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News Release:
Following the Smoke 10th Anniversary Celebrated
[Shield]: US Forest Service

US Forest Service
Six Rivers National Forest

Contact:
Julie Ranieri
(707) 441-3673
jranieri@fs.fed.us

Eureka, July 20, 2006

According to Orleans District Ranger Bill Rice, "The Six Rivers National Forest, in cooperation with the Karuk Indigenous Basketweavers, recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the unique Following the Smoke program."

Following the Smoke, a Passport in Time (PIT) project, is a week-long camp in northwestern California where volunteers from across the nation share Native American traditions. This project offers a unique opportunity for the public to interact with Karuk, Yurok and Hupa traditional basketweavers and learn the full process of basketweaving, from gathering and processing to weaving simple baskets. "But the baskets are only a part of this project. The cultural exchange, the understanding of the importance of managing the traditional ethnobotanical resources associated with basketweaving, and the importance of reintroducing fire back into the ecosystem are valuable lessons participants learn during Following the Smoke," said Rice.

Highlights of the week included a demonstration Brush Dance, traditional singing and drumming, eating traditional foods such as salmon, eel, deer and acorns, net weaving, beargrass braiding, visiting a ceremonial Brush Dance pit and presentations by renowned elders on subjects such as traditional use of herbs.

The project's name comes from the local Karuk, Yurok and Hupa basketweavers' practice of combing areas after Forest Service prescribed burns to find beargrass shoots and other suitable natural materials for weaving.

In 2004, Following the Smoke received two distinguished awards. The first was the National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Chairman's Award for "teaching Native American traditions through intercultural dialogue and shared activities." The second was the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Chairman's Award for Federal Achievement in Historic Preservation.

Following the Smoke has been held annually on the Orleans/Ukonom Ranger District of the Six Rivers National Forest with over 700 individuals participating in this event since 1996. PIT is a national volunteer program of the USDA Forest Service where volunteers are offered the opportunity to participate in a myriad of cultural resource projects, primarily archaeological and historical. The Six Rivers National Forest hosts the project in partnership with the Karuk Indigenous Basketweavers. Other partners include the Karuk Tribe of California California Department of Transportation, Bureau of Land Management and the Siskiyou Resource Advisory Committee.

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