Hitch Stories

FAIN: PN-295900-24

University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA 94704-5940)
Jun Sunseri (Project Director: May 2023 to present)
Jeremy Sorgen (Co Project Director: February 2024 to present)
Luis Santana (Co Project Director: February 2024 to present)

The creation of a StoryMap to document the history of the hitch fish and its cultural significance to the Tribal peoples of the Clear Lake region of California.

“Hitch Stories” is an Esri interactive StoryMap that documents and preserves oral histories and contemporary efforts surrounding the threatened and culturally significant Clear Lake Hitch. Robinson Rancheria and other Clear Lake Tribes, for whom the Hitch are a sacred species of fish and traditional food source, will lead the project with the support of UC Berkeley researchers. This team will recruit and train Tribal youth in interview techniques, ArcGIS, and audio/visual recording and editing software to gather Tribal Elders’ stories about the Hitch, land use histories in and around Clear Lake, and related archival materials. These materials will then be curated on the Esri platform and, through a process of Tribal review, made available online to the public. Possible additional outcomes, depending on Tribal priorities, include additional trainings in GIS and data management, fisheries ecology and watershed management experience, and certification in these skills with Robinson Rancher