Washoe Tribe Chairman Serrell Smokey speaks at the Lake Tahoe Summit on Wednesday. Photo by Ellie Waller
In support of the annual Washoe Tribal Picnic, Kiva Beach parking area and Forest Road 1311 at Heritage Way will be temporarily closed from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday.
“We desire to reestablish our traditional gathering on the shores of Lake Tahoe during the summer as we did before contact with the non-indigenous migration,” said Tribal Chairman Serrell Smokey. “Being the original inhabitants of these lands for thousands of years, the four Washoe Bands (Wel-mel-ti, Pau-Wa Lu, Hunga-lel-ti, and Tel-mel-ti) all gathered at Lake Tahoe for the summer months of the year.”
To ensure members of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California can effectively gather on their ancestral land, the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has issued a temporary forest closure order for the parking area. Fee-free public parking is available at nearby Kiva Picnic Area and the Taylor Creek Visitor Center.
“The Washoe Tribe requested use of the beach to hold a traditional cultural event for our people to come together once again,” Smokey said. “This is a time for prayers, healing, renewals, and reconnecting with our sacred waters and families.”
Signs will be placed along trails leading to the beach and deployed along the highway prior to and during the closure to notify the general public.
“Kiva Beach will remain open to the public, but we encourage visitors to be respectful of the Tribe’s cultural practice of gathering on the shore of Lake Tahoe and refrain from photographing or recording Tribal members or activities,” Forest Service officials said. “This traditional cultural event supports agency commitments to work more effectively and inclusively with Tribes that have been displaced from their traditional homelands.”
Smokey spoke at the Lake Tahoe Summit on Wednesday.
