Manataba Messenger

Page 18 To provide comprehensive and informative communication services to our tribal community; and do so in a manner that honors our culture and institutions of our Tribal Government. Congratulations to our newest department and one of our latest directors Elizabeth Munoz-Welsh. The department's updates will be published here, not all in their entirety for our older population of tribal members that do not do social media. Enjoy & thank you, CRIT Tribal Council, for reacting with leaps and bounds in this area for the CRIT Tribal membership- vacancy announcements to fill other positions are announced, see page 10! :)—MMsgr. CRIT Media-July 5, 2022 5:42PM WILLIE BOY- An Intriguing story! I remember way back in the '70s when people were talk- ing about a film that starred "that guy from the show Barretta" because he portrayed a Chemehuevi Indian in a movie. Yes, Robert Blake.I never watched the Willie Boy movie, but I remember hearing about it. Recently I came across a story online. It showed a short clip of a co-written movie by Jason Momoa (of course, that got my attention). One article led to another, and before I real- ized it, I read a whole lot of opinions on this story of Willie Boy, who was a Chemehuevi Indian living in or around Banning, California. It's a fascinating tale since there is a lot of mystery about what happened to Willie Boy. Did he get away to live out his life elsewhere? The story goes. Willie Boy fell in love with his cousin Carlotta; the strength of his love for this girl prompted him to ask her father, William Mike, for per- mission to marry Carlotta. William Mike was a holy man and very stern; he disap- proved and told Willie Boy, no, under no circumstance was he allowing his daughter to marry her cousin. (Bad medicine). An argument ensued, and, in the end, William Mike was dead from a shotgun wound to the face. Willie Boy had no choice but to run. He took Carlotta, and they ran away together into the night. Willie Boy was a Chemehuevi runner and extremely fit. His athletic ability and stamina were legends.They both took refuge and hid in the desert, knowing the local police would be looking for them. In those days, you have to understand that the fear of a "Rogue Indian" from many Indian haters caused men with guns to get excited. The sheriff formed a posse and went looking for Willie Boy. Now, this is the intriguing part. They (sheriff's posse) stated that Willie Boy left Carlotta in a wash with his coat and waterskin. To me, this shows that he intended to come back to her. A few days had passed, and people feared the "Rogue Indian," so the posse was under pressure to find Willie Boy and the supposedly kid- napped Carlotta. The posse did find Carlotta dead in the wash either by exposure or "accidentally" shot by the posse. A few days later, and under even more community pres- sure, a picture of a body was sent to the local newspaper. The image was of a man lying in the desert; purportedly, it was Willie Boy. The Chemehuevi, who saw this picture, knew it wasn't Willie Boy's body as it appeared too big; Willie Boy was slender. The posse didn't take a picture of his face, as was the usual method used to ID fugitives in those days. Questions were never really answered by the posse, and rumors started to spread from the family members of Willie Boy. At one point, the posse accused Willie Boy of killing Carlotta, giving more fuel to a community that wanted him hunted and killed. The death of Carlotta is still unsolved, although it is a widespread belief that she succumbed to the elements or was accidentally killed by the posse.Willie Boy's family said he had escaped and was in living his life with the Pahrump Band of Chemehuevi. If you get a chance, watch -The Last Manhunt - by Indigenous actor Jason Momoa and Native Hawai'ian screenwriter Thomas Pa'a Sibbett. Written by Elizabeth Welsh-Munoz Photo credit: mojavedesert.net -archives CRIT Media-July 29, 2022 11:30PM CHEMEHUEVI- EARLY YEARS The Chemehuevi are the southern branch of the Southern Paiute people. After the split from the Shoshone, some branches went toward 29 Palms, CA; others moved toward what is now the Chemehuevi Valley near Lake Havasu City, along the Colorado River. The Chemehuevi women were skilled basket makers but made little pottery. Usually with triangular trays and carrying baskets that were diagonally twined. They used these baskets to store food, after drying or cooking it in granaries or ceramic jars at their homes or, on trips through the desert, by burying it in the ground or putting it in caves in pots or baskets. Edible seeds were often stored in baskets covered with potsherds and greasewood gum. Other foods were boiled and stored. Meat and the pulps of melon and squash were dried. The need for caches of food and other goods was so important that stealing food from someone else's cache was enough to bring on war. In fact, among most southern California Natives, food could be protected by "magical" means, for instance, placing a food cache in a cave and a notched stick called a "spirit stick," which could cause harm to anyone who disturbed the stock.The Chemehuevi traded goods for eagle feathers from other tribes, especially the Hualapai; feathers were used for their Mourning Ceremony, according to George Laird (Chemehuevi). Many valuable goods were exchanged at a "Cry." They made a self-bow shorter than that of the Mohave, with recurved ends, the back painted, and the middle wrapped. Arrows were often made of cane and sometimes willow, with a four-shaft and a flint point. The bow used in war was sinew-backed hickory, which was very hard to pull/draw. It was short and powerful. Another kind of bow was made of the antler of the mule deer (Laird 1976). Hunting bows were made of sinew-backed willow, which allowed the Chemehuevi to hunt big game, improving their supply of protein. MOHAVE/CHEMEHUEVI RELATIONSHIP In 1858, invaders from the east trampled the Mohave's' fields and cut down hundreds of cottonwood trees to make rafts, the trees the Mohave valued. The trees were lifeline resources for the Mohaves, who used cottonwood lumber to build their homes and the inside bark for mak- ing garments for ceremonies. These giant trees also pro- vided shade for families and animals in the area's hot sum- mers. Disrespected and angered, the Mohaves attacked the trespassers, killing one man, wounding 11 others, and killing most of the invader's cattle and horses. A few Hualapais and 7 Mohaves murdered all of another small encroacher camp. This encounter led to the establishment of Fort Mohave in the Mohave villages and the subjuga- tion of the Mohaves by the U. S. military. During the unrest, the Chemehuevi were allies of the Mohave, but, being highly adaptable people, their style of resistance to the invaders was different. Unlike the Mohaves, they had adopted firearms and practiced gueril- la warfare instead of the hand-to-hand combat favored by the Mohaves. In the spring of 1859, Fort Mojave was estab- lished by the U. S. Army, which then enrolled Mohaves in expeditions against the Chemehuevi. Today both tribes are sustained on their lands along the Colorado River.(Photos courtesy of The National Museum of the American Indian) Content: mojavedesert.net CRIT Media-June 27, 2022 9:29AM CRIT EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION This morning the Colorado River Indian Tribal Council and CRIT Human Resources recognized Elizabeth "Liz" Leivas for her 45 years of employment with the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Mailroom. Ms. Leivas received her recognition award and some beautiful flowers in the presence of her family and loved ones. CRIT Chairwoman, Amelia Flores applauded Liz for her years of dedication and outstanding work ethic. CRIT Media-June 24, 2022 9:55AM CRIT TRIBAL MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Our tribal member spotlight today shines on Deanna Allison. One of the stars of AMC's Dark Winds. She plays Emma Leaphorn in the series and is also known for The Batman (2004) and Edge of America (2003). Deanna is Dine and a CRIT Member. Deanna is a beautiful inspiration to our youth, who need to see more successful women and men actors breaking new ground. Way to go, Deanna! Don't miss Dark Winds (TV Series) on AMC and AMC+ Post written by Elizabeth-Welsh Munoz Photo courtesy of IMDb. Elizabeth “Liz” Leivas with her plaque and congratulations flowers. Inset photo of her and her family that showed up in support.