Life in the Middle of Nowhere – California’s Most Secluded Tribe

my brother gave me this my Bearpaw the
bear is my spirit animal run up out here
totally different world than the rest of
California it’s your freedom I guess you
know rather than the illusion Freedom
it’s super remote here you’re far from
any cities yeah we’re in the middle of
bump [ __ ] door that’s for sure we are
one of the few tribes we will never
conquer so these are your old homes yeah
we crawl in you go feet
first dangerous place here too though so
you got to watch out all this place are
there a lot of missing people out here
yeah everybody cries around do are
pissing and whining but you don’t see
nobody move to another country because
it’s better than America I signed up
toward Vietnam you weren’t drafted you I
listed I was [ __ ] idiot you’re
working for the Trib kind of like Game
of Thrones you
know people are awesome for how much
down and out it’s going on people still
have a good attitude so that’s all
pooping down there in that Valley since
of like you know we’re going to be here
[Music]
forever good morning guys there are 109
federally recognized Native American
tribes here in California and today
we’re going on quite an adventure Inland
from the coast far out into the deep
forests here in Northern California a
place called Hoopa square if you look on
Google Maps you’ll see this massive
Square clamo River coming down into it
with the Euro people live right next to
the Hoopa the instructions
are bring bring the apples so if you saw
last video I was out with Brett on his
farm and he told me to bring these out
to a guy named inker and also talk to a
guy named Sam who might be interested in
getting on camera showing us around in a
place that most of us have absolutely no
understanding of let’s do this
[Music]
all right Sam thanks
man this is how it works someone knows
someone knows someone knows Sam and uh
we’re going to deliver the
apples you know inor yeah yeah he’s my
uncle
a all right we’re loaded up
Sam see you grew up out here oh yeah
that’s my grandma’s house right there
dad lives in okay that’s my sister’s
house right next to it I wasn’t growing
up out here it was awesome I mean best
childhood I can ever think of all our
familyes all close together and stuff so
your father lives over here yeah he’s
like cardbo
character your dad’s a character huh
yeah all right so grown up out here just
totally different world than the rest of
California what your thoughts I would
say so you know what I mean true freedom
I guess you know rather than the
illusion of Freedom true Freedom yeah
it’s more in touch with nature you know
I mean you kind more of your
surroundings you have like a spiritual
sense of belonging like our ancestral
home our most religious place right here
they call this the center of the world
who is yeah my brother gave me this one
and my cousin gave me this one protect
me am me good medicine get me home my
brother gave me this my Bearpaw the is
my spirit animal and this X15 that’s my
grandpa’s race boat my grandpa my uncle
my uncle actually died in his boat when
I was 17 he raced boats yeah was like
see those hydrop planes oh yeah yeah no
way he was one of the best Racers around
yeah he got ran over up in will Creek
when I was 17 D the day my uh senior
prom but uh my grandpa he was in World
War II and he was in the Navy in the
fastest jet at the time was the X15 so
he named his boat after it this is the
dump right here my brother’s probably
working right now but this is our
dumpster back here where I work you work
at the dump no I work for um the tribe I
do um grounds keeping and maintenance
management okay and this is a this is
the mail right here so working on the
tribe how would you say things are right
now I say working for the tribes kind of
like working kind of like the Game of
Thrones you
know you got a job today but will you
tomorrow I don’t know really
yeah I’ll take a Happy
Meal nothing just CH this my brother
Peter This Is My Brother Sam how you
doing Sam okay so Sam and Samuel you
guys are brothers yes okay not
technically okay not technically another
mother okay so uh Samuel how are things
on on the res out here at Hoopa lately
could be better could be better okay
yeah what do you mean by that um as far
as well if you want to get down to it I
mean the drug use is probably pretty bad
and pretty rampant it’s it’s getting
worse yeah yeah that and um is it
fentanyl or what is it fentanyl now yeah
well fentanyl then heroin too hinders
progress I should say you know cuz if
you’re messed up on drugs you never know
the true potential of a
person cuz they’re always like short
changing themselves or else they just
get taken out too quick cuz they die you
know that’s a big problem too you’re
losing a lot of Bloodlines from people
passing away like the whole dating scene
and everybody just nobody’s like having
children what’s that like on the res
here well it’s hard on the red because
you’re related to a lot of people
so so you you always want to find a
partner from a different tribe uh not
necessarily I should say I mean you do
have people that you aren’t related to
but then that doesn’t ne mean that you
might like the person or what if you
don’t like you know what if you’re just
friends and never really like partner
perspective I guess that’s where
sometimes arranged marriages would come
into play you want to adopt that from
India uh well no they’ve had arrang
marriages here before back in the past
really yeah yeah these be okay I didn’t
know that yeah that’s thing when did
arranged marriages start going away um I
don’t know cuz like what pre-c contact
it’s only been n uh 18 what 70 1890 or
whatever when white people started
