99th ESA Annual Meeting (August 10 -- 15, 2014)

FT: 12

CANCELLED - Chase Indian Grinding Rocks State Park Field Trip, Volcano, California

Chawse Indian Grinding Rocks State Park is both a state park/ museum and traditional spiritual and cultural gathering site. Ancient valley oaks (Quercus lobata) on site are hundreds of years old. The park was developed in conjunction with local Native Americans to be used for a variety of cultural celebrations and activities throughout the year. The Roundhouse is currently being reconstructed in the traditional way. Cultural events that have been held at Chawse include the Big Time held in September, Traditional Indian Health Conference, California Indian Basketweavers Conference, ceremonial gatherings in the roundhouse, and many educational opportunities for the public and schoolchildren.  The 135 acre park was created to preserve a great outcropping of marbleized limestone with some 1,185 mortar holes, the largest collection of bedrock mortars in North America.  Except for one other small site, it is also the only known site where a grinding rock is decorated with petroglyphs; some of the carvings are thought to be 3,000 years old.  The Chaw'se Regional Indian Museum has ongoing exhibits and a collection of Sierra Nevada Indian baskets, dance regalia, jewelry, arrow points, and other items.  Michelle Stevens, ethnoecologist and restoration ecologist, has been a “cousin” of the local community for over twenty years, and is profoundly respectful of the cultural and ecological integrity of this place. She has taken her ethnoecology class to Chawse every spring to join Pete and Judy Bunting in listening to stories, creating fiber from milkweed and Indian hemp, creating soapstone carvings, and pine nut necklaces. We will sit under the ramada for craft making, take participants on the park interpretive trails, and share information on the natural history, traditional management and ethnobotany of the area.