Hai kinest'e ku-nus
THE PEOPLE’S CANOE
Hai kinest'e ku-nus (The People’s Canoe Project) connects people with the river and the life in and around it - weaving and integrating language, cultural activities, mentorship and sharing of traditional knowledge and practices.
The Wailaki ka-nus project is reviving a cultural tradition that nourished the people and gave them important life skills and relationship with Mother Earth.
Carving redwood canoes and paddling them on the Eel River (Xa-Cho) are Wailalki traditions undergoing an intergenerational revival after over 150 years of interruption. The Wailaki relationship with Xa-cho (Eel River) has been damaged since at least the 1850s: there are no Federally owned reservation lands along Xa-cho within traditional Wailaki homelands.
With help from other Tribes we are re-establishing our traditions and language hand-in-hand. This intertribal mentorship partnership and project is bringing healing to all involved.
Connection is healing, we must make an effort to cultivate, nourish and strengthen our connections - for our ancestors, children, one another and generations to come.
HAI KINEST'E KU-NUS (THE PEOPLE’S CANOE PROJECT), COMING BACK TOGETHER
Native Health in Native Hands is revitalizing their cultural practices in their ancestral territory, Southern Humboldt. The group has embarked on a historic collaboration with State Parks, but is it enough to right the wrongs of the past?
KMUD’s Lauren Schmitt reports...
