Solstice at Lesa’mo’

The Salinan Tribe has been ascending Lesa’mo’ (Morro Rock) for centuries to perform religious ceremonies. We continue this tradition by gathering to share stories, food, and music together to celebrate the winter solstice in December and the summer solstice in June every year.

2025 A Winter Solstice of Preparation, Provision, and Prayer at Leśamo

This year’s Winter Solstice at Leśamo was held with deep care, intention, and thoughtful preparation. Many hands and hearts contributed in the weeks leading up to the gathering, and that collective effort was felt throughout the day.

In many ways, the gathering began before Sunday. On Friday, Salinan relatives went clamming in Pismo, harvesting food from the sea and setting the tone for the days that followed. The act of gathering food together—moving with the tides, working cooperatively, and providing for the community—carried forward ancestral values of responsibility, sharing, and relationship with place.

That spirit flowed into Sunday as relatives, allies, and extended community came together on the land at Leśamo. Patti Dunton opened the day by leading a beautiful prayer, grounding everyone in gratitude and intention. Before the potluck was shared, a spirit plate was prepared—an offering of respect and remembrance—honoring ancestors and the unseen relationships that continue to nourish us.

We then shared a deeply abundant and beautiful potluck, featuring clams on the half shell, rich chowder, bear-stuffed pumpkin, roasted bay laurel nuts, beans, enchiladas, baskets of freshly gleaned local fruit, and many other thoughtful offerings. Special thanks to Brian Clark for his generous offering of freshly harvested and roasted bay laurel nuts, Josh Carmichael for his wild bear-stuffed pumpkins, and Nathan Reisse of Grassy Bar Oyster Company for sharing fresh oysters. The table reflected so much abundance, so much sharing, and so much love.

Throughout the afternoon, drumming, song, and ceremony grounded the gathering. We are especially grateful to our Chumash friends and drummers Matthew Zapata and Pete Crowheart, whose music and song held the space for many hours, keeping the mood steady, reverent, and alive. The community altar steadily grew with photos, written prayers, ancestor remembrances, and offerings brought with care.

At one o’clock, three generations of Patti Dunton’s family ascended Leśamo together—Patti, her daughter Jessica Bournonville, and her granddaughters Taylor and Madison—a powerful living expression of continuity, resilience, and intergenerational presence on the land.

We also extend heartfelt thanks to the Bear Valley Redrum Motorcycle Club, who brought a dedicated team of volunteers that helped with everything from set-up to clean-up and managed the gate throughout the day. Their steady presence and generosity of labor made a real difference and allowed the gathering to unfold smoothly.

After a rainy start, the weather cleared just in time for the ascent. As evening settled in, many stayed by the fire, closing the day with a ceremonial burn from the altar—sending prayers, gratitude, and intentions into the night. It was a truly connected and meaningful Solstice at Leśamo.

Finally, we extend our sincere thanks to Harvey’s Honey Huts for their generous donation of portable toilets, an essential contribution that supported the comfort and care of everyone gathered.

With deep gratitude to all who planned, prepared, cooked, sang, prayed, stewarded the land, volunteered their time, and showed up in good relationship—this gathering was made possible by many generous hands and open hearts.

June 2023 Summer Solstice at Morro Rock (Lesa’mo’)

Wind and sunshine greeted the ascenders at Lesa’mo’, Tribal members guided by Josh Cody, (climbers) George McCormack, Matthew McCormack and Aurelia McCormack. Were smudged with sage and blessed by Mary Rodgers before ascending Lesa’mo’. As the climbers returned George McCormack said speaking of himself, “a 73 year old fart, ascended Lesa’mo”. The day was blessed with fun, family, friends and good food, as well as stories and music, all in all the gathering at Lesa’mo’ was wonderful.

2022 Winter Solstice

Welcome to Winter Solstice. We, the people today known as the Salinan Tribe, welcome all to the base of Lesa’mo’, Morro Rock, as we share food and stories, and members of our tribe ascend to celebrate all that is sacred. Sacred is the defining term – the Creator made the World, all the plants and animals, even all humans. I personally believe, as Lakota spiritualist Little Crow taught, “Everything is Sacred. Everything is Related.”

We are often asked, who owns Lesa’mo’, Morro Rock? Isn’t this Chumash land? Our answer is easy, but not simple. Morro Rock belongs to nobody, but rather, we, the Salinan Tribe, belong to Morro Rock. Our ancestors lived and prayed here, and we continue this today and tomorrow. We are still here, and we will remain. The very Western Civilization concept of “land ownership” is part of the heart of what troubles us all today.

Ignorance, greed and hatred are powerful evils. Just look at dysfunctional Sacramento, war-ravaged Ukraine, the assault on the spirit of American Democracy in Washington D.C. for examples, and the fractionation (it’s a word, look it up some time – fractionation) of today’s world is on display. Ignorance and greed win too often, and when they do, we all lose. I’ve been trying to fight against ignorance and greed and outright hatred of others for just a short time now, and in those fights, I find myself challenged to not let those characteristics find their way into my own thoughts and words.

I wish to bring up something that happened this year. The Army Corp of Engineers planned to bring rock material back to Lesa’mo’, Morro Rock, under the belief that they were doing something right, or rather, trying to “correct a past wrong”. The Rock should never, ever have been quarried, dynamited, but the illusionary act of returning rock added nothing positive. Nothing made whole, nothing fixed, just a useless gesture from which some small groups of people profited. Several cheered this effort, some as a public relations act by a specific pretendian (pretend Indians = Pretendians) group claiming, “see, we did good.” Big woo hoo. Our tribal council made the educated decision to not support this effort of ignorance, as we believed and still do that it was a wasteful and futile effort. The returned rocks, that were dynamited and hauled away to build neighboring breakwaters, were always part of Lesa’mo’, but fractionalized and divided, just like the native peoples were by governments agents and church leaders. Still, those rocks knew that they remained part of Morro Rock, belonging to it no matter how far away.

Our traditional lands the Salinan People belong to count a large swath of what is now known as the Central Coast of California. Our 13 known villages stretched from Monterey County to the Santa Maria River, inland along the Temblor Mountains, and all along the coast, from Big Sur to south San Luis Obispo County. We lived along the length of the River now known as the Salinas with which we share our name, from its Adelaide headwaters flowing north into Monterey. But our ancestors – whether known today as Salinan, Chumash, Yokat, or European Colonizers – didn’t own any of that land. The Land owned them. They shared what they had with any who joined with them, as we do today. As we recognize the Creator’s truths – Everything Sacred, Everything Related; and celebrate Solstice together, I want to say that, if you are here, today you are Salinan. We are still here, and will be so tomorrow.

-Robert Piatti, Salinan Tribe of Monterey & San Luis Obispo Counties, Council Member, Cultural Preservation & Protection Lead