Amiran White
Members of the Chinook canoe family wait for their turn during protocol, held in Puyallup after the annual Tribal Canoe Journey.
New exhibit sheds light on Chinook
tribes’ struggle for federal recognition
Documentary photography,
baskets, carvings and more
feature Tansy Point
BY LISSA BREWER
Amiran White has a message to share from
the Chinook people. The photographer, who
has spent many years documenting the five
tribes together known as the Chinook Indian
Nation, hopes to increase public awareness
of the tribes’ decadeslong struggle for federal
recognition.
The Clatsop, Wahkiakum, Kathlamet,
Lower Chinook and Willapa tribes “have
resided at the mouth of the Columbia River
since time immemorial,” writes Tony A.
(naschio) Johnson, chairman of the Chinook
Indian Nation. Johnson’s words appear in a
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‘ntsayka ilii: our place’
On display at Astoria Visual Arts through
April 3.
1000 Duane St., Astoria
Open from noon to 4 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays
astoriavisualarts.org
book of photographs and essays, also featur-
ing White’s documentary work. These images
showcase Chinook ancestral lands, canoes, gar-
ments and ceremonies, aiming to illuminate the
tribes’ history, challenges and enduring cultural
traditions. “I got involved about seven years
ago when I first heard their story at the Univer-
sity of Oregon. Tony Johnson and some of his
family were there and gave a talk,” White said.
“It is quite remarkable, everybody continues
to have this true resilience, just marching for-
ward,” she added.
The photographer’s latest exhibit, in col-
laboration with a group of Chinook artists,
explores that very resiliency, using past and
present images, carvings, baskets and informa-
tional pieces. “ntsayka ilii: our place,” a title
drawn from the Chinook Wawa language, is
now on display at Astoria Visual Arts through
April 3. The exhibit chronicles the tribes’ rela-
tionship to Tansy Point, where Chinook vil-
lages once stretched along the Columbia’s
waterways.
“This exhibit is about the tribe’s acquisition
of some land at Tansy Point, and their relation-
ship to that land, why it’s so special to them.
So there are some images from Tansy Point,
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