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<P><B>Indians celebrate cultural milestone</B> <BR><B>California tribes join in
opening of national museum</B>
<P>By David Whitney -- Bee Washington Bureau
<P>WASHINGTON - Walking behind a banner proclaiming "Save the Klamath Salmon,"
about 20 <BR>Yurok from Northern California stood as a stark reminder that on a
day of national Indian <BR>celebration Tuesday, problems back home should not be
forgotten. <BR>Two years ago, the Yurok Tribe watched helplessly as more than
30,000 salmon washed up dead on <BR>the banks of the Klamath River that runs
through their fractured reservation.
<P> Tuesday's procession to the ceremony opening the National Museum of the
American Indian was <BR>seized as an opportunity to protest federal water policy
that they blame for the fish kill.
<P>"We have water problems, and fish is one of our staples," said Lawrence
Orcutt, who at 76 was the <BR>elder in the Yurok group attending the ceremony.
<P>Thousands of American Indians flowed in a river of celebration, feathers and
smiles through <BR>Washington on Tuesday, heading for Indian country.
<P>Their destination was the new National Museum of the American Indian, a
towering, honey-colored <BR>mesa of limestone and glass that faces east toward
the rising sun in a desert setting of tall grass and <BR>boulder-bordered pools
of water.
<P>Their purpose was to mark the nation's belated recognition of who they are
and who they were.
<P>Drums thudded, chants rose, feet stamped, and faces were framed in elaborate
headdresses of <BR>turkey and eagle feathers as the tribes rolled along the
National Mall.
<P>Yet beyond the ceremony lay memories.
<P>A member of a Wisconsin tribe explained that his streaks of white face paint
spelled out his name: <BR>"Rain clouds filled with thunder."
<P>"This is all great," he said with a wry grin. "But I want my land back."
<P>How much land?
<P>"About 16 million acres," he shot back.
<P>Coming from coast to coast, the tribes were dressed in clothes ranging from
the ubiquitous blue <BR>jeans to regalia preserved by lost generations, proudly
identifying themselves to a world that knew <BR>them as stereotypes. Their
banners ranged from the Cherokees of Alabama to the Chippewas of <BR>Wisconsin,
the Paiutes of Arizona, the Navajos of New Mexico and the Aleuts of Alaska.
<P>The mood of the marchers was relaxed and amiable. They talked of the museum
as a place where <BR>their culture at last was identified and defined for what
it was.
<P>"We are proud of who and what we are. But this gives us a sense of
belonging," said a woman of the <BR>Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina as she
marched with her people.
<P>From the Pauma tribe of California, Sue Castillo said, "This is a coming
together. This gives us a <BR>sense of self. We always had our own identity as
tribes and communities, but we always lived in our <BR>own world. This tells who
we are."
<P>Ned Barton of Fayetteville, N.C., a member of the Haliwa Saponi tribe, was
one of those who spoke <BR>of the lesson to be learned from the new museum.
<P>"This gives us a sense of belonging," he said.
<P>Women of the Tohomo O'odham Nation of Arizona wielded crooked wooden sticks
as they played a <BR>traditional game called toka, while others moved to a rain
dance, and there rose a haunting chant to <BR>the sun.
<P>As they moved toward the museum, a $219 million structure that took 15 years
to build, there <BR>awaited them a place of prisms and light, of ancient pottery
and a wall of golden ornaments, but also <BR>a reminder of the history of Indian
country. There are totem poles and ivory sculpture. There is a <BR>star room
with a black ceiling pinpointed by lights.
<P>One gallery is devoted to modern Indian artwork, and other exhibits focus on
the history and <BR>culture of the first Americans.
<P>"Visitors will leave here knowing Indians are not part of history," said W.
Richard West Jr., a <BR>member of the Southern Cheyennes who is founding
director of the museum. "We are still here and <BR>making contributions."
<P>Bill Pearson, another Yurok elder, said he journeyed to Washington not just
to support his tribe, but <BR>also in the hope that "we get our salmon thing
worked out."
<P>With American Indians filling the National Mall, Orcutt, Pearson, 73, and the
others were inspired, <BR>even hopeful.
<P>"When we get together, we should be a powerful voice," Orcutt said. "I am
proud to be an Indian."
<P>The political message the Yuroks carried, rare as it was on this day of
festive traditional dress and <BR>dancing, did not overshadow the moment.
<P>Delores Sitts is a Yurok who now lives in Selma, N.C. But she was not about
to miss the day of <BR>celebration with the people from her homeland. She wore a
traditional necklace made with long <BR>dentalium shells and ruby-red money
beads. Clam and abalone shells were sewn into her dress, and <BR>her hat was
made from maidenhair fern and dried porcupine quills - all symbols of the
tribe's <BR>connection to the rugged northwestern California coast.
<P>"To me, this makes me feel proud," she said. "You feel it in your heart. It's
like one big family."
<P>Former tribal chairwoman Sue Masten, a past president of the National
Congress of American <BR>Indians, said the museum gives American Indians a place
on the National Mall.
<P>"For us, it is important that the United States formally recognize native
culture, tradition and <BR>history, with all the other museums on the Mall," she
said. "It focuses the attention on Native <BR>Americans, that our culture, our
traditions and our religions are still thriving despite all the assaults. <BR>We
are still alive."
<P>The Yurok delegation was a mix of political and cultural leaders.
<P>Orcutt, for example, is the tribe's keeper of regalia - the traditional
clothing, headwear and <BR>ceremonial items that often hold spiritual
significance.
<P>"This is the first time something like this has ever happened," said Orcutt,
casting his gaze out over <BR>the endless gathering of colorfully dressed
Indians. "I am a private person, but this is really <BR>something."
<P>Yurok Tribal Council member Lyle McKinnon said he toured the museum on Monday
and was awed <BR>by the experience. His only disappointment, he said, is that so
far no Yurok artifacts are on display.
<P>But with artifacts in regular rotation out of the museum's stunning and
reverential Cultural <BR>Resource Center in suburban Maryland, McKinnon said,
"Maybe we can get Yurok items in there <BR>next."
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