Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2017)
4 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Books, gardening, hiking, hobbies, recreation, personalities, travel & more Connect to the Columbia Native elders, writers to lead story-driven discussion in Astoria By JON BRODERICK Some of us sometimes fi nd ourselves standing alone for a moment at Clatsop Spit on the Columbia River shore or atop the Astoria Column on Coxcomb Hill, surveying the estuaries, the tides, the dunes, forests and mountains from Cape Disappointment to, on a clear day, Mount St. Helens and think to ourselves, “If this land could talk.” Well, it sort of can. The Confl uence Story Gathering affords a rare op- portunity to listen to it in the voices of its indigenous peo- ple. The gathering takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Liberty Theatre in Astoria. Part of the ongoing Confl uence Project, the Story Gathering is a story-driven discussion, in a welcoming public forum, with a panel of native elders and leaders “designed,” says its executive director Colin Fogarty, “to elevate indigenous voices in our understanding of the Columbia River system.” In collaboration with Northwest tribes, commu- nities and celebrated artist/ architect Maya Lin, and with the support of the Oregon Community Foundation, says Fogarty, “Confl uence connects people to place through art and education. Most people know us through a series of six art landscape installations along the Colum- bia River system.” This weekend’s Confl u- ence Story Gathering follows the inaugural Story Gathering held last November at the Ta- mastslikt Cultural Institute on the Umatilla Indian Reserva- tion in Pendleton. Two others are planned, in Portland and The Dalles, this spring. The Story Gatherings feature video excerpts from interviews with tribal elders and leaders. “We wanted to take these interviews to the people. These are important stories that we should hear and that we should listen to as a community,” Fogarty explains. “This is fun and a long time coming,” said Umatilla elder Leah Connor at the fi rst Story Gathering in November. There attendees heard from folks like Johnny Jackson, Cascade Klikitat, who grew up fi shing at Celilo Falls. “That’s when the fi sh were strong. Not like today. We used to call them torpe- does, us kids. The Falls made them strong.” The Confl uence Story Gatherings includes panelists from different places along the river so the audience will have a sense of a people con- nected by the river. “Bands were not nation states,” explained Roberta Connor of the Umatilla people. “People were related up and down the river. By virtue of taboo rules, we couldn’t marry close, we had to marry outside our bands, so (people of different tribes) were related for thou- sands of years up and down the river.” Tribal nations, she ex- plained, were a creation of a U.S. Government that wanted to make treaties with families from around the Columbia, though these people al- ready enjoyed longstanding reciprocal arrangements to share space and resources. “People had the whole river for thousands of years and they had their places that their families belonged. Not having those places is painful to think about.” Her mother, Umatilla elder Leah Connor, remembered a story her grandmother told of violence that her village experienced near Celilo when her grandmother was 14. “The militia came and threw all their food in the river. Her mother and father were killed.” Connor’s grand- mother escaped up the river by canoe. “We have to keep telling these stories like the one my grandmother told. People need to know that someone canoed up the Co- lumbia River a long way, at the age of 14, so that we could be alive … Our ancestors did great, diffi cult things so that we could be here. That’s the focus. Not the violence, but the sacrifi ce.” Stories like these are part of the family histories of many native people. Some remember the “long walks” when, rounded up village by village, people were herded to reservation land. Among those participating in Astoria will be Tony John- son, chairman of the Chinook tribe, who is perpetually engaged in the tribe’s struggle to gain offi cial recognition from the federal government, a complicated story about local people that isn’t widely known. Joining him will be visual artist and Oregon Poet Laureate Elizabeth Woody, of Yakama Nation and Navajo Nation descent and a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. David Lewis, descended from Santiam Kalapuya, Chinook, Molalla, Takelma and Yoncalla Kalapuya people PHOTO BY DAMIAN MULINIX SUBMITTED PHOTO Chinook Tribal Chairman Tony Johnson is pictured at an annu- al First Salmon Ceremony. Johnson will speak at the Confl u- ence Story Gathering Feb. 18 in Astoria. Guest speaker Oregon Poet Laureate Elizabeth Woody is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and is of Yakama Nation and Navajo Nation descent. She has published three books of poetry, writes short fi ction and essays, and is a visual artist. and a member of the Confed- erated Tribes of Grand Ronde, will be there, too. Lewis, who has a Ph.D. in anthropology, is an expert on tribal histories of Oregon. “Anyone interested in enriching their knowledge about life along the Columbia would enjoy joining us,” says Courtney Yilk, Confl uence Project Program Manager. Admission is free. The Story Gathering is a remarkable op- portunity, Yilk says, “Where else can you talk to people of this background?” Where else can you listen to the land speak? The Confl uence Project is supported by the Oregon Community Foundation. Partners for the Astoria Story Gathering include Oregon Hu- manities, the Oregon Historical Society, the Columbia River Maritime Museum, the Liberty Theatre, the Astoria Column and KMUN. CONFLUENCE STORY GATHERING PHOTO BY NW DOCUMENTARY Roberta Conner, left, and her mother, Leah Conner, are members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. They spoke at the fi rst Story Gathering in No- vember on the Umatilla Indi- an Reservation in Pendleton. 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 Liberty Theatre 1203 Commercial St., Astoria 360-693-0123 Free SUBMITTED PHOTO The Astoria Confl uence Story Gathering will feature guest speaker and anthropologist David Lewis, right, who is an en- rolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
