ABSTRACT
This is a personal story of one family over six generations as told by a member of the fifth generation, Pyuwa Bommelyn, and his wife Ruby Tuttle. The story begins with the murder of Pyuwa’s third great0grandparents by white settlers, and the subsequent generations of further traumatic events and comcomitant cultural and language decline. Healing began with the generation of Pyuwa’s grandmother, who insisted on the reinstatement of Tolowa ceremonies. The healing was carried on and expanded by his talented father, Loren Bommelyn, who became a ceremonial leader, scholar, and fluent speaker of the Tolowa language. Pyuwa tells his own language story of making Tolowa a central part of his life and of the extraordinary efforts he and his wife Ruby have made to grow their children as healthy bilinguals.
