Coast Miwok Indians... one of the few who survive is also a songwriter.

Coast Miwok, a language almost forgotten, resurrected by Sky Road Webb in songs filmed in the rain this Sunday.

I have a personal quest over these last five years... probably for the rest of my life.... to restore the 106 acres scarred by the US military at the top of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County back to nature. I'll introduce that story in detail tomorrow, and today will introduce Sky Road Webb, a Coastal Miwok teacher and musician. The Miwok indians were wiped out by the Spanish in the 18th and 19th centuries and very very few are left. Sky Road has been a great friend to me during these past years as I try to understand how the indigenous people of this area related to the mountain and the animals who inhabit it.

We spent time together this weekend preparing for an event we're holding at the Mill Valley Public Library on November 2nd (which you're all invited to), and he introduced two new songs to me, which I recorded with my iPhone. To hear the sounds of the indigenous language here, in the woods where an ancient settlement was, raises the hair on the back of my neck.

Mourning Song - The Birds are Singing (Coastal Miwok)
by Sky Road Webb

Chewa 'opyati ni' opu (1x)
Ka wuskin shawa opu (2x)
(repeat)
Menu, meye opu koya (2x)

The light is going away
My heart is aching
My heart is breaking
But, the birds are singing

Coyote Dream Song (Coastal Miwok)
by Sky Road Webb

'Oye 'Oyish (2x)
Shulia makono (2x)
'Oye 'Oyish (2x)
Ma opu shuta 'un sho' -li (2x)
'Oye 'Oyish (2x)

Old Man Coyote
Have Mercy on Us
We are living in your dream

To end this post, here is Sky Road at the summit of Mt. Tamalpais, blessing the scarred ruins of the old Air Force Station there with a song honoring the 7 sacred directions.

Seven Directions song
by Sky Road Webb

Mook’a-am Ka’inikio (All my relations)
Olum (South)
Mook’a-am Ka’inikio (All my relations)
‘ah-ala (East)
Mook’a-am Ka’inikio (All my relations)
Kanin (North)
Mook’a-am Ka’inikio (All my relations)
Tamal (West)
Mook’a-am Ka’inikio (All my relations)
Hoi-mey (below)
Mook’a-am Ka’inikio (All my relations)
Lile (above / sky)
Mook’a-am Ka’inikio (All my relations)
Kolwa (center)

Thanks for watching.

I have a long history of inventing tools for animators and also making films and photographs. My wife, daughter and I live at the foot of beautiful Mt. Tamalpais on the San Francisco Bay and I've been using technology to tell complex stories for a long time. My biggest claim to fame? Leading the team that created Autodesk 3ds Max... the most popular 3D animation tool of all time. When I sold the Yost Group to Autodesk at the end of the last century I jumped headfirst into pursing my original love... photography and filmmaking. Now I spend all of my time exploring the mysteries of my world with my cameras, and revealing what I find in my images and films.

You can find my verification post here.