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As of July 2007
In 1998 Suscol Council purchased twenty acres in Pope Valley, in north-east Napa County, to develop a cultural center for tribal people. This is a place to gather for ceremonies, collect medicinal plants, and hold workshops for youth and elders. It is available to urban Indians and landless tribes, as well as landed tribal groups needing a central location set up for group activities. It also preserves open space and educates the general public about the contemporary and pre-historic realities of California’s first peoples.
Timeline of the Suskol House Cultural Center:
- Nov 7, 2002 - Mortgage paid off
- December 2003 – Declared exempt from California State taxes
- March 2004 – Preliminary Design Phase completed
- March 2006 - Water source developed and piped to site
- June 2006 - Entrance and culvert completed
- July 2006 - Arbor poles set and ready for cover
- July-October 2007 - Arbor poles covered and cedar trees planted next to poles
- September 2007-2008 - Arbor Ceremony
- July 2008 to August 2009 -Prototypes of strawbail huts built
- Spring 2010– Phase II: Construction of “Suskol House”
Some of these foundations cannot provide funds until after building permits are authorized. While final planning proceeds we continue to raise funds through special events and individual donations. While waiting for permits and funding, construction of the Arbor has begun with donated labor and materials. The Arbor is an outdoor arena that will be shaded with willow branches and, as it has no foundation or walls, has not required permits to construct. The ground has been graded, the posts and beams are in place and the Arbor is now available for ceremonies and gatherings.
The Property has been officially designated as “open space” by the State of California.
The property is available for small ceremonies, medicinal plant gathering, and overnight camping by families and small groups. Temporarily, the outdoor kitchen provides adequate shelter for these purposes from spring through fall. When the main Suskol House structure is finished it will allow the cultural center to be open to larger groups on a year round basis.
Charlie Toledo: Chair of Building Committee of Suskol House Project
Please help us support Suskol House/ Arbor and Be a Part of the dream! Please Donate!
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Left bottom picture:
These pictures are the beginnings of the construction of the Native American Cultural Center in Chiles-pope Valley. See the first strawbail house being built above. This project will be a model combing sustainable, current and traditional building and eco-planning. It will be an Environmentally/ Eco-friendly designed building. The plans for the main Suskol House is pictured.
Bob Theis: Heads up the building of the prototype huts and Suskol House. He has been a part of over several decades as a designer and architect.
He was designing buildings at age twelve, and initially pursued professional studies and work in New York City, earning a Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute and a License in Architecture in New York State. His work in New York City focused on the adaptive reuse of historic structures.
He moved to California to work in the firm of Christopher Alexander, and subsequently studied with him at the University of California in Berkeley, earning his Masters in Architecture there, and a state license in 1990.
In 1993 he designed my first straw bale building, only the second in the state to receive a building permit, and the subsequent popularity of straw bale construction has permitted him to focus on ecological design, mostly in new buildings but also renovations of existing ones.
Thanks so much to Erica Ann, a Straw Bale Construction Assistant see: Day One Design and many volunteers! More pictures from Erica of the Suscol Strawbale hut.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Leland Falk: Thank you very much to Leland of Sea Ranch in Stewart's Point and friends for their donation of precious wool for the insulation of the straw bale huts.