Before the last great invasion of this continent other people used to live here on this site. In the 18th century the people that Europeans lumped together as the Pomo numbered twice their present population. Following the invasion their numbers plummetted to a quarter what they are now.
A Pomo reservation is located not far away from here and some years ago someone from there taught basic living techniques to the kids who used to live on this land. (Or so I was told by one of those kids, now grown up, who stopped by to look at the place.)
One of the things that Pomo man built was this really sweet structure. It was said by the person giving me information that this was a traditional Pomo design.
It is now falling apart badly and is in the middle of a slow-motion collapse but, in 2015, it is worth remembering that it was built during the early 1990s and left unattended for all those years before these images were taken. Some images of similar but intact Pomo structures can be seen in old photographs at http://www.mendorailhistory.org/1_redwoods/pomo.htm .
The design had a wind-deflection extension outside of the entryway, and had a small firepit dug in the center with two layers of covering to create a positive draft for the smoke. The basic construction was framed using sticks from tan-oak and maples covered with long strips of bark taken from redwoods and to a lesser degree from douglas-firs.
