LESSON 7

A WASHOE WINTER

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THIS LESSON: If you choose to do Activity 2, making dioramas, you may want to begin gathering materials now, such as shoeboxes and other small boxes, clay, paints, etc.

OBJECTIVE: Students will learn about traditional Washoe winter activities, and the importance and difficulty of making baskets, tools, and houses from materials available in the local environment.

TEACHER BACKGROUND: After the pine nuts had been gathered, the Washoe extended families would disperse to their winter encampments for the cold winter months. The winter was often a time of hardship, and if spring did not arrive soon enough, or if the hunting and gathering seasons had not been plentiful, the food would run out. winter was also a good time for storytelling, as the days were shorter and the light did not last as long.

The winter was not a time of active food acquisition. The Washoe used this time to make and repair baskets, tools, and houses. Hunting and fishing was some times possible, and in the higher elevations, such as Woodfords, the men were occasionally able to hunt using snowshoes, or to fish by cutting a hole in the ice. For the most part, however, the Washoe survived on the food they had stored in the summer and fall.

During the warmer months, the houses had been made of lighter materials, such as small trees, which were available in the area. They were called gadu. During the winter months, however, a sturdier structure was required. Poles were placed in a conical shape and bound together at the top. Bark slabs were placed over these poles, and sometimes animal skins or brush were added to provide warmth. These houses were called galls dangal. They were sometimes quite large, holding up to six or seven people, and they contained a fire pit in the middle, for cooking and for heat.

Women worked on baskets during the winter months, taking their time to ensure tight, accurate weaving. The cooking baskets were so tightly woven that they held water. Rocks were heated in the fire and then placed into a basket of water, which then boiled and cooked food. Other kinds of baskets included winnowing trays, used for roasting and winnowing nuts, large gathering baskets, used for collecting plants and pine cones, and baby baskets. The women gathered willow during the year. Three different kinds of plants allowed the basketmakers to make designs with three different colors: plain willow for the light brown, redbud for the red, and brackenfern root dyed in mud for the black. Right after the willows were cut and were still moist, Washoe women tore it into strips and removed the core using their teeth and hands. It was then stored until the winter, when it was soaked in water to be made pliable, cut down to a consistent width, and woven into baskets. weaving was a long, elaborate process, and required much patience and skill. Young Washoe girls began to apprentice early to their female relatives to learn the skill of basket-making, and of using baskets to gather and cook.

After the settlers arrived and the Washoe were no longer using the baskets as much for cooking and gathering, many Washoe women began to make beautifully designed and decorated baskets to sell. This fancy basketry, or deh-'gee-kup, was prevalent for many years after the economy changed. Dat-So-La-Lee (who was known among the Washoe as Dat Sa La Lee, the one with the big hips, and who is discussed in Lesson Twelve) was one of the extremely skilled and prolific Washoe basketmakers who gained recognition for her baskets. There are some Washoe today who gather willow and make baskets. Grandparents sometimes pass on this skill to young Washoe, but the process requires much time and practice and a lot of patience to learn.

During the winter, the men worked on making and repairing the tools they used during the rest of the year to hunt and fish. They had to make traps, rope, nets of sage fibers, bows, arrows, and more, so that they would be prepared when spring arrived. Young boys would watch and practice these skills from their male relatives.

When the winter finally ended, the Washoe would be ready for another year, and would gather at Da-ow-'ah-ga to celebrate.

KEY POINTS: The move from Lake Tahoe, eating stored food, preparation for other seasons by repairing baskets, tools, and houses, the two types Of houses, basketweaving technique, degikup basket.

MATERIALS: Diorama materials (shoeboxes or other small boxes, clay, paints, etc.), paper basket decorating materials (crayons! magic markers, construction paper, glue, etc.), cassette tape player.

MATERIALS FROM KIT: Washoe language tape.

ACTIVITIES:

1. Plan a field trip to the museum in Genoa, Markleeville, or to the Stewart Indian Museum, the Nevada State Museum, or the Gatekeeper's Museum in Tahoe City to see Washoe displays and baskets.

2. Explain to the students the Key Points above,-using the background information. Have them help to describe what they would do on a winter day as traditional nine-year-olds, learning from their elders. use the photographs from the kits to show types of houses and baskets made by the Washoe.

3. Have the students make a diorama depicting a Washoe extended family near or in their gall dangle, working on their various activities during the winter. Have the students work on the diorama in class, using shoeboxes, clay, paints, sticks and other available materials. Have them work individually or in-groups.

4. Journal extension: Have the students compare what they do now on a winter day, either a school day or a weekend, to what a nine-year-old Washoe child would do before the settlers arrived, or have them write an entry about what they would have done as a traditional nine-year-old Washoe boy or girl on a winter day, Such as help adults repair the house, or make tools or baskets.

5. Have the students decorate a drawing of a paper basket with construction paper or crayons. Show them pictures of Washoe fancy baskets and utilitarian baskets, and tell them that they may either imitate degikup designs or make their own. Have them try weaving strips of construction paper to decorate the baskets.

6. The Washoe vocabulary words for this lesson are: gadu (summer shelter), galis dangal (winter house), 'him-oh (willow), gyoo leu (cooking basket), deh-'gee-kup (washoe fancy basketry) Use the cassette tape of Washoe words for pronunciation, and see Appendix A for suggested vocabulary activities and Washoe spellings.

OPTIONS:

1. Help the students brainstorm what tools were necessary for the Washoe, and how they-could be made from natural resources. - (Review from the Willow curriculum)

2. Give the students a take-home assignment to invent a tool from things from nature which they find outside. or have them draw a tool which they have invented and describe how it is made. (Review from the Willow curriculum)

CLOSURE: Read aloud the book stone Soup (1970) by Willis Lindquist as a comical way of introducing the concept of cooking with stones.

EVALUATION: Students' dioramas and journal entries will demonstrate their understanding of traditional Washoe winter activities. Things to look for in the journal entries: eating stored food, making baskets, houses, tools, etc.