Welcome to Our New Partner Group
On February 27th the staff of Trees Foundation met with the board of Eel River Wailaki to make our partnership official! Although we have already had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects together, we are now excited to be able to offer additional support for their organization. Over the past year, our collaborations have included support for the purchase of gear for the Wailaki Cultural Fire Crew, help in the coordination of prescribed burns, and the first cultural burn in Southern Humboldt in over a century. We have also assisted with several local Native cultural events at the Mateel Community Center over the past year. We look forward to our continued collaboration on community restoration and resilience projects.
Eel River Wailaki—Our Story
Eel River Wailaki (ERW) is a non-profit organization composed of local Wailaki descendants formed to educate both Wailaki descendants, and the wider community, about our language, culture, and history.
- We have a number of committees that are working on multiple items/projects:
- Economic Development through Cultural Stewardship Committee
- Ceremonial Committee
- Walaki Cultural Fire Committee
- Social Media Management
- Native American Heritage Committee
- Membership Committee
- Land Access Management
- Basket Weaving Committee
- Coral Point Committee
These committees and the projects associated with them will be discussed at our first annual Big Time gathering at the Southern Humboldt Community Park on May 25th & 26th. ERW Committee chairs will provide information and updates on what they are currently working on as well as a variety of workshops and presentations celebrating local Native culture.
Eel River Wailaki Board Members
- Doyle Womack – Chairperson
- Jason Franklin – Vice-Chairperson
- Kenneth Chadbourne – Treasurer
- Edward Viies – Secretary
- Traci Speelman – Board Member
- Natasha Carrico – Board Member
Contact ERW
Our social media committee is working on the website and once it is finalized, we will share it with the public. In the meantime, our Facebook is @Friends of the Eel River Wailakis
For information on how to support our Big Time gathering email us at [email protected]