coming here so okay so range marriages
you don’t fall it’s not a love marriage
your families connect it depends though
because you that’s almost coming from
the white man perspective and like a lot
of people are always far far apart here
a lot of times arranged marriages they
would have picked you like to getting
married maybe when you were children and
you would have hung out and grew up with
the people depending you know cuz a lot
of times you already knew them or if you
weren’t that far away you know you
probably knew him from the village over
does that exist at all anymore or that’s
completely gone I haven’t really I don’t
think it’s no I think it’s more it was
like our parents or someone else’s
generation I haven’t really heard of
anyone doing it anymore but not that
long ago no it wasn’t really that long
ago okay so the biggest challenges here
you’re saying are drugs what are some of
the pros out here um the what area is
gorgeous um people are awesome for you
know how much down andout sh’s going on
people still have a good attitude
culture is still good we still have that
we weren’t like a really rich tribe but
we still got a lot of culture and a lot
of um how would you say uh Heritage and
everything that we could lean on and the
um there’s a lot of family values here
still Our Generation kids generation
everyone’s so that’s still pretty good
and the weather’s awesome
so all right you guys have a later Sam
see you brother love you take care you
too
oh what a cool guy yeah s’s awesome he’s
a a ballerina too no way yeah seriously
he was actually The Nutcracker a couple
times out town you guys have ballerina
here on the coast okay yeah he was a
nutcracker for
years we’re basically all around
Hustlers we’re doing all kind of stuff
we never really did before like we took
over a bunch of houses and we’re doing
like Remodeling and rentals and stuff
like that now okay what’s the housing
situation like in town oh it’s horrible
no Ava there is but it’s like a few and
far between they haven’t really built no
new housing in a while yeah that’s a
couple housings So when you say tribal
housing what does that mean exactly the
The Pool Place is like ran by the tribe
owned by the tribe okay so people rent
here or given they rent I was uh on the
list number one on the list to get like
a five Benjamin I got taken off for some
reason I don’t know but it’s it’s super
hard to get yeah you got to be on I was
on there for years so the is going to go
by what you make I think so I think I
think that’s how it goes see that’s what
they’re building the new right there oh
they got more ready to do some more
stuff so what are people doing for work
primarily out here a lot of people work
for the tribe or in one aspect or
another okay cuz I mean kind of goes
accomplishes a lot of stuff and then a
lot of
people work other other Aven not not the
dve there is much there isn’t much work
around here is there a town off the res
where people go to work like where jobs
there’s buet Creek okay but I mean
that’s uh 12 miles away back in the day
weed Market You’ make a lot of money
doing that right so I was in hum we’re
still in Humble but I was in Arcada
yesterday uhuh making a video with a guy
Brett yeah and uh he was telling me
about that weed he was actually locked
up for 5 years oh dang cuz he didn’t
want to snitch yeah yeah but he said the
economy is really hurting over there
because oh man I can’t imagine the weed
industry like uh places like Garberville
you know which is almost like solely
based on on weed Revenue probably like a
ghost down now right so what happened
exactly for those that don’t know what
happened with the weed Market they
legalized it and then they got were able
to uh go in like uh raid places uh that
were originally 215 where they couldn’t
just go in and take all the stuff and
now they can like regulate it and like
just go March right onto people’s
properties and shut them down so all the
mom and pop small grows have been uh
taken out yeah but it’s legalized now so
can’t they legally grow it yeah but
there’s all these restrictions and all
these like like monies they have to pay
to get involved in it okay testing and
all these other overheads that no one
really counted
for my grandfather ped that tree in
1915 when I was growing up at the very
end of the road there was only four
houses on this whole Road when I was a
young boy in the 50s and 60s this was
all all dirt road small pav like no
there was no pavement there was like
little small roads never had electricity
until it was 5 years old till we
actually moved here my my parents had an
old house here a lot of people have
perceptions of Native Americans that um
cuz I run the campground and and when
people come there like they’ll say hey
don’t go there man the neighbors like
they’ll rob you or whatever you know and
most people come here like they’re like
people are so friendly here it’s a whole
different thing how they say this is
like one of the most beautiful places in
the world cuz people always talk about
riches right what is riches riches to me
is what I have here right I can’t be no
more richer than this except my damn
nephew’s
yard cuz I’m not owner I don’t own this
place I’m rich in culture mhm rich in
the gift that the Creator gave me which
is you know Sam too all of us you know
we do appreciate it we do a deer skin
dance it’s a renewal dance and we dance
with the deer
and when we dance with a deer we’re
blessing all the things that we take for
granted every single day and saying
thank you for blessing us with this and
we hope you bless us for the next two
years and the next years and the next
thousands of years because this is what
we want to have because as you know
