losing land if dam is raised » Social News The Winnemem Wintu tribe of Native Americans long survived on salmon runs, but these creatures and the original tribal home on the lower McCloud River were wiped out with the building in 1945 of giant Shasta Dam. In the late 1800s, fry of these salmon were shipped to enrich streams all over the world. Now, their descendants in northern California want their salmon back — and in an ironic twist of history, seem poised to do just that as, so they say, they found the direct descendants surviving in only one stream, in New Zealand. An award-winning documentary film recorded the historic flight of 28 members of the Winnemem Wintu tribe to dance, sing and perform sacred ceremonies with Maori tribe folk as they “reunited” with the animals of their ancestors, in hopes of returning some of their fry to the McCloud.   The hour-long film “Dancing Salmon Home” was named best documentary feature film at the American Indian Film Festiva l in San Francisco and was shown Saturday at Ashland’s Community Center, with a talk by Winnemem Wintu Chief Caleen Sisk and the filmmaker Will Doolittle of Eugene.  Red Earth Descendants of Ashland held a fundraising feast to support the tribe’s fight against raising the level of the Shasta Dam to supply more water to California’s thirsty cities and agribusiness.  “The film is about the fish they thought they had lost when the dam was built — and now there’s a push to raise the dam higher. At the same time, they find there’s only one place their fish have successfully propagated, so they flew to New Zealand to be reunited with with it — and made a strong connection with the Maori,” said Doolittle, whose wife is a Winnemem Wintu tribe member. NOAA Fisheries (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) has issued a directive to the Bureau of Reclamation, says Doolittle, that it must open a way for migrating salmon to swim to breeding beds in high mountain country — either a fish ladder, diversion stream through mountain obstacles (skirting Shasta Dam) or by trucking the fish upcountry. The government views the first two as too expensive, says Sisk, while the tribe opposes the last option as unnatural and damaging to fish life cycles. The film shows government officials at a kitchen table meeting with tribe leaders, pledging their statement would be considered along with many others, but they would not be invited to sit on decision-making panels. Despite opposition, Sisk believes the dam-raising will pass Congress in the coming year. Controversy has also arisen over whether the New Zealand fish actually came from the McCloud River, but the tribe says they have ship papers proving it happened. The film explains native lore, that the ancient salmon could speak but humans could not, so the salmon gave their voice to people, if people would promise to speak for salmon. That’s what the tribe is doing now, says Sisk. The movie shows the two tribes, Wintu and Maori, celebrating their ties through the fish, donning elaborate native regalia, dancing by the riverside in New Zealand, replenishing it with hatchery fry and speaking to the salmon in a language they’ve shared with the creatures for centuries. They call to the fish, who seem to dance about in the shallow stream. Tribe member Marc Franco asked permission of the salmon to talk to them in the way they understand, a wish that was granted, he said, in the film. “We did our little dance and the fish gathered right here,” says Chief Sisk, in the film. “It was a good sign, the right time, everything started happening. Even the U.S. Fisheries understand they have to change to bring salmon back into acceptable numbers.” The visibly moved Indians spoke of being transported to magical states while dancing, with Winnemum Wintu tribe member Jesse Sisk saying, “I could really feel it. Everyone was hollering war cries. I felt powerful and light and put my hand to the mountain, praying for salmon: ‘Let them make their way back home.’ My hands were tingling and they were helping me.” Chief Sisk, in the film, called for Mother Earth to be put back in balance and for all tribal peoples around the world to join in “bringing back the heart of the warrior.” She said the Winnemem Wintu people have a new family they love and care for in the Ngai Tahu/Waitaha/Ngati Mamoe tribes of the Maori. The New Zealanders, she adds, have helped us complete the foundation by dancing for our family and reconnecting the young people with that relative (salmon) that’s in our blood.” She closed by asking attendees to sign an online petition at moveon.org to stop the dam raising and visiting www.shastadamraise.com to learn more about the issue. John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Email him at [email protected]. (This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the Winnemem Wintu tribe's name.) By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 26, 2014 @ 3:16 pm Updated Oct 30, 2014 at 3:35 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. 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