In The News – How Wá∙šiw (Washoe) stories and language relay data, observations, and reverence of Tahoe through time
June 23, 2025 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 06/23/2025, Katelyn Welsh
An ages old Wá∙šiw (Washoe) story outlines the journey of a large black and white flightless bird that carried a pouch of seeds. What the bird did with those seeds would go on to have important implications for the people and land. It’s a story tribe member Herman Fillmore shared in his discussion on how culturally significant stories relay data and observations through time at the Ethnobiology Conference that took place last month at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Tahoe Campus.
As the Tribe’s Culture and Language Resources Director, Fillmore has been working with elders and children to preserve and sustain the Washoe language, including through these stories.
The culturally significant story continues with the bird sharing the seeds with multiple species who were navigating survival amid the harsh conditions of ice and snow.
Photo Credit: Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune