'W is for Wungnema' celebration Saturday a success
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Sun, 10/08/2017 - 5:44pm
The presentation of “W is for Wungnema” was held Saturday, October 7th, at the Stewart Community Baptist Church in Carson City and was a huge success. There were approximately 125–150 guests in attendance and a good time was had by all who attended.
The day opened with the ringing of the bell in the church bell tower. All guests were allowed to ring the bell as many times as they could pull the bell rope.
A potluck brunch social followed the bell ringing. At the social, people brought their special dishes and favorite foods to share with their fellow guests. Some of the delicacies included homemade tamales, soups and cookies.
The presentation opened with a warm welcome from Reverend Shelly Ellison, pastor, Stewart Community Church. Reverend Daryl Crawford, son of Bernice Wungnema Crawford Gorham, blessed all of those attending the event. Mrs. Gorham is considered to be the most distinguished of the Stewart alumni.
Ms. Bobbie Rahder, director, Stewart Indian Museum, presented Bernice Wungnema Gorham, with a certificate of appreciation from Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell. The certificate thanked the Wungnema-Talas family members for their many contributions to Carson City’s economic and cultural development.
Ms. Sari Nichols, Nevada Indian Commission, represented Ms. Sherry Rupert, Executive Director of the Nevada Indian Commission at the event. Ms. Nichols presented Mrs. Gorham and Mrs. Kathy Talas with US flags that had been flown over the United States Capitol in recognition of their families’ contributions to Northern Nevada and Northern California. The flags were flown at the request of United States Congressman Mark Amodei and were accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
“W is for Wungnema” is the first step in cataloging the work of Native American Stonemasons in Northern Nevada. The goal of the presentation was to have the stonework of the Native American stonemasons in general and the Wungnemas and their extended family in particular, recognized and acknowledged. Before the presentation “W is for Wungnema,” the work of Northern Nevada’s Native American stonemason had been undocumented.
During the presentation, the organizers of the presentation, Lee-Ann Keever and Sandie Nicholson, talked to the attendees and learned that there are additional structures built by the Wungnemas and their extended families in Northern Nevada which were not included in the presentation.
Based on this discovery, coupled with the fact that not all of the family members were able to attend the event, Ms. Keever and Ms. Nicholson are considering expanding the presentation to include photographs of all previously unknown stone, brick or cinder block structures built by the Wungnemas and their extended family as well the family members’ recollections of their stone-working efforts. The expanded presentation would be shown sometime in the spring of 2018.
Both Ms. Keever and Ms. Nicholson thank the Wungnema family members who participated in the planning and production of “W is for Wungnema” and those guests attending the presentation. Ms. Keever considers their participation and attendance to be the key factors for the presentation’s success.
— All photographs by Mary L. Thompson.
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