WAHACH

The oral records of the indigenous populations of this hemisphere often vary widely from the histories written by the various invading forces. Academics and civilization both proclaim that what ever is up for discussion is not written with a record in the printed word that it is one step beyond true because it cannot be proven, in their thinking. This deduction, of course, solidifies the thought of the establishment that it will always be truthful - because they can provide their own proof for their claim and natives cannot satisfy this simple requirement. Since indigenous history and adventure is oral (passed from previous generations and shared around the campfire), the establishment claims that that history cannot be proven with the printed word, so it cannot be true.

I am the product of both paradigms; the oral and that recorded in writing. Oral literature usually has the universe and the landscape for proof. The establishment does not accept this. The establishment has the printed word for proof. Many natives do not accept this because words written are designed to be recorded crooked, and it omits nature as proof.

In the instance of natives, omission by the civilized written recorders is a habit developed to protect the establishment. But, omission of written works is damaging to the whole truth all of the time.

In a pure act of genius and a sterling act of survival, my people, on one of the several gun-point removals from our homeland, created a type of survival-bread from flour, salt and water.

History records that wagon loads of goods, to support the natives on that forced march to Round Valley (a location distant from our homeland) were, in fact, provided. The written record of this support effort stops there and a clueless individual will assume that the natives were cared for while being relocated as prisoners-of-war.

However, a quick look into the oral literature of the natives will show that this assumption of care was simply not true and the design of continuous genocide against my native people was muffled in the silence of the printed word, in order to further damage my people and show that the supplies were used. It is a true recording. The U. S. Army command did issue supplies at San Francisco. The U.S. Army did distribute those goods.

The supply wagons were two weeks catching up with the force-marching natives. Along the trail were many settlers, ranchers and citizens. The Americans had every Constitutional protection and right. The natives had no protection and two rights: To keep marching in silence or to die by gun shot.

The way it is told at the evening campfire, the first ranch that the supply wagons came to got the slabs of bacon to divide among the community. The second stop got the buckets of lard. The following stops the ranchers and settlers were rewarded in like manner with pots, pans, buckets, blankets and dry goods. When the wagons caught up with the marching natives, all left of the supplies were sacks of flour and smaller sacks of salt. By that time hundreds of my people had perished from hunger, neglect, shock and broken-hearts.

The natives could get water from the creek, and now they had flour and salt, so they made a type of pancake. No pan, they cooked on a flat rock over the campfire. The cooks knowing that pancakes cannot be transported in the pocket, created a thicker, tougher round of bread, cooked in the same manner but a little longer and they put their little love song into the mixture. Wahach! It could be carried in the pocket and was versatile – it could be wrapped around anything else to eat. Dry, it would last a long time, but dry it was very difficult to chew.

Many of recent generations survived because of wahach. In my younger days almost every woman’s home and fame revolved around the aroma and flavor of her wahach. My old Aunt Gladys made the best ever, and when we went to visit her, we hoped that wahach and beans were yet warm.

During the forced marches to Bosque Redondo headed by Kit Carson, the natives of the Southwest created bread dough deep fried in grease, fry bread. My people having no grease, no pan, and no other ingredients, created wahach. We all survived!