Happy Monday! Today in Recipes from a Patwin Kitchen at Séka Hills Executive Chef Casey Willard will be demonstrating how to prepare Grilled Salmon with Elderberry Relish. Be sure to tag us on Facebook and Instagram in a picture of your own masterpiece!

Video | Recipe

As Native Americans, the survival of our unique culture is a key priority, and language is at the heart of that culture. We are preparing our children for the future in ways that honor our heritage and demonstrate the importance of our Patwin language. Today, we wanted to share the Patwin word of the week to help you understand our culture a little better.

Male and Female shake head dancer.

Patwin word: tawt’oh

Happy Veteran’s Day! Today we honor all those who serve in the Armed Forces.

We would like to recognize the Veterans of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation

Alfred Lorenzo: US Army, 105th Artillery, WWII (1942-1947)

Arthur D. Lowell: US Army, WWII (Germany)

Burnam Lowell: US Army, 43rd Ord Sup Depot Company, Korea; Korean Service Medal (1952-1954)

Randall Knight: US Army (Specialist), Vietnam (1969-1972)

The National Museum of the American Indian will host a virtual program honoring the service and sacrifice of Native veterans and their families and marking the completion of the National Native American Veterans Memorial. This program will include tributes to Native veterans and a virtual tour of the memorial.

The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is committed to preserving and protecting its history and culture. The Tribe’s Cultural Resources Department works to protect historic and sacred burial sites within Yocha Dehe’s ancestral territory, creates cultural media, plans community events and supports Native language revitalization.

See some of the work we are doing to be good stewards of the land and our cultural heritage in the next episode of Tending Nature!

Tending Nature is an original series produced in partnership with the Autry Museum of the American West. In this new season, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Wiyot, and collaboratives of tribes in the Mojave Desert and the San Francisco region give their time to share their engagement in contemporary projects that revive their culture and inform western science. California is home to more Native communities than any other state in the country and these communities have continued to maintain traditional knowledge against all odds.

The episode featuring Yocha Dehe will air on November 22 at 7:30pm on KCET, November 23 at 7:30pm on PBS SoCal and November 25 at 9:30pm ET/PT on Link TV nationwide (DIRECTV 375 and DISH Network 9410).

In collaboration with the Children’s Therapy Center in Woodland, California, Yocha Dehe is helping to provide native families around the nation usable and supportive screening tools for children aged 0-5. The goal: to identify developmental delays and to target support and services to the family and child. Please stay turned for more information about this exciting program.

In partnership with Yolo County libraries, every Sunday we will showcase a different book to celebrate Native American Heritage Month.“There There” by Tommy Orange is a bestselling novel that follows twelve characters from Native communities, all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, and each connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. For a variety of Native American book choices, please visit here.

Today, Chef Casey Willard will prepare Braised Rabbit Acorn Tamale with Walnut Mole in this week’s episode of Recipes from a Patwin Kitchen at Séka Hills. Please be sure to tag us on Facebook or Instragram with a pic of your masterpiece!

Video | Recipe Part 1 and Part 2

holwaand t’usa.The Patwin words of the week are here! Did you know that in addition to site protection, the Cultural Resources Department oversees the rebuilding and revitalizing of the Patwin language among the tribal citizens? To further assist with language revitalization, Yocha Dehe also sponsors the Living Language Circle, an annual California Native Language Teachers Conference that focuses on building and strengthening the relationships among Native language teachers in California.

Used or grinding acorn and seeds.

Patwin word: holwa

Used for grinding acorns and seeds into flower.

Patwin word: t’usa

Long before the Spanish and other Europeans arrived in what would later become California, the area today known as Solano County was home to indigenous people called the Patwin (which literally means “people”) or Southern Wintun. Patwin territory extended 90 miles from north to south, and 40 miles from east to west- from the eastern foothills of the North Coast Ranges to the Sacramento River, and from modern-day Princeton in Colusa County, south to the San Pablo and Suisun Bays, including the City of Vallejo.

Big Time is a celebration of the American Indian culture in which people from diverse indigenous nations gather for the purpose of dancing, singing and honoring the traditions of their ancestors. This event is privately held by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation each year in June with tribes attending from all over California. The pictures speak for themselves on how beautiful the culture truly is.

Increasing awareness about racism implicit in Native American names and mascots has been a focus of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation for years. The NFL’s Washington, D.C. team retired its previous name, and the movement to retire other Native American nicknames and mascots has intensified. Check out this great interview featuring Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation’s Tribal Secretary James Kinter with Studio Sacramento.

Yocha Dehe Fire Department is the only Native American fire department to achieve international accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International in 2010, 2015 and recently received the recommendation for reaccreditation for a third time in 2020. Yocha Dehe Fire Department provides fire and emergency services for the Tribe, our neighbors in and around Yolo County and, when needed, for distant California communities.

In partnership with Yolo County libraries, every Sunday we will showcase a different book to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. “Voices of the Winds” gathers more than 130 Native American legends, many told to the authors by elder storytellers and tribal historians. For a variety of Native American book choices, please visit here.

Monday means it’s time for another installment of Recipes from a Patwin Kitchen Day featuring Executive Chef Casey Willard at Séka Hills who will be preparing Wood Duck Stew with Acorn Meal Ball Dumplings. Be sure to tag us on Facebook or Instagram in a pic your masterpiece!

Video | Recipe

The Patwin word of the week is here! This week, our words describe an important, cultural object.

Used for hunting.

Patwin Word: sihlikobe tleywisuhk lihlok

Have you been curious to learn more about Yocha Dehe? If so, please visit our story.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In 2014, Yocha Dehe Tribal leaders spoke on behalf of the Change the Mascot campaign. Follow the campaign on Facebook.

In 2011, we launched our new Séka Hills brand of premium agricultural products to reflect the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation’s deep historical connection with the fertile land of the Capay Valley. Séka Hills estate wines, extra virgin olive oils and honey are award-winning and critically acclaimed. The Séka Hills Olive Mill & Tasting Room offers custom, world-class milling services to the entire region.

In partnership with Yolo County libraries, every Sunday we will showcase a different book to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, “We Are Water Protectors” issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption. For a variety of Native American book choices, please visit here.

Today we feature our final November installment of Recipes from a Patwin Kitchen Day featuring Executive Chef Casey Willard at Séka Hills who will be preparing (Recipe Coming Soon). Thank you for joining us to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. For the latest information about Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. A special thank you to all our partners for their continued support.

Video | Recipe