Discover Lassen County’s native American heritage by joining Lassen Land and Trails Trust on Thursday, May 14th, as Pat Owens, the great-great grandson of Old Man Joaquin, shares the history of his family and the Paiute Tribe in the region. Mr. Owens will be speaking at the Trust’s historic Susanville railroad depot beginning at 7:00p.m.
Sauweep Joaquin, Mr. Owen’s great-great grandfather’s Paiute name, was born about 1830 and began life in the nomadic lifestyle of his tribe, roaming from Pyramid Lake to Eagle Lake.
As a young man, he was a scout for Chief Winnemucca and later became a head man, or sub-chief for his tribe. Perhaps he is best known as the only survivor of the June 1866 massacre at Papoose Meadows near Eagle Lake.
With a gunshot wound in his back, he ran to the lake and escaped by breathing underwater using hollow reeds.
Later, according to Owens, Joaquin was instrumental in obtaining the original 30 acres for the Susanville Indian Rancheria. He travelled to Washington D.C. to get the Native Americans in the Honey Lake Valley recognized as a tribe, thereby obtaining land on which to live. Over the years, other people secured further grants which led to today’s Rancheria. Pat Owens is one of over 200 descendants of Old Man Joaquin and he will share photos, stories and artifacts, including a bow found in a Milford barn in the 1930s.
Limited space is available. Registration is free and is first come, first served. To register, call Lassen Land and Trails Trust at (530) 257-3252 or e-mail [email protected] or friend the Trust at www.facebook/LassenLandTrust or join the Trust’s Meet Up group at www.meetup.com/Discover-Lassen.
Lassen Land and Trails Trust, a non-profit member supported organization, actively works to conserve significant natural areas and working landscapes and to promote and enhance a system of leading public trails in northeastern California—where the Sierra Nevada, Cascade, Modoc Plateau and the Great Basin converge, a unique region rich in agricultural heritage, wildlife and scenic vistas. For more information about the Trust’s work or about trails to enjoy, please visit www.lassenlandandtrailstrust.org.
