ARTS
& CULTURE
TRIBAL ELDER-
SPEAKS AT COLLEG
'Mr
»
r
TRY A N D PHOTO S Q U A R E D TR EBLE
L l S &. CULTURE E ÍW 0R
On Wednesday October 9 students and
¡ acuity were visited by guest speaker
!’ Esther Stutzman, a Cobs and Kommema
Kalapuya elder with a passion for
storytelling. Stutzman, invited by the
Horticulture Department, spoke about
her people and their favored plants,
< hough the speaking quickly succeeded
’ he topic of plants.
The tribe of the Kalapuya settled
here in the early i8oo*s and have
00ts throughout all of Oregon and
, he Willamette Valley, including
Clackamas-, Molalla and Multnomah
County. Approximately 4,000 Kalapuya
descendants are around today;
Stutzman has been telling stories all
fjver Oregon for over 50 years, from
classrooms to stages, .spreading the
word of the ways o f her people and the
¡ ives they lived.
“We’re here and we’re a very real
* >art of society. People from all walks
>f life. Teachers, doctors, lawyers,”
Stutzman said. An enrolled member
)f the Confederated Tribe of Siletz,
Stutzman also serves as chair of
1 he Kommema Cultural Protection
Association which dedicates itself to
researching the Kalapuya.
horn in 1943, Stutzman grew up in Coos
hay with her father. “The native people
Esther Stutzman addresses an eager audience in the McLoughlin Auditorium on Oct. 9.
had ways of including every natural Signing petitions. Join a cause.. Study
food group in their diet. There’s so. the issues and vote,” Stutzman said.
many additives now that a lot of time “ Making your voice heard. Too many
people are getting sick from them,” people are afraid of their voice being
Stutzman said. “ I went hunting with heard out Of fear that they might be
everyone in my family, we hunted all slapped down for it. You need to be
the time. We had a lot of friends that vocal.”
had land near our place, sometimes
we’d go on the outskirts of Coquille
up in the hills. Sometimes in our own “ We’re here and we’re a very real
backyard.” Venison is Stutzman’s
favorite food from the past, along with
part o f society. People from all
Salmon.
Stutzman
has
witnessed
the
destruction of the ecosystem firsthand walks o f life. Teachers, doctors,
over the course of her life, from oceans
to farming. “ Growing up in Coos Bay,
I can say that a lot of overfishing had lawyers...”
been done,” Stutzman said. ‘Tven
though there are many environmental -Esther Stutzman
groups that pay attention to that,
there’s still way too many people that
When asked what Stutzman would
don’t understand the preservation of like to see more of today, she replied
nature. They think it’ s going to be here respect. “ Our teachings were based on
forever but it’s not. The population is respect. Especially respect for elders.”
too demanding.”
Stutzman said. “Also respect for each
While many people believe the issue other which is something that I find
of climate change and other world absent now and I think a part o f that
defects are irreversible, Stutzman is the loss of core family life. We don’t
believes anyone can positively impact have the family groupings and the
the well being of our earth.
extended families like we used to.”
“ Individually you can do a lot. As for her thoughts on what life meant
: iackamas Print — ------------------------- --------------------------- — -------- theclackamasprint.com
to her; Stutzman stated that life means
loving those around you and those
who will come after you. “ I think the
epitome of the best way of life is being
kind to each other and respecting
each other. That goes such a long
way. It takes little things to remind
people that there’s mutual respect,”
Stutzman said. “Also the ability to talk
to each other, and respecting kids. It’s
something that nobody does anymore.
Kids arelooked at as little adults and
that doesn’t work. You have to respect
them and they’ll remember that
someone listened to them and didn’t
just dismiss them.”
Stutzman is currently - working
diligently to revive and revise her
native language and, with help from
other elders, she will surely accomplish
her task as surely as she will continue
to tell the tales of her people. As long as
people are willing to open their minds
and hearts and truly listen, the ways
of the Kalapuya will contribute to the
recovery o f planet that grows tired of
us. As the hour and a half presentation
came to an end, Stutzman left the
audience with something to hold on
to. “ We all have to look at ourselves as,
healers, because we are the healers of
the earth.”
October 16,2019