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wanting to focus on taking a look into their
culture and how they told their own stories.
It also piqued interest in area bookstores,
“It was fun to research and we wanted
who wanted to make local history more
to write a book … my goal was to keep the
accessible. Ratty said Karen Emmerling,
story moving,” Ratty said. “But really it’s a
owner of Beach Books in Seaside, “planted
story of many voices. … I knew that every-
the seed” for “Broken Arrow.”
thing was not 100% right or wrong, it is full
Emmerling said customers at Beach
of myths and legends.”
Books were showing an increasing inter-
One of those legends was the Thunder-
est in the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse and
bird, an important symbol to Native Ameri-
the early Native American tribes of Oregon’s
can tribes along Oregon’s N orth C oast, Ratty
coast region. She said she felt there wasn’t a
said.
reliable source for information from a local
He worked with artist Douglas Zilke,
perspective.
based out of British Columbia, to create the
“These were suggested topics that we felt,
cover art for “Broken Arrow,” a Thunderbird
as a bookstore, there was a need for and an
and whale symbol. Though Zilke isn’t Native
interest in,” Emmerling said. “Brian has taken American himself, he specializes in Native
those on and done a great job with creating
American art. Ratty said the title for “Bro-
these two books, which have been very bene- ken Arrow” came from a movie he watched
fi cial for us to have. ”
as a child.
Emmerling has carried Ratty’s books
“I remember as a kid seeing a movie
in her store since at least 2014, and said the
where they had a fi ctional tribe, and the
relationship between local authors and local
movie was called ‘Broken Arrows,’” Ratty
booksellers is important to preserve history.
said. “Our government uses ‘broken arrow’
“I think it’s important that (authors) have
as a term for nuclear activity and chaos. To
an outlet where their works can be seen by a
Indians, ‘broken arrow’ means confl ict and
larger audience,” Emmerling said. “There is
distrust.”
defi nitely an interest from tourists in books
Ratty said he has seen the history of local
that are written either about the local area or
tribes gain a lot of respect, both in the impor-
by local authors.”
tance of their culture
Ratty also said that
and the integration of
‘I THINK RESPECT IS
part of a local author’s
Native American tribes
job is to write books
and white settlers. He
MORE IMPORTANT
that can educate and
noted that the tribes’
THAN ANYTHING.’
interest tourists and
skills in canoe mak-
Brian Ratty,
locals who are curious
ing, frontier justice
author of ‘Broken Arrow’
about the roots of their
and dance can still be
community.
seen in traces of Asto-
“Booksellers wanted
ria and other coastal
to do the same thing (as “The Tillamook
communities.
Rock Lighthouse”) with local Indian tribes,”
“I think respect is more important than
Ratty said, adding that the Native American
anything,” Ratty said. “The Indians were like
names of Oregon’s geographical regions and
a lost culture. They have a big place in our
landmarks often spark curiosity in both tour-
history. … Long before the white man came,
ists and locals. “They wanted to know, ‘where they had a vibrant culture. Not all of it good,
do these Indians come from and where are
but not all of it bad. … If we forget our his-
they now?’”
tory, we are destined to repeat it.”
Answering these questions posed unique
Emmerling believes understanding these
challenges to Ratty, and conducting research
fi rst people can help coastal communities bet-
during a pandemic didn’t help. Because
ter understand themselves.
in-person interviews and physical copies of
“(“Broken Arrow”) has just an important
documentation were hard to come by, Ratty
understanding of the indigenous people that
needed to vet other sources. He turned to the
lived in our community before us,” Emmer-
internet and a few rare books to fi ll in the
ling said. “I’m happy that we have had some-
gaps.
one who has that passion for history and that
“My golly, you couldn’t go to a library,
ability to do the research and write the books
you couldn’t go to a museum, you could
so that those stories can be carried on.”
hardly get any face-to-face with any experts,”
Ratty said the fi rst printing of “Broken
Ratty said. “My wife and I really did enjoy
Arrow” was the fi rst of his books to sell out
writing it, but it was awfully hard to (talk
in two weeks. The second printing of “Bro-
to) anyone. … What you read on the inter-
ken Arrow” came in late August and is avail-
net, that doesn’t make it right. An out-of-date able at local bookstores from Ilwaco, Wash-
book doesn’t make it right. But it’s better
ington, down to Tillamook.
than most.”
“I’m surprised at how well it’s doing,”
He put an emphasis on the history, myths
Ratty said. “It’s going to be around here for a
and legends of the Native American tribes,
while.”
Library of Congress
A photo taken in 1901 of a display of Northwest coast Native American artifacts.
ORIGINAL FINE ART
on the waterfront
port of ilwaco, wa
marie-powell.com
360-244-0800
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 // 7