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Local News
Confluence
ize.
All that came to an end on March 10,
1957, when the US Army Corps of Engi-
neers completed the Dalles Dam, blocking
the course of the river, inundating the falls
and drowning the settlement of Celilo. Con-
gressional hearings had concluded that the
dam was needed to generate electricity and
wouldn’t violate tribal treaty rights.
In practice, the dam ruined the salmon
runs while destroying tribal economies.
It was the end of a whole way of life,
Minthorn says. “It decimated the salmon
until action was taken by the government to
restore the runs.”
To make sure the history is never forgot-
ten and to honor the legacy of the tribes, the
Confluence Project has chosen Celilo to
host a large public art installation. Artist
Maya Lin has designed “Celilo Arc,” a
curved walkway that will overlook the
Columbia at the site of the falls, where the
fishing platforms used to be.
Started in 2002, the Confluence Project
brings together the history, ecology and cul-
ture of the Columbia River through art
Land Bridge, which links Fort Vancouver to
the banks of the Columbia, and seven story
circles at Sacajawea Park, where the Snake
River meets the Columbia. Understanding
the past may make us better stewards of the
environment for the future.
Knowing what your ancestors contributed
to the story of our world is crucial because
it tells you who you are. Yet it comes with a
cost. When he learned about all those bro-
ken treaties, land thefts and destroyed lives,
Minthorn became overwhelmed with grief
and anger.
“I was very angry. It takes you a long time
to get over that as a young man,” he says.
Nevertheless, Minthorn went on to serve
six years in the US Marine Corps. He also
earned an urban and regional planning
degree and lived in the Bay area with his
family for a decade where he was active in
civil rights protests, before returning to the
Umatilla Indian Reservation in 1973.
Before long, he was elected to leadership
roles, serving as general chairman for Con-
federated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation and later as chairman of the
PHOTO BY HELEN SILVIS
continued from page 1
Antone Minthorn and Colin Fogarty discuss the history of Northwest tribes at
Celilo Park where the Celilo Arc will be installed.
a tributary of the Snake River. After catch-
ing several large salmon, he realized one of
the fish was leaking eggs. They stopped
immediately, and he told the boys.
“We should not be doing that. The salmon
are spawning so this is the wrong time to
fish.”
At Celilo, Confluence will invest $8.2
million to install “Celilo Arc,” and to
restore and redesign the land, improve facil-
ities at the site, and promote access to tribal
treaty fishing. The project is scheduled for
completion in 2016.
‘We need to recognize this area, not just for the
general public, but also for our own people.
Indian children don’t know about this history and
they need to’
tribes’ board of trustees. He helped the
tribes push for salmon restoration, while
struggling to create a sustainable economy
for Native peoples.
The introduction of tribal casinos and
gaming has helped, he says.
“We are always looking for ways to sus-
tain our tribal economy, because it’s always
changing.”
Sustainability has always been part of
PHOTO CREDIT U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
installations that tell visitors the story of the
land and its people.
“Even today the Native people’s perspec-
tive is often left out of our family story,”
said Colin Fogarty director of the Conflu-
ence project. “People don’t know about
Celilo Falls.
Minthorn, chair of the Confluence Pro-
ject’s board of directors, has helped guide
its vision from the start.
As for the salmon, Minthorn hopes
restoration efforts will restore their popula-
tions. Fish ladders and spillways at dams
have helped more fish survive their arduous
journey, and improving the habitat of
streams and estuaries also helps. And some
small dams have been removed.
Maybe someday, we’ll be ready to let the
larger hydroelectric dams go too.
“The falls may one day come back,”
Minthorn says. “Breaching the dams is not
off the table.”
Tribal fishermen continued the tradition of catching salmon from platforms next
to Celilo Falls during the 1950s.
“I was thinking about justice”, Minthorn
says. “Can art be part of justice? Yes it can.
“We need to recognize this area, not just
for the general public, but also for our own
people. Indian children don’t know about
this history and they need to.”
Lin collaborated with Pacific Northwest
tribes, civic groups and other artists to cre-
ate the 438-mile-long art project, along the
route of the Lewis and Clark expedition
from Clarkston, Washington, to Cape Dis-
appointment, where the Columbia River
meets the Pacific Ocean.
Other artworks include the Vancouver
tribal ways of living.
“The Celilo Falls Fishery was managed
by the native fishermen when the salmon
were running, and they would stop at cer-
tain times to let fish pass upriver to
spawning grounds,” Minthorn says.
“When the salmon runs were decimated in
the Columbia and Snake Rivers, in the
1970s, the Umatilla Tribes closed the fish-
eries. Today, they are still rebuilding those
salmon runs but from time to time salmon
fishing is allowed.”
One day, when Minthorn took his young
son and another boy fishing on the Lostine,
June 25, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 9