Ochurte, Rufino, 189?-1977

Rufino Uchurte was probably the last Kiliwa Indian who was able to teach others about his native culture. He could teach it because he believed in it and because he lived it. There was a benignness that characterized Rufino, the memory of which will live long beyond his death, which occurred April 18, 1977. But his kindliness was only one facet of this gentle man. Underlying an aura of simplicity dwelled a sensitive, wise, courageous, generous, and affectionate man. He had a vast knowledge and understanding of his world and of himself which added up to an extraordinary dignity.

<p>Short and stocky, Mixco may not be central casting’s Indiana Jones. But for years, from 1965 to 1993, he took off for two or three months at a time for high adventure. He studied the Mandan language in North Dakota for five years, and spent many more years doing field research in the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. At the beginning, he says, it was “naïveté” and a grant from the Survey of California Indian Languages that enticed him to drive over mountain passes (“all dirt, sometimes mud”) to seek the small, isolated villages of hardscrabble existences and little-known languages. But as trust was developed and stories were told, the relationships and the fascination with the culture, as well as the academic thrill of linguistic discovery, deepened Mixco’s commitment.</p>
<p>During this time he met 80-year-old Rufino Ochurte, whom Mixco describes as “one of the most interest ing people I have met in my life.” Ochurte lived in the Arroyo del Leon region, some one hundred miles south of the United States border, and was one of only 12 people who spoke the now-extinct Kiliwa language. Based on extensive interviews conducted over several years, Mixco wrote Kiliwa Texts, with the subtitle, “When I Have Donned My Crest of Stars,” a quote taken from an interview with Ochurte (see side bar).</p>