Callie Lara (Aawok)
Contributing Author
Chapter 14: Songs of “Those Within”
Interlude: “I am a Visitor in the Forest”
Callie Lara (Hupa/Karuk) dedicated her life to preserving the philosophy and teachings of her people. At a young age, her grandmother exposed her to the beauty of ceremony through story-telling, song, and hands on experience. Callie was a writer, a regalia-maker, and a teacher. She had shared her skill of gathering and regalia-making to numerous young women throughout the community. She brought life to countless men’s and women’s regalia items. Often a ceremony is filled entirely of items that she had created, although she would never want it to be noticed. Callie was an instructor and life-long student of the Hupa language and often resorted to language for a deeper meaning of life.