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The "Unnatural" History in our State Parksby Mary GoldenMost of us, I believe, not only try to find our sense of place in the linear time and place we seem to inhabit, but also try to connect to those of us who came before. I remember one day with our Hopi host - he handed me shard of pottery probably made thousands of years ago. I was surprised he let me hold it, and my hesitation showed. "As long as we put it right back where we picked it up," he explained. It was almost gave me vertigo to literally hold something someone else had made and held all that time ago. It was like time collapsed. It reminded me of the calendar of the Yakama’s. They tied bits of shell, ribbon, any reminder of an important event into a continuous string made of tule, and wound the string around itself like a ball of knitting yarn. I have always loved that sense of time collapsing on itself, circular and unending. I gave the shard back, and my host reverently placed it back where he had picked it up, then insisted on rubbing our hands in cedar since we had touched death. Days later, we visited a museum in which shards were on display along with a letter from a group who had visited and took a shard home with them. The letter went on to detail the one disaster to the next that ensued. They sent the letter and shard back to the museum, and the museum posted the letter as deterrent couched in humor. I hesitate to even share my story with readers afraid of encouraging anyone to pick up artifacts. It is just not done unless you are with a tribal expert and are given permission. Cultural preservation is a serious obligation for all of us. So I envy Elise Wheeler for her job at State Parks. As Associate State Archeologist and District Historian for the San Luis Obispo Coast District of State Parks, her job is to monitor the more than 200 cultural sites contained in our parks, and to act as liaison to the Native American tribes in our area. If I had it to over, I would have gone into her field. She says, "Our biggest threats are coastal erosion, looters, vandals and of course, developers." Last year, I attended a lecture by an anthropology professor from Santa Cruz. He was outlandish and wonderful. His talk was about the "unnatural" history (in other words, people) of our State Parks. Many park visitors while enjoying the splendor of our "natural" history, forget that one of the most important functions of State Parks, is to preserve cultural resources. Elise, is quiet, thoughtful, I might even say, shy. She looks out of place in my office. You can tell instantly she belongs outdoors. Of course, the first thing a person wants to know is where the sites are and go explore. But from my own experience working with the Hopi people in Arizona, once a site is known, it is destroyed. So it is a Catch 22. Elise’s task to help preserve them for us, and to protect them – from us. Most damage, Elise believes, is unintentional. People don’t realize in their quest to learn about the past, that their very enthusiasm is a threat, or that they don’t realize they are even in a cultural site. "Take coastal ranch houses," she says. "Pioneers came here, and would find what seemed a perfect site to build their own house – protected, scenic places. "They would say, boy there sure are a lot of shells in this place, but gave it no more thought. In reality, they were building their own houses on top of earlier sites of human habitation." Our District of State Parks is varied – the most obvious of which is Hearst Castle. Our cultural sites include Limekilns (for which a State Park is named), whaling and shipping sites at Leffingwell Landing, Chinese kelp harvesting in Harmony Headlands, coast ranching history, and of course numerous Native American sites. Elise’s goal is to visit each of the sites once a year, and considering there are 200,that is quite a task. She also lays in wait to catch those few nasty folks who deliberately deface or take items from our sites. I won’t give her away, but let’s just say, "Big Sister is Watching." But the real focus of her job is to share her love of history, and educate people about our history, and how to protect it. "Education is Preservation," she says. She participates in project planning and public outreach. She loves to talk to people including school and civic groups. I ask her more about the Chinese Camp at Harmony Headlands. I imagine looking out to sea there and seeing Chinese junkets picking up the dried kelp and sailing directly to China. "Oh no, she says." They shipped it to San Francisco first. Remember the fastest mode of transportation was shipping; not overland." The Chinese farmed the kelp here even burning off other species to ensure a good crop. I try to envision the coastal waters burning. I tell Elise that I periodically hear someone say that we should open Morro Rock to climbing. As predicted she rolls her eyes. One of her many jobs is to facilitate Native American access to Morro Rock, as it is seen as a sacred site. We discuss this as a perfect example of lack of education. To the casual observer, what a great idea to promote tourism in Morro Bay! It’s just rock for heaven’s sake. But to Native Tribes this place is sacred, a place to be revered and not disturbed except for ceremony. We are fortunate to have Elise Wheeler sheparding our cultural resources in our State Parks. If you would like to have her speak to a class or group, you can contact her at 805.927.2094 |
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Slo Coast Arts
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