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Tribes in Nevada are seeking the designation of a new national monument in east central Nevada.
They say it holds cultural and spiritual significance, including being a valley where Indigenous people suffered several massacres.
Alex Gonzalez has more.
Alvin Marques, chairman of the Ely Shoshone Tribe, explained Bahsahwahbee was a place of religious gatherings, healing ceremonies, and celebrations, which made it a target for settlers who expanded into Indigenous “Newe territories” of the Western Shoshone Tribe.
Marques said the federal government now has the chance to stand with tribes and honor Bahsahwahbee.
“It, in the past, was a place of celebration and became a place of mourning. It means enough to me that it needs to be protected forever.”
He pointed out before the tragedies, Bahsahwahbee was a place of happiness and should be remembered for both the good and bad.
He added people from across the Great Basin still go to the area to visit their ancestors, pray and hold ceremonies.
Three tribes are collecting signatures with the goal of getting Bahsahwahbee designated as a national monument.
“Time is running out, so we need action now. It’s time for the federal government and our representatives to center our tribes and our history, and do the right thing.”
He added a national monument designation within the National Park System also would help familiarize more people with the Bahsahwahbee story.
Those opposed to the monument recognition argued Nevada already has too much public land where uses are restricted, but proponents argue this is false.
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Samuel Mecham making a seal call. (Photo: Rhonda McBride)
After the recent Statewide Native Youth Games in Anchorage, students returned home to show off their medals for traditional games like the Two-Foot High Kick and the Kneel Jump.
There were also seal calls, which could be heard throughout the stadium full of people at various times at the games.
Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA sought out the source of these sounds, a tradition that is as old as the games themselves.
The sound of enthusiastic crowds often fills the air at the Alaska Airlines Center, but at the Native Youth Games you hear that and more.
Although Samuel Mecham perfected the seal call during seal hunts in his hometown of Unalakleet, he’s happy to belt it out across a sea of people.
“Oh, it’s fun. It gets everybody riled up. And it gets people’s attention. And also, it’s like our way of shouting and cheering on your teammate. So like at a track meet, you’d yell at your temmates. Right? You’d yell their name and say keep on going. But here you would do a seal call.”
As the master of ceremonies at the Native Youth Games, Marjorie Tahbone uses the seal call to get athletes pumped up.
“You start off with a low sound, like Ooh-ooh. And then you learn how to make a high sound – ‘Ooht’. And then you crack your voice. So Ooh-oot. And then you figure out how to do it, and eventually you’re able to go ‘Ooh-oot’ real easy.”
Tahbone says seals are naturally curious creatures.
Traditionally, hunters used the call to distract them.
“The hunters would have to mimic a seal and get as close as they could, close enough where they could harpoon it.”
The seal call was also used to signal hunter success – a joyful sound that Tahbone says helps to bring the sounds of land and sea into the city.
Joey Cross’s specialty is the Raven call.
“Organize your throat, your mouth in a certain way. (Trilling sound) You hear that. It’s that (Raven Sound).”
Also from his seat in the stadium, you can hear his call of the loon.
“I learned this from a friend (Loon Sound). By doing that I learned I could make it smaller. Also a little whistle (whistle sound).”
The sounds from villages near and far add excitement to games like the seal hop, where athletes race across the stadium in a push up position hopping as far as they can hop.
Caelynn Carter from the Mat-Su School District is excited she has finally mastered the seal call.
“I just figured it out today and I haven’t stopped. It’s a great way to cheer someone on. It’s a lot cooler than clapping. (Seal call) ”
The games played here were traditionally used to build endurance for hunting and fishing in the extreme cold, but Marjorie Tahbone says they have their use in today’s world, especially the seal call.
“When you’re walking down the aisle of Walmart and you hear a Oot, other people will start doing it three aisles down. If you can’t find me, seal call and we’ll find each other.”
So if you hear that sound in the store…. you’ll know what it means.
Listen to the longer KNBA version of the seal call story here:
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