Luwana Quitiquit (

Pomo The Pomo are a Indigenous peoples of California, Native American people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to ...

, November 13, 1941 – December 23, 2011) was a Native American administrator, activist, and basket weaver. During the

Occupation of Alcatraz The Occupation of Alcatraz (November 20, 1969 – June 11, 1971) was a 19-month long occupation of Alcatraz Island and its prison complex, then classified as abandoned surplus federal land, by 89 American Indians and their supporters. The occ ...

she worked as one of the cooks who provided food to those living on the island. Her career was as an administrator for various California Indian organizations. Subsequently, she became a well-known doll maker, basketweaver, jeweler, and teacher of Pomo handicrafts. In 2008, she and her family were disenrolled from the Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California. She fought the action claiming it was politically motivated until her death. Posthumously, in 2017, her membership, as well as for her other family members, was reinstated in the first known case where a tribe reversed its decision on membership termination without a court ruling.

Early life

Luwana Kay Quitiquit was born on November 13, 1941, in Isleton,

Sacramento County, California Sacramento County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, California, Sacramento, which has been the List ...

to Marie (née Boggs) and Claro A. Quitiquit. Her mother was an

Eastern Pomo Eastern Pomo, also known as Clear Lake Pomo, is a nearly extinct Pomoan language spoken around Clear Lake in Lake County, California by one of the Pomo peoples. It is not mutually intelligible with the other Pomoan languages. Before contact ...

and a member of the Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California. Her father was from Caoayan, in the

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur (), officially the Province of Ilocos Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital of Vigan, while Candon is ...

province of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Her entire family worked in agriculture as farm laborers in the

Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, or California Delta, is an expansive inland river delta and estuary in Central California and Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that ...

. She attended the David Bixler Elementary School in

Tracy, California Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 93,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Tracy is located inside a geographic triangle form ...

and graduated from Tracy Joint Union High School.

Career

After her graduation, Quitiquit began working as a secretary at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. In November 1969, she took her children, Alan and Christina Harrison, and Tyrone A. Douglas (1966–2004), sailing from

Sausalito, California Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island () is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate, Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a Alcatraz Isla ...

. They participated in the

and along with Linda Aranaydo (

Muscogee Creek The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsEdward D. Castillo (

Luiseño The Luiseño or Payómkawichum are an Indigenous people of California who, at the time of the first contacts with the Spanish in the 16th century, inhabited the coastal area of southern California, ranging from the present-day southern part of ...

Cahuilla The Cahuilla, also known as ʔívil̃uqaletem or Ivilyuqaletem, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the inland areas of southern California. ...

), an activist and member of the initial board of directors for the Indians of All Tribes, with whom she would later marry and have a daughter, Suelumatra. Quitiquit and her children stayed on the island until the occupation ended in 1971. After attending courses at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

, Quitiquit completed her bachelor's degree from

in 1977. During her schooling, she began taking

basket weaving Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

lessons from Mabel McKay, last surviving tribe member of the Cache Creek Pomo nation and a world-renowned Pomo basket maker. To reach McKay's home in Nice, California, Quitiquit had to travel over 80 miles. After completing her studies, Quitiquit moved to

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

and became the executive director of the San Bernardino Indian Center and in 1979 worked in the Office of Criminal Justice Planning in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

. By the early 1980s, Quitiquit was directing the Economic Advancement for Rural Tribal Habitats (EARTH) organization in Ukiah, which focused on economic development for American Indians living in

Lake County, California Lake County is a County (United States), county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 68,163. The county seat is Lakeport, California, Lakepor ...

, and in areas around Mendocino and Sonoma. She worked to obtain state and federal grants to assist in community infrastructure projects for the

Coyote Valley Reservation The Coyote Valley Reservation in Redwood Valley, California is home to about 170 members of the Coyote Valley tribe of the Native American Pomo people, who descend from the Shodakai Pomo. They are a federally recognized tribe, who were formerly ...

and Hopland,

Laytonville Laytonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located north-northwest of Willits, at an elevation of . The population was 1,152 at the 2020 census, down from 1,227 at the 2010 census. Geog ...

, Manchester-Point Arena, Robinson, and Upper Lake Rancherias. From 1986 through 2009 she represented the Robinson Rancheria on the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council. The council was designed to conserve and protect 7,100 acres of land recovered from

Georgia Pacific Georgia-Pacific LLC is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp, paper, toilet and paper towel dispensers, packaging, building products and r ...

Corporation and which was eventually split by giving 3,300 acres to the

Sinkyone Wilderness State Park Sinkyone Wilderness State Park is a state park in Mendocino County, California. The wilderness area borders the Pacific Ocean to the west and the King Range National Conservation Area to the north. The nearest settlement is the unincorporate ...

and the remaining 3,800 acres to the consortium of 10 federally recognized tribal groups. Because of the need for native plants to make traditional baskets, she worked to establish gardens and pass on her knowledge of native plants to younger tribe members. Simultaneously with her work on the council, Quitiquit worked in Redwood Valley, California as deputy director of the Consolidated Tribal Health Project and participated in educational seminars. Her vision of wellness for Native people included not only physical and mental health, but ties to artistic and cultural traditions. When she retired, Quitiquit began working on and exhibiting her handicrafts more regularly. Though mostly known for her basketwork and cradle weavings, she also produced dolls made of acorns and jewelry made from traditional abalone, beads, nuts and shells. Quitiquit organized a system to train Pomo weavers and preserve the traditional craft. Using her skills as a grant writer, she was able to find funding to establish training courses in both weaving and gathering traditional materials needed to carry on the craft. She taught one member from each of the seven Lake County Pomo tribes, who in turn trained others. She also operated the Pomo Fine Art Gallery in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

to give native artists a venue to market their works.

Disenrollment

In 2008, Quitiquit and her entire family were terminated from tribal membership in the Robinson Rancheria. The disenrollment occurred in a dispute which the Tribal Chair Tracey Avila characterized as removing improperly enrolled members. Avila stated that while the ousted members were definitely American Indian, she believed that they were enrolled in the wrong tribe. Quitiquit maintained that the issue had to do with a disputed election, in which her family had supported Eddie "EJ" Crandall, who won the election but whose victory was set aside by the claim by Avila that he should be terminated from membership and was disqualified from running in the election. As a result of the disenrollments, Quitiquit and her family lost their tribal housing benefits, health care, jobs, education benefits and cultural ties, as well as retirement benefits and elder meal services. She worked to raise funds to mount a legal battle against the termination of membership. In 2010, the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

refused to intervene, stating that the issue of tribal membership was an internal governance decision. After the ruling, the Tribal Council convened a Tribal Court in 2011 to evaluate eviction orders for the family members. During the trials, Quitiquit died and her family vowed to continue the quest for reinstatement to their tribe.

Death and legacy

Quitiquit died on December 23, 2011, at her home in Nice,

. In 2012, the Tribal Court issued eviction notices for her family and posthumously for Quitiquit. In 2015, Crandall was elected Tribal Chair and led a campaign to readmit disenrolled tribal members. Two years later, under his leadership, the Tribal Council voted to reinstate all members of the Quitiquit family and others who had been terminated from tribal membership in 2008. The reinstatement was the first known case in the country where a tribe reversed its decision on membership termination without a court ruling.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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