Greg Sarri's Mabel Mckay: Weaving The Dream

Mabel McKay: Weaving the Dream by Greg Sarris wrote about the life of McKay and while telling her story he finds his own story in his search. Weaving the Dream introduces the reader to the Pomo culture and shows that a woman who has worked for most of her life could become a healer and an artist of baskets, which were collected and displayed at the Smithsonian. Sarris wrote about the ceremonies and rituals of the few native tribes who still lived there (Sarris, 1994).
Mabel’s grandmother Sarah Taylor raised her because her mother was poisoned and fled to avoid dying. Mabel was left alone but her Grandmother Sarah ended up raising her. Mabel had a special gift to heal that was past down to her. Sarah moved to Cortina where Mabel could be blessed and dedicated in the traditional way a traditional child rearing practice of the Pomo Tribe. The elders performed the Hesi and Big Head dances, tribes from Sulphur Bank in Lake County; Grindstone people; Colusa; Rumsey Wintun and Pomo people. The ceremony was held at the “Roundhouse” its roof rose up to a peak in
A young girl prepares for the ceremony with the help of the village making her special tee-pee; preparing the meal for fifty or more guest. Most important is the choosing of her “Medicine Woman.” The young apache girl is dusted with pollen, which is the symbol for fertility. With a face of stone or showing emotions (no smiling) she dances for 12 hours. At the rising of the morning sun on the 4th day she appears and circles around her gift basket four times (for the stages of life). When Mabel was twelve Mabel’s mother accepted a large amount of money from a sixty-year old Colusa man and demanded that she would get married. However, Sarah prevented Mabel from being sold into marriage at an early age and gave her to the white lady named Mrs. Spencer who nurtured Mable through the process of acculturation (Rogoff, p.