Western culture is kind of destroying
everything digging holes in Earth
sucking all the all the all the energy
out the mother earth and you know Mother
Earth is not happy with what’s going on
and she’s fighting back letting people
know that you I’ll give I’ll give you
I’ll give you tornadoes I’ll give you
hurricanes I’ll give you floods I’ll
give you all these things if you don’t
pay attention to
me I’m going to take it away from all
you again cuz at one time it was a
civilization that was Advanced before us
we’re getting back to where we’re
getting to being too far Advanced and
Mother Earth is the true boss we’re in a
cycle you’re saying and is it’s the
downward part of the cycle yeah and then
there’s a rebirth of some sorts yes
usually claim but my uh specimens here
they tear everything up so this is me
when I was uh so my daughter she was 15
years old right there she’s 43 now okay
they always say that we came across a
baron State our people didn’t come
across a baron State we play We Came
From A Place Called taken for the Hoopa
people is called a cooking place but T
is where the crater stepped at one time
and we came up on the earth here
everything’s about creation so where did
anybody come from right another thing
saying that that all people came from
from
Africa man I ain’t come from Africa I’m
I don’t have that gender me but if you
know Native American they can’t find the
DNA of a Native American because it’s
one of the oldest DN in the world they
don’t they can’t find out what the
Native American DNA DNA
is how did you guys keep your land we
were never conquered tribe we were one
of the few tribes were never conquered
by the United States governments they
came at one time and start taking the
hoopers off and send them down to the
Round Valley area because there’s a lot
of hoopers in Round Valley area but
there’s a a band of ghost Warriors they
call them the ghost Warriors they would
appear and disappear like ghosts they
would fight there’s only like 200 of
them so they would take these soldiers
into the mountains and he would attack
them like ghost and they’ be disappear
like ghosts so they had to build
everything around us CU they couldn’t
conquer our people and they just gave up
basically they they treaties treaties
and stuff like that so we are one of the
few tribes were never
conquered we went Bald Hill from uh the
Kooks in a stick game a long time ago oh
really so you would bet land over a
stick game in Stick Games you bet you
People BET their wives their lives all
kind of betting was going down no way
yeah what’s a stick game exactly it’s a
local sport we play instead of going to
war uh we’d play sticks you have as many
guys as you want on a team but only
three people could take the field at
once got your Anchor Man his job is to
take this straight run man pick them up
slam them you know hold them down then
you got your scratch man he’s kind of a
mix of both he can either take his guy
down or take the toss tosses are like um
little mini n checks okay and you you
have your stick and You’ hook them hook
the leather between and throw it and
then once you get the stick the tosel
all the way out the end zone that’s
that’s a point and you would play uh
best of three best of five best of seven
wow but it’s like the last step before
War all war oh oh yeah they try to use
it as a deterrence cuz you know
everybody loses in war yeah that’s
interesting when when do you think the
last stick game was played oh this
year what what was it over oh no it was
we play every year pretty much just for
fun to keep it going does it get pretty
violent oh yeah like what I mean I
people break your arms you know people I
mean some people even
died getting hit in the head toses and
stuff like that on the stick you like
playing I love it I haven’t played in a
while I’m kind of old now but I still
think about jumping out there once in a
while but it’s
like so just a way to release your
aggression oh yeah plus I mean what I’ve
always known I wasn’t even given a uh
question if I wanted to play or not it
was just like this is what we
do you grew up doing it oh yeah that’s
cool look at this Forest are people
living out here in these here it’s hard
to show it on camera but it’s super
remote here it’s like you’re far from
any cities yeah we’re in the middle of
bum nowh that’s for
sure so that’s all who put down there in
that Valley
yeah says this a popular place on the
res oh yeah this is one of the good
spots to get a good view down there
where smoking that’s the that’s a dump
where talking oh yeah is this where you
took your high school dates I a couple
of
them are these res dogs or they’re cool
res dogs I think probably Matt Matt’s
dogs he just passed away oh okay deie
and Ian probably their
dogs so with the cross is that respected
between people here on the r sometimes I
mean it’s burn been burned down a few
times but people’s uh traditional
beliefs versus Christianity do like is
that a is that a problem or not really
not really a lot of people Times They
just they just mix you know kind of
Window Shop you
know what are you guys doing beautiful
dogs so how’s that feel when you look
down there you know that’s your people’s
land uhuh birthplace your people yeah
yeah uplifting sense of Pride you know
pride and beauty and sense of like you
know we’re going to be here forever you
know how long have you guys been here
we’ve been uh carbon dated back like
10,000 years to this land yeah my fire
pit have been dated back 10,000 years we
have stories of when the river used to
go up here through Beaver Creek and
that’s been that’s been uh proven so I
don’t know how long ago that was you
have stories like from the ERS or what
