Da ow aga, the Sacred Lake of the Washoe
Near Incline Village, Nevada
Long before any of this had a name in English, this lake was the center of a world. For thousands of years the Washoe people, who call themselves Wa She Shu, have lived across the Great Basin and gathered each summer at the shore of the lake they call Da ow aga, meaning the edge of the lake. Many believe the modern name Tahoe comes from those very words.
Archaeologists have found stone tools and projectile points showing a Washoe presence here reaching back thousands of years, and the tribe's own history says they have belonged to this place since time began. Each spring, as the snow melted, families traveled up from the warmer Carson Valley to the cool lake to fish, to hunt deer and waterfowl, and to gather berries and seeds. But the gathering was not only about food.
The lake was sacred, a place of healing and of ceremony, the source of stories and traditions carried down the generations. To the Washoe this water is holy. When the snows melt they still bless the lake and themselves at its edge, a practice that has continued for countless years.
As you look out over that impossibly blue water, remember that you are standing in a cathedral older than any building, a place cared for and honored by the Washoe since long before the miners and the millionaires arrived.
