Calling Back the Salmon

On Saturday, Oct.10, the Tsi-Akim Maidu tribe will once again call back the salmon to their ancestral waters in Yuba and Nevada counties. This will be the fourth annual modern ver­sion of the tribe’s historic ceremony thanking the salmon for returning to the Yuba River, and it is a major element in the tribe’s efforts to preserve their language, culture, history and heritage.
  An early-morning ceremony on the banks of the Yuba River downstream of the Parks Bar bridge starts the day’s activities. Runners, who have fasted according to tribal tradition, will carry a speared salmon through Timbuctoo and into Smartsville where water and encouragement will be offered.