yeah from the the river used to go that
way instead of down to there probably
the same time we won the mountain I
guess do you believe in little green
people little men I we we have a stories
of little people here little people yeah
little like little people they’re
supposed to be like little tricksters
you’re supposed to leave like tobacco
and food form in the woods and if you
get lost they’ll lead you back to where
you’re supposed to be you believe I
believe yeah I see some weird too you
know some stuff I can’t really explain
but just know you know what I mean what
about Sasquatch out here my mom seen him
incor incor has a story of Sasquatch
like digging his arm through the window
and trying to grab him no way yeah he
said he like the uh arm almost touched
him but then like if you look at the
would have had been huge you know he’s
even found uh Footprints down there in
mil Creek that Patterson gimle footage
was uh just filmed right over here uh
Akens Creek I think right past will
Creek or watch past uh witch
peek see you guys see you
guys it’s a mini Acorn pedal oh for me
yeah oh thanks man that’s what you used
to cook the uh cook the acorns with they
to get a hot rock and throw it in the uh
basket and then cook it up like that oh
that’s so cool thank you yeah who made
this my brother
Shannon one that there’s my tattoos he’s
uh pretty much a bastard Carver he makes
Lorn purses elorn like hair sticks and
that is so dope thank
you yeah so we’re out of the square
right now we sort of went a out of it
and then we’re coming back up River now
we’re head back up River yeah you guys
can see this and so we’re on Iraq
territory yeah we’re in the ration now
so there’s not like a big dividing line
between the tribes here I mean there has
been here but I mean I think those
ideals are kind of like slowly W you
washed away but you got your friends up
here you got yeah yeah I got Brothers
everywhere your family everywhere I’m
I’m All About unity and you I mean like
trying to build again you know what I
mean not like tear each other down and
if I come up I want my my my family to
come up too you know if somebody comes
up I watch I’ll cheer for them I’m an
empath too so I pick up people’s
feelings people come from all over the
place and just like kind of like dump
their whole you know I mean their whole
life story on me complete strangers why
is that they just feel comfortable with
I think so yeah I don’t know just it
happens a lot though but I have to be
careful because I I’ll keep people’s
energy with me cuz like like that’s one
problem I had my most my life is like
not listening to my got feelings on
things having a doubt you know like well
maybe I a’t like that but I try to I
guess more like to believe it in your
own power you know being confident the
dangerous place here to though so you
got to watch out what do you mean by
that well you guys got people wantan to
do bad things if you don’t want to let
them you got to have Superior
violence that’s like the only thing
people respect around here it’s kind of
a lawless Lawless place you they got we
got police and Sh like in the the
nighttime they nowhere around you only
have yourself to count on or your
family is everyone packing out here for
the most part yeah okay so crime is is
pretty high here or it’s just like an
edge no it’s pretty I’d say
so if I came in here solo Mission today
and hung around tonight that would be a
problem I don’t know if you’d be a
problem but if you were like doing drugs
and hanging out with [ __ ] people trying
to like do do work you know what I mean
yeah there’s a good chance you might end
up missing that your car be found down R
you know are there a lot of missing
people out here oh yeah really yeah
we’re at Sam’s father’s
home opport yeah and you know it’s kind
of help me through the football process
at the time of this interview was a 7
foot you served in the military right
yeah how was that jewelry uh it was
horrible I me I signed up towards
Vietnam that was a death penalty you
signed up during I listed you weren’t
drafted you signed up I listed I was
[ __ ]
idiot sent me to Germany I sign up for
infantry war zone Vietnam so what are
your feelings about America going to war
then in general I’m still fighting the
war I live on a 20th century
concentration camp I’m American Indian
I’m not here cuz I want to this ain’t no
luxurious place to be even though it’s
where all my ancestral were were born
and raised here but the government cut
us off of everything what do you mean by
that we got a river here only 5% of the
river is running because uh when uh
Trump that said that that uh covid-19
was only a cold everybody died except
for uh like 6 million people died well
we got a river down here only five or 4%
of the river is running a salmon is one
of the main thing we eat that’s part of
our traditional Heritage and uh the
houses Indian houses we lived in they
were Indian houses every one of them was
a church because every time somebody got
sick they tear them down have their
dances and prayers you know what I mean
so so every every tribe every
reservation is run
differently how is this one run is it
run pretty well or not so well or what
are your thoughts on that uh we’re the
biggest landbased reservation in state
of California yep and uh our our
reservations everybody who robs Us in in
our tribal business doesn’t go to prison
doesn’t have to pay for it everybody
that bezel money doesn’t go to prison
doesn’t have to pay for it and they
still run for councel and they’re still
on the council and they’re still in
businesses that are still bankrupting
us okay so from your perspective and I’m
just no no you can go get the auditor’s
