Dozens of Native Americans have gathered over the weekend in Chico to start a long and emotional walk to Covelo as part of the annual Nome Cult Walk.
The five-day, 100-mile walk commemorates a tragic moment in American history when beginning on August 28, 1863, 461 Konkow (or Concow) Maidu were forcibly marched by the California State Militia from Chico to the Nome Cult Reservation in Round Valley. The walk took almost three weeks, much of it through what is now known as Mendocino National Forest.
Of those who made the dangerous trek under the watchful eye of the militia, only 277 reached Round Valley. According to Jesse Dizard of Chico State University, 150 Maidu were left behind along the trail, too sick or malnourished to continue. Others were killed and some escaped.
The survivors arrived at what is now the Round Valley Reservation, a sovereign nation of seven confederated tribes, many members of whom are descendants of those who survived the Konkow Trail of Tears.
According to the United States Forest Service, tribal members from the Concow Maidu, the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California, Redding Rancheria, Grindstone Nomlaki, the Mechoopda Tribe, Pit River, Wintu, Nisenan and Greenville Maidu will participate.
The annual Nome Cult Walk from Chico to Round Valley started Sunday. Walkers will travel through Orland and Newville before trekking along Mendocino National Forest roads, stopping to rest at various campgrounds. The group will arrive on Saturday at Hidden Oaks Park in Covelo.
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