Calendar & Events  

General Membership Meeting – March

The General Membership Meeting is the annual business meeting of the Smith River Rancheria. Only Smith River Rancheria Tribal members, sixteen years of age and older, may attend. 

 

Dee-ni’ Day – September

Annual celebration of California Native American Day, a holiday that we have been observing since the 1960s. The whole community is invited to participate in activities, eat traditional Tolowa food (salmon cooked on a stick) and American food (hot dogs).

Tolowa Dee-ni’ Day starts off with a prayer. This prayer is to remember ancestors who lost their lives protecting their land and people in a war against the U.S. military. Remembrance and preserving culture is what Dee-ni’ Day is all about. It’s about who we are as people, To honor our connection to our roots. The day is a way to recognize our ancestors and carry forward into contemporary society.

Activities will include stick games, traditional gambling games, such as the women’s dice game and men’s card game, and a horseshoe tournament. There will be demonstrations of the Tolowa culture for tribal members to participate in their traditions while also sharing with the community at large. Children will be showing off traditional regalia.

Typically, 300-400 people participate in Dee-ni’ Day.