comments okay okay see okay see I’m
doing business brother okay I ran for
councel I ran for chairman I was the
youngest guy to ever run okay but I was
raed as a r radical militant agitator
because American India movement I stood
up for the people not for me for the
people you know what I mean and when uh
they took they took over our salmon they
sent the feds in here to take over our
fishing rights the feds they sent in
here come from Washington DC in case our
our Capital was ever taken over there
was like 4 or 500 supposed to fall out
protect it well those are the people
here was beating us up killing
us okay so the management here on the
res you think is pretty bad pretty
corrupt it’s not pretty bad pretty
corrupt we have nobody keeping our
checks and balances you don’t have a
casino do you yes we do okay so you have
you have a revenue coming in not a
revenue because if the B Money went to
the people it’s a revenue but when it
goes back to the business and they like
if they get a $10 million uh uh business
from the government the money it’ll go
from about 10 different places before it
goes to the place it’s going to be so
that everybody takes out their share
okay so it’s not coming down to the
people nothing is coming down to people
we might get $1,000 a year but we’re
spending so godamn much money running
businesses that aren’t going nowhere you
know what I mean do you run a business
uh I’m a marijuana grower I I I’m I’m a
uh I do a dispensary for marijuana I’m
trying to get that going it’s it’s not
big business but you know what I don’t
ask to try for nothing okay so before
Timber was the big thing now it’s more
weed not even weed it’s like this people
are cutting wood people are gathering
berries people are selling their sabb
people I mean anything people can do
because if you don’t work for the tribe
yeah you don’t
get okay you’re you’re a poverty level
if you don’t have a license a drunk
driving you can’t work for the
tribe got and everybody here doesn’t
have a license or got a drunk driver in
your
they’re stuck and and the people that
running it are looking down at the
people that are living here and then the
people our money paying those people but
they don’t respect us for people because
a lot of people are having really hard
times so what’s the big thing that’s
needed out here jobs what what’s needed
out
here fit
women hey fit women let me tell you this
the main thing that we need
is we need to be treated like uh
everything that was owned owed us we
never got a sent there’s a bank holding
all our mineral rights I went to
Washington DC the longest walk I went to
look into it it exists the government
exists but they don’t know where it’s at
CU that’s how much money is in the
mineral rights that’s gold silver
everything if it wasn’t for me being a
disabled veteran I would be just Stone
Cold broke VA saving my life the VA
saving your life I got injured over
Czechoslovakia my first check was $80
some th000 and then I get $3,500 a month
for the rest of my life I I do all my
stuff at the VA more than I do the tri
travel CU travel clinics because the VA
gets things done the Travel Clinic makes
you wait so long you could either die of
high blood pressure diabetes I mean
they’re taking too long to help you and
then that alcohol and drug programs
going on they want you to go there they
don’t come to your house and say and
they’re getting paid so you’re glad you
joined the military because it’s helping
you out now fair to say saved my life
save sa my life okay it taught me how to
get up off the God everything I talk is
first order of Duty first order of Duty
you do this first because you know what
first order get off the ground and come
home and then military taught me how to
maybe sleep four sleep 4 hours and run
12 hours you know what I mean because
hey you know what they taught me things
that man about life that real life you
know what I mean cuz you did everything
as a group one fails they all fail so
everybody’s got to make it and we’re not
doing that here we’re just letting
people fail we’re letting people die
we’re starving our own people out what
do you mean it’s like this uh we should
have big tribal Gardens to feed the
people we should have H big things of uh
deer or cow or El care the meat feed the
people but we don’t but you got all the
hunting lands around here but there’s
got to be deer there there we got all
the white people everybody who’s
non-indian hunting our reservation the
non-indians are fishing our reservation
but the dam has been removed which is
great for the fish no no no no there the
reason the dam has been removed because
they didn’t put a fish Trail around that
Dam but you were saying you want a dam I
want a dam in these cicks because if we
do this we put eels in the dam we put
salmon in the dam we put sturgeon in the
dam those are all the things we eat for
a living
so okay let me get so there’s people on
the tribe that don’t want the dam they
want to stay traditional but you know
what if we had electricity and
everything was electricity I wasn’t
burning wood those dams we could run our
electricity all day long one so you want
the Hydro power oh no see how much money
is electricity people making they’re
making trillions I don’t want a trillion
doar I just want to be a millionaire off
of water okay cuz it’s how hard is it to
cook water
you don’t cuz it runs other then you
make a trail up there now you put the
salmon in hey you go buy eels around
Japanese Ori people it cost a lot of
money now you go against our surgeon
they came in and tested for caviar we
got the Sacramento Rivers got the same
thing but it’s so polluted they can’t
use it but if we do the dams we’ll have
all that meat sturgeon eels salmon you
