Filmmaker's trial rolls to conviction

No one complained when a Sonora artist filmed a festival of American Indian dances in Yosemite National Park in June 2002.

Three years later, a park service worker spotted a video of the "Yosemite Big Time" event in a gift shop in the Indian Museum, not far from the spectacular waterfalls that draw 3.5 million tourists to the valley each year, and raised a red flag.

Next came an investigation by a park ranger, followed by three misdemeanor charges and two years of litigation.

Late last month, Lorenzo Baca was convicted of trespassing on a cultural resource and doing business in the park without a permit. His legal saga may wrap up Tuesday, when the park's sole judge, U.S. Magistrate William Wunderlich, is scheduled to hand down Baca's punishment.

Baca turned down a plea agreement but said he has no regrets, because he wanted to confront his accusers in court.

He said he had a relationship with the museum that sold the silver jewelry he makes and agreed to stock some videos to see if they would sell. The dancers gave him permission to film, he said, accepting four turkey wings with feathers they could use in their costumes as a gesture of good faith.

"To me, that was a gentleman's agreement," said Baca, 60, who was acquitted of filming in the park without a permit.

The 30-minute film depicts an annual American Indian festival that takes place near a ceremonial roundhouse in the Indian Village during Father's Day weekend.

According to a criminal complaint filed by the National Park Service's law enforcement office, the film includes interviews with park employees and shows Baca stepping over a sign that says the public may not enter the roundhouse.

Baca, a native of Arizona and member of the Isleta Pueblo/Mescalero Apache tribe, is credited as the producer, director, narrator and writer of the film that was available in DVD or video format for $30.

The leader of a Mewuk group that danced that day told the authorities that they agreed to participate in a film that was for home or educational use, but did not anticipate any commercial sales.

Baca, who screened the film at a festival in Palm Springs in 2004, said he distributed about 20 copies, giving away half of them. He said he is trying to preserve American Indian traditions but has been hounded by critics who think he is making money off their culture.

"There's no profit in this kind of work," said Baca, who has a day job as a American Indian spiritual leader in the chaplain's division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Baca faces up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000 for each of the two counts, the maximum punishment for a misdemeanor allowed under federal law. Only the most hardened criminals receive maximum sentences and Baca's attorney can argue for a fine or community service.

As the dispute worked its way through the park's legal system, Baca gained support from an unexpected source: the descendants of the Mono Paiutes, who think they have been written out of the history books.

Dean Sam of Sacramento, a retired state worker who lobbies the park service for greater recognition of the Paiute culture, said Paiutes were pushed out of the valley when white men discovered Yosemite in 1850, letting Mewuks, who were scouts for the white men, move in.

Sam's ears perked up when he heard that Baca was being prosecuted for trespassing in the roundhouse, because the roundhouse is a replica of something Mewuks, not Paiutes, may have used.