Barbara Drake, Tongya/Gabrielino, Tribal Elder-- Dedicated Teacher, Colleague, and Dear Friend By Connie Vines #BWLAuthor, #MFRWAuthor, #NativeAmerican, #RandomThoughtsScatteredAbout

 

Weekly Feature #2

Hello, My Lovelies,

Today I would like to honor a dear friend of mine.  

Barbara Drake was introduced to me when I was a member of the Parent Advisory Council, San Bernardino County, for Title IX and Title X Programs through the public schools' program. 

She, along with Tribal Elders: Maha-Tal-Meh (Jacques Condor), Linda Baguley, and Larry Sellers (Cloud Dancing/Dr. Quinn MedicineWoman) encouraged me to write my YA historical novel, Tanayia--Whisper upon the Water.

Barbara Drake was loved by all, never spoke ill of anyone, and always brought a positive light to her interactions with students, staff, and community members, always seeking to unite rather than divide.

Born in West Los Angeles in 1940 to Tongva mother Dolores Lola Lassos and Anglo father Charles Milton Scott, Barbara Drake (née Barbara Ann Scott) was raised exclusively on her mother’s traditional plant-based medicines until she was in her teens. 

Barbara was an enrolled member of The Gabrieleño/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians and served as Tribal Secretary for many years. She worked in Indian Education Title VII for San Bernardino Schools, before coming to Pitzer College in 1993 to lecture on ethnoecology.  Her Tongva name was Kwi Tokor, meaning Acorn Woman.

I was honored to call Barbara my friend.  

Her knowledge of Native American healing plants and culture is shared with her interviews on PBS, (Public Broadcast System) Television interviews.

Please visit these links:  

https://www.kcet.org/shows/tending-the-wild/episodes/gathering-medicine

Native plants educator Barbara Drake talks about what has been lost by separating native people from their land. For years as the founder of Chia Cafe Collective, she has worked to restore, research, and promote the use of indigenous plants in California and elsewhere. 

Co-produced by KCETLink Media Group and the Autry Museum, this six-part multimedia series and one-hour documentary special are presented in association with California Continued, a groundbreaking exhibition now on view at the Autry.

Also:

Barbara's yearly arts program:

https://idyllwildarts.org/barbara-drake-tongva-walks-on/

This is only a small sampling of the vast knowledge of medicinal plants used by the Tongva.

http://runajambi.org/tongva/introduction.htm

Walking together in spirit as we walked together through life.

Barbara Drake 

February 2, 1940 - November 18, 2020

Connie