know I mean and plus it’ll be a place
where people can come swim fish but the
thing is this
it’ll be a place where every white man
black man China man even even the Jews
will come on because it’ll be a place to
kick back by a house boat float around
but see at the same
time people can live off of
electricity okay so this is the river
where the dams were removed recently yes
okay and so your dad had a take on that
but that’s I didn’t think I he that to
be honest yeah he’s like Pro
damn but most most people are against it
right or what is it
I what about you I I want the river to
be free you know cuz like Dad said that
we’re our culture and everything’s tied
to the river if the river dies then I
mean we’re not far far after it so why
does he want it just because of the free
electricity or the by just
talking I have something to say against
like I what is a motorboat
he’s a he’s a bit of a rebel huh yeah
yeah his dad’s just born to descent you
know what I
[Music]
mean this T building one of the main
Villages okay this is where the head
dance family comes from we had the first
danc first danc is like when they try to
heal a sick baby
okay what are these houses the hunas
this is what we used to live in back
before like Dad was saying like a brush
dance pits are just basically there
houses you know but they’ve been made
like proly dance you know put the walls
back
on so does this happen often or not
really it happens probably once a year
okay what’s going on here with this door
here and then the shoot coming down in
that’s really come in daners like SLE
file meat up come in okay fill up f the
home is short dancing fire pits right
there usually the man woman and the baby
will be in here some guys will jump in
the middle jump out you know trying to
scare the sickness have a baby do their
dance wow is it okay to film the
cemetery yeah go ahead lot of American
flags yeah like military members or
people and one of our jobs we took out a
big old tree Stu that was right here we
dug it out we do all the burials we dig
the grave and build the rough boxes and
stuff this right here this is a Sweat
House
only the men could go in here so these
are your old homes yeah this right
here’s the big house okay we crawl in
you go feet first can I show this yeah
go
ahead we had the fire down here and this
would be more of a storage okay stor
area traditionally all Redwood or what
kind of wood um mostly the cedar I think
you Cedar cuz Cedar’s um insect repon oh
yeah a lot of times you come to Old
Indian stuff you’ll smell that cedar
smell yeah smells good
yeah these are some of our calender
rocks calendar rocks yeah but God is
your calendar work I’m not really too
sure how they had it going but the main
one got stolen a long time ago okay we
don’t know what happened to it it’s kind
one of the mysteries of
it but I think we were one of the only
ones that had like a uh counter besides
like the Mayans or something what were
you saying about tattoos and like
showing your wealth on your tatto oh the
men would have um like lions on their
arm so they could pinch their denan
shells Strand and hold it up so they
knew how much money it was denan shells
they were like uh carv carved shells
that they would called money they would
hold them into little elorn purses okay
that was your money shell yeah yeah the
shelves that were carved and then they
traded them up and down the river for
everything and then you were saying I
had the camera off but you were saying
you have to document your race what do
you mean you have to have your bloodline
proven what to get like healthcare or
something or what’s get to get um to get
on the rooll to be to be a hoop or
travel member you have to be you used to
be you had to be a quarter you had to be
a quarter hoop of blood what’s it now
down to eth I think okay so do you guys
worry about that being diluted out a
little bit but I don’t believe in the
whole B system anymore either I I think
it should be descendency and that should
be good enough you know you got to tell
me my great great grand kids aren’t
native or aren’t skin that you know what
I mean right and then you were saying
it’s like a waiting game waiting for you
guys to sort of yeah just slow genocide
you know they try they try to wipe us
out since they got here you know and
they haven’t been able to so probably
PES them off so they have all these
different other so they you mean the
government yeah the government the
powers that be whoever’s whoever’s
signing the checks you know whoever’s
whoever’s got the money you think
there’s a waiting game for like the
population to decline here to dilute
enough you take everything yeah you guys
feel like that way I think that yeah
okay are these res dogs or no I would
say
[Music]
so whose place is this Sam my dad it’s
your dad’s what yeah my other dad oh
your other Dad yeah this is O’s dad o in
s Campbell’s dad’s place oh okay I’m
growing up here
did Sam do this yeah he did
this Sam’s pretty popular here in h yeah
he does good work popular before he did
tattoos oh yeah for sure popular with
the ladies I think for sure popular
before he did
tattoos okay so this is your second
father fair to say okay love him from my
heart and what were you saying just that
we turned into a big city like there’s
down the other in the valley all these
people got drugs going on all time 24/7
there’s like fentol floating around this
Valley just like everywhere man it used
to be speed now it’s fentol and now the
tribe ever worries about is who’s
growing pot didn’t do a damn thing about
these hardcore drugs that are in here
people dying nobody’s ever died from pot
people are just smoking pot for last 50
60 years but this fent all and all this
