Many of her relatives were Buffalo Soldiers including her dad, Dr. Dobson, several of her uncles and cousins who were part of the last regiment of Buffalo Soldiers who fought in Germany in WWII. Yemanya regularly participates in re-enactments in the Sacramento area wearing traditional deer skin dress. The re-enactment of a buffalo soldiers encampment with a Native American maiden as recreated is shown here in Marysville, CA, Allensworth, CA, and Nicodemus, Kansas (one of the first free black settlements in the United States following the Civil War.) Yemanya’s handmade deerskin is a replica of authentic Black/Native American dress.
Descended from Dutch, French & German immigrants, Native Americans and former slaves who followed W.R. Hill to Nicodemas, Kansas in 1877, Nicodemas is the only remaining black town west of the Mississippi established after the Civil War. Many of Yemanya's relatives live there to this day. History of Nicodemus.
Yemanya's arts heritage comes from her aunts and grandmothers who passed quilting, natural medicines, Youruba language, dance and history to her as a young child. (Sisters of the Eastern Star) The purposes and goals of the Order of the Eastern Star is to provide an organization where women and men with high moral and social character can contribute time, energy and wisdom to the Order with Charity, Truth and Loving-kindness for the good of all mankind throughout the world.
Film Credits
Yemanya has appeared in multiple films including:
- American Graffiti 2
- Get Patty Hearst
- The Autobiography of Jacquelyn Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
- She created original costumes for the film Life on the Edge, by Loni Frankland. Life on the Edge Movie for the trailer on You Tube or the web site LifeOnTheEdgeMovie.com.
She also plays a part in the film which is a futuristic look at personal freedom. Shown at the Vine Cinema in Livermore, California and the California Independent Film Festival in 2007 to a sold out audience.
- Yemanya’s documentaries and showings of her dance performances are regularly on Channels 17 & 18 and on Good Morning Sacramento.