Project in Time (PIT)

People that know me, know that I am Native Californian, Northern Sierra Mewuk. Every year my family and some close family friends work together with the forest service to put on a PIT Project. Unlike many other PIT projects that focus on archeology or other areas. This PIT project puts people in a place to understand the original people of California and how they lived. Together we teach people how to make everyday tools, instruments, and not only what our people ate but how its made ie. cooking in baskets. This year we took on a few larger projects we built an Umacha (Traditional Mewuk home or dwelling built of cedar poles, grape vines and cedar bark) and a Chucka (Like a grain silo it was used to store about 400lbs of Acorns. Built with Pine Poles, Grape Vines, Cedar Bows, and Worm Wood.) If you have a chance and would like to view these they are at Boards Crossing below Dorington up hwy 4 in California. The campground was established about 10 years ago after a mudslide wiped out the old campground across the river. When they surveyed for the new campground they found a Mewuk village site that has now been dated to 2,000 years old. If you visit this place please respect it don't go looking for artifacts just enjoy where it as the people before you did. We are now planning on working on a Hunga an assembly house that equates to our church where we will bring the Dance and songs of our people back to the village.

 Umacha Buliding supervised by Fred Vasques, Carson Bates, and Austin Stevenot

Chucka (the green thing in the middle of everyone) Building Supervised by Carson Bates, 

Austin Stevenot, and Fred Vasques.