drugs that’s coming in here just killing
people man they’re not doing nothing
about it they talk a good game they have
meetings and [ __ ] but they don’t do
nothing okay so California’s Le I mean
we California legal but on the tribe
it’s not not they just pick their own
you know what I mean we had a had a
tribe the election before to you know
legalize it on resz or whatever people
wanted to do they let it go but it’s
still a high priority for these guys are
hating on people for growing pot or
having pot you you can smoke pot on
Friday and come to work Monday and get a
piss test and you get fired you can show
you can show up drunk for a job
interview n tell go home come get sober
and come back later on our our tribe is
so so mixed up it’s just backwards
what’s okay what are some of the
positives about out here in Hoopa it’s
our home so we were born we’re part of
that dirt out there this is where we
come from we don’t there’s this you know
this is it this is our this is our world
this is getting polluted with all these
drugs and you worry about all your kids
you worry about all your grandkids when
did it really start getting bad about 6
years ago maybe a little long longer
they don’t didn’t do nothing about the
heroin and offend all looks like the
efforts very little okay there’s more
things that they can do but they don’t
is the leadership doing pretty well
financially for themselves oh yeah they
voted themselves up up a salary the the
general P public the tribe themselves
didn’t vote to have them guys have a
Payday guy named Dwayne Sherman was a
chairman he voted everybody have a
Payday so now they have a Payday so you
don’t get in there to do your job you
there for the checks most of the time
and our elections are usually popularity
contest rather than a real election I
remember when we was kids the old guys
would show up for uh Council meetings
one man was a a truck driver he’d show
up pulling it with his loging truck and
get out all dirty from work and go to
Council meetings and they were getting
$100 a meeting at the time other guys
come up from logging jobs they show up
on they logging crew all their log and
clothes and and go to Council meetings
you know now it’s just like a popity
contest and all these younger people get
in there and they don’t handle they
don’t handle politics correctly I don’t
know exactly how it is I’m not a
politician but it’s not right what they
do are you guys all pretty unified or
there’s like a huge divide in the
community there’s plenty of divides well
you get in there you get in there and
you have a you have a program and your
whole family members all benefit from it
cuz you’re in there somehow you know I
hav mention no names but my cousins got
caught stealing from the tribe so many
times it’s a joke what what did you do
for a career I was a carpenter bu hous I
built this house nice and you love
Harley yeah I’ve been riding bik since I
was 17 we was one of the most
Progressive tribes in America at one
time when we had our Timber money going
we had Mills on all four corners of the
valley we were running like Lumber Mills
24-hour shifts cutting milling and
lumber and then we were hauling out like
uh pul products chip trucks and stuff
ran usually 24 hours a day and all the
trees are gone pretty much now and all
the companies moved away and this is
where we’re at this is like a Boom Town
gone dead okay you had your boom with
Timber yeah were were that was that
money going down into the tribe or was
it just going we get per Capas and stuff
like that yeah they mostly gave it out
in dividends because that’s the way
we’re set up a lot of it was mismanaged
yeah a lot mismanaged when did the
timber industry go away from this area
oh that was about the same time humble
kind everything kind of folded up I
don’t know maybe the ‘ 70s 74 73 okay
are you guys gaining in population or
declining right now we’re gaining we
gain because we lowered our our blood
degree ultim was stay static for we
gained because but the only reason that
we should be better off is because like
Native Americans and dogs are the only
ones that have to prove their bloodline
horses horses race
horses I mean like if you’re if you’re a
black person you get one drop of blood
and you’re black right
but we have to prove our blood lineage
because of my father and my mother and
we’re just their quarter or half my
mom’s white and my dad’s a full blood so
why do you have to prove all the time
government reward to the state for they
have to they have to um provide for the
um the least the people and the
descendants of the people that um work
to the state and so they have to prove
that you’re of that lineage so that they
they don’t want to pay for people that’s
not them okay what are they paying for
like healthcare or what job is healthare
they do a lot for before we gained um
they they paid for a lot did a lot of
our managed our a lot of our business
managed our Timber did that was all with
the Department of the Interior the
Bureau of Indian Affairs of Indian
Affairs uh regional office all northern
northern California office where the
Bure of IND Affairs used to be up here
in AA do you guys feel connected to
California at all here or not really yes
and no we’re a part of California mess
that we’re so isolated it’s beautiful
we’re away from all the garbage and
trash one thing we have to deal with is
you know the the government when they
lean on us but the thing about is one of
these days they’re going to start you
know coming up Northern California and
it’s going to be spoiled like the rest
of California but I hate being part of
California like how they hate guns is
like I just cannot get over the fact
