You’ve heard of Halloween. You’ve heard of All Hallows Eve. But have you ever heard of Samhain? You haven’t? Great, now you have a reason to read this article.
You probably recall the holiday in which you dress up in a scary costume and walk door to door in hope of getting candy (unless you don’t celebrate Halloween). But you probably don’t know about the old Celtic festival called Samhain. What is it you ask? Well, it was a festival where the Celtic people would light bonfires and wear costumes to scare away ghosts. Hmmmmm. That sounds a lot like another holiday I know. Halloween's origins date all the way back 2,000 years ago which was when the Celts celebrated the festival. The area in which the Celts once roamed is now known as Ireland which is known for a different holiday called St. Patrick's day (which we will talk about in the future) where leprechauns search for gold, The united kingdom, and northern France. Samhain celebrated the end of summer and the harvest and the start of winter, where it was cold, dark, and crops would run low. Because of this, many people would die which is why the Celts believed this was when the dead would once again roam the earth. And on the night of October 31st, they would start the celebration. DO you wanna know more about the history of Halloween? Then check out this link to learn more. Halloween: Origins, Meaning & Traditions - HISTORY. Well, I will see you soon! By Helen Duan
4 million acres ablaze and engulfed in flames. Once blue and bright skies are now dark, smokey, and orange. People are now facing not just a global pandemic but also a wildfire crisis. It is California’s dry and hot season right now, and wildfires are becoming out of control this year. Wildfires have been destroying homes, hurting and killing animals, and burning down many trees in places such as Yosemite and Big Basin. This year, California has experienced the worst recorded wildfire in history. However, we can prevent these types of wildfires in the future. During this wildfire crisis, we have been looking and bringing back indigenous cultures with the help of people who can teach us their traditions. They are here helping us because they want to protect their ancestral land just as their ancestors did in the past. A 64-year-old Paiute grandma named Alveta Coats helps clear away foliage. Her Paiute ancestors took care of the forest for over 7,000 years. Now, it is her turn to protect her ancestral homeland. This was an opportunity to fix the problems we created. However, a 93-year-old grandma named Helen Coats, one of the last members of the Paiute tribe, is in the same situation as Coats but is left with no resources due to her tribe’s forced relocation. In the past, the Paiute tribe, the Miwuk tribe, and the indigenous groups set fires to encourage the growth of vegetation and to kill insect pests. They burned vegetation to trigger the sprouting in oak trees to get prized nuts. Then, instead of spending time in protecting their land, the tribes were forced to do jobs, such as service jobs, performing for tourists, and more. Without indigenous customs to address fires, we are now facing unprecedented amounts of wildfires. When Helen’s family, the Paiute tribe, and the Miwuk tribe were relocated, the forests started to get out of hand. At the border, between Oregan and California, flames have been destroying over 150 homes and killing 2 people at Happy Camp. Now, people at Happy Camp are evacuating. If the Karuks are allowed to burn the forest, Happy Camp might be averted from wildfires. People are looking to natives for years now for their help. Many blame the government for causing so many problems because it has prohibited natives from practicing helpful wildfire prevention customs. A new law is now allowing dead material to accumulate, and it requires the need to intentionally burn 4,000 acres a year now just as the natives once did to prevent large wildfires. Luckily, we have solutions to save our forests and creatures. Natives played a big role in fighting fire with fire. They set fire to clear grazes and reinvigorate soil. Now, lightning-spark is allowed to burn freely. Also, we have Alevta Coats and a team of natives are protecting our forest like her ancestors did for over 7,000 years. A crew called Calaveras Healthy Impact Products Solutions (CHIPS) gathered many people, including Alveta Coats, to help with handling restoration. The other team is taking care of cutting and sawing. For 4 years, Coats have been replanting and gathering things such as meadow grass, acorns, black oaks, and more! She planted milkweeds to attract more butterflies. “Replanting makes me feel good,” Coats said in “Their Tribe was Evicted From Yosemite. Now It's Their Job To Protect It From Wildfires,” a SFGate article by Ashley Harrell. As you can see, the Native American tribes’ customs can help to protect us from wildfires, and there should be more respect and support for Native Americans. We have made many problems throughout the past few years, which caused many large wildfires that have burned land and homes and hurt both humans and animals. Now, we need the Native American tribes to guide us and teach us how to protect our and their land from wildfires with their old customs. They can teach us what to burn and how much, what to replant, and how to do this annually. Together, we can work together to prevent these large wildfires from ravaging through California in the future. Sources: “Their Tribe was Evicted From Yosemite. Now It's Their Job To Protect It From Wildfires,” a SFGate article by Ashley Harrell. Link here “Fighting Wildfires With Fire” a Wall Street Journal article by Richard Schiffman. Link here Resources and for further reading: Calaveras Healthy Impact Products Solutions (CHIPS) http://www.calaveraschips.org/ California Fire Resources - https://www.fire.ca.gov/resources/ PEW - “California May Need More Fire to Fix its Wildfire Problem” (article) https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/09/18/california-may-need-more-fire-to-fix-its-wildfire-problem By Helen Duan
Tahoe is a bear country. People who have lived in Lake Tahoe have had bear encounters and many stories of it to tell. For example, once someone was riding their mountain bike on the beautiful trails behind the North Shore neighborhood and ran into a mama bear and her cubs. Another time, when a family was not in their house, a bear knocked open the door and went inside the house. The bear found a tray full of pastries and gobbled down the pastries. Tensions between bears and humans are very high. Ann Bryant, who is the go-to bear expert, has been receiving many calls this year during the summer. Many reports were about bear sightings, break-ins, or worse. In the “What Have We Done to Our Bears?,” an article from SF Gate, Bryant says, “A lot of folks, unfortunately, do not have a clue about the rules for visiting and vacationing and staying in bear country. People call because they saw a bear and think he escaped, like, 'Do not they live in a zoo? What is a bear doing walking loose?' It has just been mind-boggling, the attitude.” Those are things that happen in Tahoe, the bear country. Bears are considered as threats in Lake Tahoe. Bears usually come down from the hills to find food. They are seen near human turf or dumpsters. Sometimes, they enter homes. When they smell food nearby, they will follow the scent until they find what they are looking for. When a human blocks a bear from entering a store, the bear will scratch or bite the human, which will be the bear’s doomed- the bear will die- because the human will either shoot the bear or call the animal control department. Bears are considered as threats, but we are considered threats to bears too. Bryant’s Bear League is trying to prevent situations between bears and humans. "The bear became the bad guy because people ignored what you should do: the rules for securing and taking care of your trash so you don’t attract the bears,” Bryant says in the “What Have We Done to Our Bears?” A few fundamental things are the following:
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October 2022
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