Wa shi shiw: The people from here

Tahoe Daily Tribune

July 27, 1997
By Jenifer Ragland
Tribune Staff Writer

Wa shi shiw means, in the traditional language of the Washoe, "the people from here."

While they were always from Lake Tahoe, it has been more than 100 years since they have been able to really feel at home here.

Described as a self-determined, united people, the Washoe have endured much through their centuries of existence.

"For thousands of years, the Washoe people lived within the graceful patterns and rhythms of nature," wrote Brian Wallace, chairman of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, in a special booklet outlining the history of the culture. "Despite the many hardships that have been visited upon us in the past century and a half, we understand now, more than ever, the fierce urgency of today and the boundless hope for the future."

The lake is considered sacred by the Washoe people, who believed its clear waters breathed life into the land, plants and animals around it.

Every spring, the Washoe ancestors would come to the shores of Lake Tahoe to hunt, fish and gather plants. These unions were important social and ceremonial gatherings for the tribe.

The main unit of the Washoe world was the family, whose members would work together to learn important skills that helped the tribe prosper.

In all aspects of life, tribe members tried to preserve the land and the animals that thrived on it. For example, while fishing in the waters of Lake Tahoe, female fish were left to spawn, helping to ensure an abundant food supply.

But in only a 50-year time frame, the Washoe homeland and people were brought to the verge of extinction.

In pursuit of gold and silver in both California and Nevada, thousands of miners and merchants invaded the Sierra in the early 1800s. Large areas of Tahoe's forests were clear-cut, valleys were overgrazed by livestock and rivers and streams were polluted with waste from the mines.

"Everything we survived on was reduced to bare land due to the rapid and massive in-migration," Wallace said. "We were looked upon as a nuisance, as lice - something to be exterminated."

By the late 1860s, the Washoe population was reduced to 500, a loss of 80 percent.

Convinced the tribe would become extinct by the time a reservation was formed, federal government officials took no action. Small allotments of land - now totaling 72,500 acres - in the Carson Valley were returned to the tribe starting in 1917, and members began anew as best they could.

Despite predictions of extinction, the Washoe Tribe continues to prosper. It is a sovereign nation, with the Washoe Tribal Council serving as its governing body. The Washoe remain committed to preserving its history and cultural identity, to share with its youth and with those who wish to learn.

"Any voyage in life, without love and understanding and devotion, would be a very empty and meaningless one," Wallace said.