Maidu

I reflected on this as I drove back to my hotel, past Greenville High School, which advertised itself as the "Home of the Indians." I could picture the remaining speakers of Maidu spread out over the mountains like pieces of a puzzle, each hoarding his or her own segment of the language.

It's a spot layered in history, from the Maidu Indian grinding stones to the brick grave markers etched in Cantonese to the Mohawk gold mine that tunnels under the surface.

In this depiction, the valley's meadows are uncluttered and lush, the forests whole, and the human inhabitants, the Maidu, have come together to honor "the creation, the World Maker, and the earth."

Several board members, including longtime trustee Tommy Merino (Mountain Maidu) and co-founder David Risling Jr.

More serious hikers can attack the nearly completed North Umpqua Trail, a 77-mile path that will soon stretch from Rock Creek near Idleyld Park to the Pacific Crest Trail near Maidu Lake, the source of the North Umpqua.

My grandmother is Washo, Pit River (Achomawi), and Maidu, all native to northeastern California.

Just ten feet away is a display case filled with Native American art of the Southwest and West: a Maidu bowl basket from 1920; Pomo baskets from the 1910s; an 1890s olla from Western Apache; and a 1910s Tohono O'ohham basket tray from southern Arizona.

At 214 Main Street, an 1861 firehouse turned museum (open 11 to 3 daily) contains a notable collection of Maidu Indian basketry.

They'll point out mortars pocking exposed bedrock where Maidu and Wintun Indians once ground acorns for food.