California Native American Day

First of all, I know this wasn't the best vantage point to capture the dancing. If I had moved to the other side I would have been shooting into the sun. All the spectators were back under the shade, and I stepped out into the open field and didn't want to intrude too closely. You know, neurotic visitor from another culture. I am shy. I also apologize that the dance had already started by the time I got my video setting to go. And just our luck, most of the dances up until this one went mostly in circles around the firepit, but this one faced away from the musicians until the end. So this is what I got. Sorry about my feet at the end. I'm not entirely in control of my equipment yet.

Now for the information you really want. This group of dancers was from the Lake Pomo, over near Clear Lake in Lake county, California. This event was held Saturday, September 27, 2008 at the Sherwood Pomo Rancheria, on the western edge of Little Lake Valley and Willits, and was part of an annually held day of celebrations of Native traditions. Many similar events were held over the weekend at schools, rancherias and reservations all over the state. For more information about the Pomo people, see the Wikipedia article.