Washoe Tribe hopes Tahoe Summit results in their return to the lake
Story-Date: 06:17 p.m. PST Tuesday  , July 22, 1997

Washoe Tribe hopes Tahoe Summit results in their return to the lakeBY
MARTHA BELLISLE
Associated Press Writer


CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- A century and a half after being driven from the
Tahoe basin, the Washoe Tribe still dreams of returning to the lake. Tribal
members look with hope to an environmental summit this week with
President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and state and local officials.

``This is seen as a closing of a chapter and an opening of a new chapter
with a Washoe presence,'' said Washoe Tribal Chairman Brian Wallace. ``It's
very significant.''

Lake Tahoe, or Da ow a ga, lies at the heart of the Washoe Tribe's world.

``It's the most important part of our existence,'' Wallace said. ``All of
us feel a deep, deep yearning to return. We believe it's the place where we
came into existence and even though we don't have direct contact, it's a
part of us and we're a part of it.

``We've never lost that through all we've endured in silence.''

Wallace has been encouraged to break his silence during the weeks leading
up to the presidential summit. He has been a member of two steering
committees and has participated in workshops held to identify problems and
set priorities.

``Our concerns, presence and interests have been respected and received
well, but the proof comes in the substance, the outcomes of next weekend,''
he said.

This event holds historical significance, Wallace said. Having a president
acknowledge their cause is a first for the tribe.

``Over the years many people left this earth with this dream in their
hearts unrealized,'' he said. ``Many have made the trip to Washington but
nothing materialized, until now.''

And tribal members hope the summit will offer substantive importance as
well. Wallace and tribal elders have outlined a list of interests they hope
will be addressed during the talks.

First, they want a return of the Washoe to the basin. They want tribal
members to have access to the lake, especially ancestral areas. Most Washoe
now live in the Carson Valley, just east of the basin.

Second, they want a historical revitalization of the Washoe culture in the
area.

Third, they're asking to have the Washoe reintroduced as resource stewards
in the basin. The tribe wants to be involved in managing the Lake Tahoe
environment.

``Washoe forest management, fisheries, stream management have been applied
on reservation lands,'' he said. ``It's not just theoretical or emotional.

``When the newcomers arrived, they believed the lake was a natural beauty,
but it had been managed by the tribe for thousands of years.''

By blending Washoe pharmacology -- using plants that grow in the basin as
medicine -- with resource management, Wallace hopes to reveal the
connection between the natural and the cultural environment.

``Over the last few years the elders and the U.S. have identified
threatened plant populations,'' he said. ``We'd like their historical
knowledge to be incorporated into federal land policies and applications.''

Saving the Tahoe basin needs more than scientific remedies, he said.

``There are many solutions to the lake's problems,'' Wallace said. ``I used
to study physics, but now as a father and husband, I see that the world's
made up of stories, dreams, relationships.

``Our work must be wrapped in a warm blanket of the human dimension.''

Wallace said his tribe's beliefs and desires have been embraced by people
who hear the tribe's story.

``We share with people the impossible dream,'' he said. ``Our dream is very
much like everybody else's. It's not a Washoe cause. It's a human cause:
survival, dignity, hope, ambition, equality.''

Wallace said the Washoe work to return the tribe to the lake ``for all
before us and all yet to be born who live in our hearts.

``We're very hopeful, but we moderate our expectations. We've been hopeful
for a long time.''



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