how started on it that’s why I wish we
exercise our sovereignty and just be
like you know declare like full a just
legal here in the valy these people all
need to study the Constitution the only
reason you get out there and run your
trap and stand around and do all this
protesting and spitting [ __ ] is because
the government gave you those not
government the Constitution gave you
those
rights if you don’t have the
Constitution what do you
have everybody cries around does all
their pissing and whining but you don’t
see nobody move to another country
because it’s better than
America again like I said this come from
a Native American that got sh on by all
the white men we’re still The Underdogs
of the world and this is
2024 you know what I mean this is well
you’re you’re a big believer in the
Constitution makes me St let me say what
I’m saying
now all these people that want to go out
there and Chirp about the government
this and that and everything the only
reason you can do that is because of the
Constitution all those rights are
allowed go be gay and the middle of
Middle East over where they’re going to
chop your godamn head off cuz you’re gay
you know and all these gay people LBG Q
whatever the f ABCs they are the whole
thing they don’t get I don’t care
they’re gay they’re gay big whoop do
your thing I mean you know but they want
you to call all these names and pronouns
and I’m this and I’m that that’s your
world ain’t mine don’t project it into
mine I don’t come down here and tell you
how to live and you guys got to remember
you only about 1/5 of the population of
the whole United
States it’s just stupid how these people
do that just give into all these whiners
and snivellers and [ __ ] man they stand
up and [ __ ] have a backbone do something
it’s like the other day watching on TV
his guys crying around about how he
couldn’t do this black guy he can’t get
this and he can’t do that and he can’t
do this other black guy come up and says
why couldn’t you do that he said I did I
went out and went to school got a job
went to work got a degree did all this
stuff what makes me different than you
what makes you different than me I did
it you can do it but they’ll still over
there cry about this or cry about that
you know you get out of high school you
go to college or you get a job you get
married you go do something with your
life instead of walking around bitching
and moaning about what you ain’t got and
what you can’t get but then all them
guys that are [ __ ] and moaning ain’t
putting no energy towards getting
anything they’re just standing around
whining about it ain’t good and they’re
cing out about like oh we can’t can’t
have their own place and all this stuff
and guys like but you guys could he so I
lived with four roommates until I was 30
years old he’s all you mean like we
didn’t have it easy we worked for it
like the other generation like no we
couldn’t buy our own house when we were
24 nobody take Y no couldn’t that was
stupid can people okay how does that
work can people actually buy land here
that are not from the tribe usually just
tribal land but they they’ve lost a lot
of land the a superintendent comes in
here works for the Bure of IND Affairs
when he leaves he got like 50 or 20
acres or something with his name on it
how he got it I don’t know when he first
gave out the land they had like uh you
could get land with a deed on it you had
to pay taxes on it but if you if you
passed away I think you went back to the
tribe but they the way they gave it out
they were giving out in partials I’m not
exact the first allotments were deed and
so they they got lost a lot of those and
so wasn’t until later that they went
into trust okay so and you guys don’t
have to answer this obvious it’s up to
you um but the land here is this like
you own it it’s in a deed or how does
that work this right here yeah this
tribal this is this is tribal 100 lease
100e lease okay yeah for $5 no property
taxes no which also means you need a
special kind of Lo to get um to build a
house and stuff like that because the
banks cannot take the land here so oh
that’s interesting so after 100 years it
goes back to the tribe either that are
one of my
children you know they don’t care passes
on cuz it’s my kids you know I mean it’s
my
lineage how long you been doing this
I’ve been interested in our designs my
whole life you know like basket designs
and but been hitting it hard for 3 years
gives me a good feeling of being you
know accomplishment and it helps me like
make people more identified with their
native Heritage you know so do you want
more people to come out here for tats oh
yeah definitely okay so what about
people off res oh yeah I’m down for that
too coming from the coast or wherever
yeah oh that’s cool that’s quite
complicated that’s my uh line with the
crown on it for my my Leo Brothers All
right so you’re cool with people coming
from wherever yeah I’m done European
tourists yeah people from the coast
Chinese tourists come on come on I’m
only really good with like my my my
designs what I do I mean no that’s what
they’d come here for yeah exactly that’s
what they come I would come here for no
realism
or all right so I’m going to leave Sam’s
link Down Below in the description your
Instagram link right yeah of your tats
and if they want to get work done just
message you there y for sure okay cool
and then Sam thanks for today bro yeah
really appreciate it that was awesome
yeah glad you thanks for the good tour I
really enjoyed my time with you and uh
it’s it’s a beautiful place you got out
here thank you brother so respect oh
yeah thanks guys for coming on that
Journey until the next one
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