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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 1979)
Portland Observer Thursday. Septem ber 13. 1979 Page 6 Indian legends saved for new generations I t ’ s a cliche, but you can call members o f Oregon’ s coastal C oquille Indian Tribe “ vanishing Americans.” The language o f these 400 to 500 non-status Native Americans who reside in the Coos Bay area has long- since disappeared. And the tribe’s myth, legends and history— passed from generation to generation through the art o f story telling—also face the same fate. Dr. Lee P B ro w n , C o m m is sioner of Public Safety of Atlanta. G eorgia, w ill speak at the 10th A n n iv e rs a ry B lack S tu d ie s B a n q u e t a t P o rtla n d S ta te University. The banquet w ill be held at W estm inster Presbyterian Church on S eptem ber 28th For inform ation and reservations call 229 4003 To help stop this slide from vanishing to vanished, from present to past tense, an Oregon State U niversity anthropologist is com piling a high-quality audio tape that will contribute to the preservation o f the Coquille's spoken heritage. Professor Roberta Hall, with funds provided by the Oregon Arts Com mission, has recorded Coquille Tribe elders telling stories they heard back in the pre-reservation era. “ There are a number o f Coquille stories, real and mythical, that few tribal members know anymore. They haven’ t been recorded and these stories— if they aren't put down on tape—could disappear w ith the passing o f the trib a l elders,” ex plained Hall. "B u t just writing down the stories isn’ t good enough. They lose something in w ritten fo rm . The tribal elders learned the stories from their elders in the traditional man ner, the spoken w ord." Hall, graduate student Alison Otis and aide JoAnn King, spent the first week in August among tribal mem bers in Coos Bay compiling the tape. "W e have Coquille tribal members talking about well-known elders they knew early in this century. We also have stories about legendary events, as well as mythical characters such as the Coyote," said Hall. "Coyote is multi-faceted. To some people in some tales he is the mythical creator o f the human land scape, the one responsible for the world the Conquille knew and the one responsible for the humans and their role in the world. "Coyote is also a trickster, a wily individual with some attributes o f the anim al," Hall continued. "H e is a clever being who tricks and is tricked himself. Sometimes he even outsmarts himself. The stories themselves are both fanciful and down to earth. They're stories composed o f short episodes about an in d ivid u a l who is both more clever than most o f those whom he encounters, and at times, more fallible.” Hall cautioned that “ it may not be wise to try to read specific meanings into every story we’ ve recorded. These may have changed from story-telling situation to situation, and may tell more about the inter- preter than about the intent o f the story. “ Still I can’t resist venturing one general hypothesis: That to the an cient Coquille, the environment and the physical world was a world im bued with meaning; the events and forces that shaped the natural world were considered significant and the activities o f humans w ithin that sphere also were significant. How one lived—this mattered, not just to oneself and one's immediate kin, but it could affect even the core o f the physical w orld.” The audio tape, when finished will be more than two hours in length. Copies will go to the Coquille Tribe, the Folklore Archives at the Univer sity o f Oregon, Southwest Com munity College in Coos Bay which furnished facilities for the project and OSU’ s anthropology depart ment. Last year at the request o f the C oquilles, H all produced a genealogy o f the tribe It was made available to the 50 some families who participated in the 1978 C oquille Oral Traditions project, sponsored by Earthwatch, a private founda tion that provides funds and volun teers for field studies. A t the conclusion o f the report on that field p roject, H all suggested three other projects. One was the compilation o f the audio tape. The other two projects, still in the future, are in the areas o f living archeology and ethnobotany. “ For the livin g archeology project, we’d like to try to recon struct Coquille artifacts and see if they work. Part o f this project would center around possible construction o f an interpretive center fo r the trib e ." The ethnobotany project would be concerned with herbs and medicines used by the ancient Coquilles. Program aids Indian students The Indian Support Program (ISP), a coordinated project o f the United Indian Students o f Higher Education (UISH E) w ill be avail able to Indian students at Portland State University again this fall. ISP is a higher education program to help Indians who want to go to college or who already attended college in the Portland area. Services include academic advising, guidance and financial aid counseling, and they are free to admitted students. Persons interested in know ing more about the program may call coordinator Marilyn James at 229- 4505, or stop by her office in 439 Smith Center (1825 S.W. Broad way). AM ELECTRIC ENERGY IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME. Children's Week planned September 29th through October 7th has been declared Children’ s Re source Week in Portland. There are two major activities being planned for the week to coincide with Inter national Year o f the Child. On Saturday, September 29th, at the Masonic Temple the IYC Fair will kick o ff the week with the theme— “ Portland, What’s In It For C hild ren.” The IYC Fair w ill provide in formation about community involve ment and service organizations, what is available and how to use it. It will be fun and entertaining fo r the children, as well as educational for all Ending the week will be “ Family Fair: Choices in Birth and Parent in g ." This year’s fair is an expansion o f enthustically attended fairs held in 1977 and 1978 to bring pertinent in formation on birth and parenting to »ie childbearing and childrearing public. For 1979, the sponsors o f Family Fair have developed broader objectives and expanded the amount o f inform ation available to partici pants. It is located at the Memorial Coliseum complex. Any questions, call Marsha at 227-3905. 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Send your idea to: E lectric Energy Ideas; Pacific Power & Light; Box 155; Portland, Oregon 97207. ENERGY SOLUTIONS. IT’LL TAKE THE TWO OFU&YOU AND... The People at Pacific Power
