Blue Creek - Ah Pah Traditional Yurok Village is the result of the will and desire of a group of Yuroks to recreate, as nearly as possible, a traditional Yurok village on the Klamath River in northern California, where not only Yuroks, but other people as well, can come and renew their cultural and spiritual roots. The village will be self-sustaining.
There are about 50 photos in the slideshow to the left. In less than 3 minutes you can view a chronological progression of the work accomplished at the village site over the last months. For more photos, visit our photo gallery.
The goals of this village project will be to see the completion of:
Traditional redwood plank houses and sweat house
Brush Dance pit
Community supported organic farm
Visitor and camping areas and infrastructure (water system, sewer/septic, and bathroom and showers)
Educational facilities and classrooms
Outdoor amphitheater
Fish camp and boat dock on the river bar
Seeding with indigenous grasses, flowers, sorrel and other vegetation (3.5 acres)
Redwood canoes on the river
Ecologically sustainable and self-sufficient Yurok village
Over time, village residents will facilitate and encourage:
Traditional means of fishing & preserving
Gathering of traditional plants and herbs
Preserving and promoting the continuity of Native cultures
Protecting salmon, water and native resources
Self-sufficiency in energy, food and shelter
Replication for other Indians and their families, as well as an inter-tribal model for redevelopment of Indigenous cultures
Protecting sacred sites
Ecological sustainability
Physical & mental health through the return to indigenous cultures
Blue Creek - Ah Pah Village will make a difference in the community by:
Bringing people home to reconnect with their ancestors & community
Reawakening traditional Yurok community, society and governance
Facilitating ways Indigenous people can reconnect to the land
Facilitating ways Indigenous people can exercise true tribal sovereignty
Facilitating ways to recreate sustainable Indigenous cultures
Promoting ecological and cultural awareness locally and globally
The village will help create and nurture livelihood opportunities:
Per-gish Carlson operates Blue Creek Guide Service. This Yurok-owned business provides fishing guide service and bio-cultural tours on the Klamath River. Blue Creek - Ah Pah Village is the base for this operation.
Through a unique blending of traditional and modern knowledge, practice, and technology, the village will be totally self-sustaining. The products, processes and expertise developed to accomplish this end will provide livelihood opportunities as we export what we have learned here to others.
Blue Creek - Ah Pah will also help sustain the livelihoods of Yurok craftspeople and artisans, fishing and river guides, demonstration dancers, teachers, speakers and storytellers.
Individuals responsible for implementing the project:
Willard Carlson Jr., village headman and project overseer
David Frye, village headman and construction coordinator
Dale Ann Frye Sherman, design consultant, museum curator, university professor
Marlon Sherman, legal consultant, university professor
George Wilson, maker of regalia, traditional bows and arrows, and master canoe builder
Axel Lindgren, III, master canoe and house builder
David Gensaw, traditional artist and fisherman
David Sevrens, wood carver, story teller, traditional artist and fisherman
