California Indians

A note for the Press:

On behalf of the California Indians, and the "Solidify Our Sovereignty" Spiritual Walk, thank you for taking the time to "cover" our story.

As a Reporter, or Photographer, you may not be aware of some of our cultural protocols.  Because this is a spiritual walk, we ask that you recognize the sacredness of the walk by following a few simple guidelines.

• When the walkers arrive at a sacred site, we ask that you allow us to finish our ceremony. Photographs and interviews during this time are a distraction to our ceremony.

• When the walkers enter the geographic area of another tribe, they will greet members of that tribe and exchange gifts as it is indeed a meeting of Nations. You may photograph the meeting and greeting of the people.

• When we gather in a circle, other people, guests and visitors may bring issues to Robertjohn for him to hear and carry in some way. Their message is important but the focus of the walk, must be the walk itself. We are not walking for any other issues. After the circle, Robertjohn is available for interviews. This is a good time to talk with him.

• In our language, we never had a word for "outdoors". We are outdoors and this is our bedroom, living room and kitchen. We ask that you respect the privacy of the walker's especially in the morning. We are all subject to bad hair days… imagine waking up to a 6-inch glass lens in your tent.

We ask that Robertjohn be your primary contact on the walk.  There are a thousand human-interest stories here, but the walk is what must stay in the focus.

For more information, including the letters of invitation, mission statement and a planed route map will be kept at our website: HTTP://www.nativeweb.org/~sos. There is an interview with Robertjohn. Please feel free to use any of his quotes from the webpages in your story.   Thank you again, drive safe, and good luck with your story.

-Charles P. White

For additional information, contact Gayle Anne Kelly at:

SOS
P.O. Box 3000 #129
Chino,  CA  91708
Voice: (909) 548-0119
Fax: (909) 548-9515.