Langford Roger “Lanny” Pinola

1938–2003

Langford Roger “Lanny” Pinola was a long-time associate of the Drake Navigators Guild.  He was born on the Kashia Pomo Reservation located in Northwest Sonoma County at Stewart’s Point.  When he was 6 years old, he and his family moved to Sebastopol, and after growing up in the Sonoma area, Pinola graduated from Brigham Young University.  As an adult, Pinola was active in in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and he served as a Coast Miwok elder.  In 2000, Pinola retired from his position as an interpretive ranger stationed at Point Reyes National Seashore.

In his work as a ranger at the Seashore, Pinola brought to life the Coast Miwok cultural exhibit, the community of Kule Loklo. There, he educated thousands of school children about traditional ways.  For many years, he was also the director of dance and ceremonial celebrations that persisted at Kule Loklo village. 

Pinola participated in the California Indian Storytellers Association and was the Sonoma Mission Indian Memorial Foundation’s vice president.  Pinola also helped begin the annual Strawberry Festival, a traditional blessing and celebration of spring.  This festival’s many expressions included ceremonies, dancing, demonstrations, and games. In 1991—in recognition of his work that promoted increased awareness of indigenous people of America, Pinola received the United States Department of the Interior's Stewardship Award. 

Pinola frequently attended DNG meetings where he often shared artifacts and taught about their significance.  From Pinola, we know of the Coast Miwok oral tradition that described the seaborne mariners as arriving on baskets made of wood. He coordinated with DNG members Corrine Swall and Robert Allen to further knowledge of the Coast Miwok’s encounter with Drake.  With Swall, Pinola worked to produce the Drake Pageant heritage celebration.  In this re-enactment of Drake’s 1579 landing, Pinola was the pageant’s dance master. Pinola also shared the Coast Miwok oral tradition that mariners arriving by ship were described as coming in baskets made of wood. Additionally, Pinola assisted in Allen’s construction and demonstration of a traditional tule-reed canoe, a vessel which Allen later paddled across Racoon Strait within San Francisco Bay. 

Pinola’s deep knowledge of traditional culture was critical to adding authenticity to the Pageant and tule-reed canoe, both important aspects of the Coast Miwok story and their encounter with Drake.

DNG File Image