Patrick Orozco at Ohlone Day: "What are We?"

Patrick Orozco

The 26^th annual Ohlone Day was held at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton yesterday. The event that both celebrates and educates drew another large crowd this year, and featured all of the usual fun: atlatls, Indian tacos, and amazing dancing and Ohlone performances.

The main message that Ohlone Day communicates could not be any more important: that the Ohlone people are alive; the day is not a tribute to a lost people, it is a vital celebration of a living culture that flourishes in so many ways in Santa Cruz County, the Monterey Bay, and the greater Bay Area.

It was Patrick Orozco who summed it up succinctly. The founder of the Ohlone dance group Amah-ka-tura, spoke during their performance about how the federal government does not recognize the Ohlone because they are not, in the government’s words, “active.”

His reply, “What are we?” (Pointing to Amah-ka-tura)

Amah-ka-tura

Members of the Save the Knoll Coalition

Santa Cruz Indian Council

Arts & Crafts and Educational Booths

Photos I took of Ohlone Day in 2010:

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/09/13/18658544.php