Professional Writing Seminar for TERO

June 2016 – I had a great time teaching a series of 3-day seminars to 16 employees of the Yurok Tribe, TERO in the gorgeous and remote tribal territory of Klamath, CA–practically on top of the northern border of California and Oregon. The staff members proved to be proactive and attentive students. We had a lot of laughs. I would especially like to thank Director Don Barnes, Thunder Nix-Rivera, and Chief Judge Abby Abinanti for their facilitation and hospitality.

From my home in the Twin Peaks area of San Francisco, the trip was a breathtaking six-hour drive straight up 101 North. The remote area of Klamath was a bit of a biological shock to an asthmatic and allergy-prone city slicker like myself, so the Yurok Tribe was kind enough to put me up in a hotel across the street from the courthouse where I taught the seminar.

Over the course of two weeks, I worked with adult students who are both members of the tribe and employees of the local government. Among them were probation officers, fishery researchers, accountants, receptionists, builders, and forestry workers. All family women and men who are experts in their respective fields, many of them still had writing deficiencies which could affect business and legal communication. With a sense of humor but a clear focus on our goals, we talked about verb tenses and dependent clauses, who vs. whom, adjectives vs. adverbs, and accurate paraphrasing.

I soon discovered inside and outside of the conference room that everyone knows each other and many are related somehow. “Hellos” are frequent. Gossip travels much faster than Wi-Fi. They talk about their kids a lot. Many people I spoke to mentioned being taught to fish by a grandmother. And, just like in SF, tattoos are popular. Everyone is amiable, mellow, and modern, but also very knowledgeable of Yurok history, be it in the area of linguistics or maritime construction. There is a local store or two where one can buy stuff, but a lot of people frequently eat what they grow or catch.

In short, everyone there is much more capable than an inept bookworm like me. Luckily, I was able to bond with students over our mutual respect for such topics as Al Green, Isaac Hayes, and Jimi Hendrix.  I also received a lot of positive feedback and will be forever grateful for that.