Monumental Questions - Native American Heritage Month

Molok Luyuk Looking Northeast by Marc Hoshovsky 2023
November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate and honor Indigenous American people.
The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument region has been inhabited for more than 20,000 years! The Monument region was and is extremely ethnographically diverse - home to at least eleven different tribes speaking five different languages. Three languages spoken in the region belong to the New World's two oldest language families.
Molok Luyuk, the ridge that acts as the border between present-day Lake and Colusa County (known as Walker Ridge) borders the Monument on the East. Molok Luyuk is Patwin heartland, plays a role in their origin stories and contains unique religious and ceremonial resources. It is also at the center of a network of trails linking the people in the area.
This trail system allowed the Patwin, Pomo, Miwok, Wappo, and Nomlaki peoples to take part in an extensive trade network, placing them in the center of cultural exchange between the Clear Lake Basin and the Sacramento Valley. Indigenous people from all directions came to Molok Luyuk's springs for ceremonies and healing. Plants on the ridge, such as McNab cypress, are used for ceremonies, tools, and medicines.
Protecting this land honors its cultural importance, conserves its biodiversity, increases equitable access, and contributes to climate goals.
Establishing historic tribal co-management and renaming the area in Lake and Colusa counties from “Walker Ridge” to “Molok Luyuk,” which means “Condor Ridge” in the local Patwin language, would honor this area’s immense cultural significance to Native Americans and enhance the protection of its natural, historic, scenic and cultural resources.
Tuleyome acknowledges and thanks those that have been stewards and caretakers of this area for thousands of years and is honored to work with them to ensure that the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument region is protected for future generations.
More information about Native American Heritage Month is available here.
-Nate Lillge (nlillge@tuleyome.org)
Tuleyome Adventures and Engagement Director
Certified California Naturalist
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