East Oregonian : E.O., March 26, 2016, WEEKEND EDITION, Image 19

LIFESTYLES
Nixyaawii
student art
on display/3C
Tulip Fest
rings in
spring/4C
WEEKEND, MARCH 26-27, 2016
Drone racing
draws pilots
of all ages/9C
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A donated old photograph of the Tutuilla Presbyterian Church with teepees and horses circa 1900.
History comes home
Ledger, letters give glimpse into past
ment list. “We live with the consequences
of it daily, but to see the handwriting and
the notations and the names …”
She let the sentence drift off. Many of
Wes Potter loves to play detective with
the names had been mangled by agents
his own family history.
7KH$ODVNDPDQZRUNVWR¿OOLQDOOWKH over the years, similar to the misspelling
blanks on his family tree and he cherishes of the names of immigrants entering Ellis
family artifacts. Keeping one such heir- Island.
“They
were
loom, however,
written
by
didn’t feel right.
those who had
This
week,
understanding of
Potter gave an
English, but not
old handwritten
native languages,”
ledger
once
said Collections
possessed by his
Curator Randall
great-grandfather
Melton,
who
to the Tamastslikt
also
inspected
Cultural Institute.
the ledger. “They
To some, the
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
wrote down what Wes Potter looks on as Tamastslikt Director Roberta Conner thumbs
ledger from the
through a
they heard.”
late 1800s might
ledger owned by his great-grandfather during his time as the Indian agent for
He said Wilkins the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in the late 1800s.
look like a dusty
likely
inherited Potter donated the ledger and other historical items owned by his great-grand-
old
notebook,
the ledger from father to the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute in Mission.
but not to those
agents who had
who recognize its
come before him, were wide-ranging. One “Yes, we already have and look at it every
VLJQL¿FDQFH
day.”
but hadn’t used it letter, written in 1856,
P o t t e r ’s
Another is from a
gave
free
passage
to
a
the
information,
but
during his years at
great-grandfather,
grateful
vagabond who
member
of
the
tribe.
the post.
Charles Wilkins
this is written in first was repaying a debt to
“The bearer,” the
Potter said he
Sr., served as an
person. Glimpsing Wilkins.
had called Conner letter said, “must not be
Indian
agent.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
³, HQFORVH ¿YH
molested,
nor
his
prop-
He was the man Ledger art on the back of a letter depicting about a year ago
these
handwritten
dollars
in payment of
erty
interfered
with.
I
responsible for two tribal men wearing ceremonial garb to inquire about
the
money
loaned to
will
not
permit
anyone
whether
she
i m p l e m e n t i n g with a horse.
pages transports one me when I was
on the
would be inter- to take his horses. All
federal
Indian
tramp,
as
a
beggar,
on
persons
are
warned
to
to a different time.”
policy on the Confederated Tribes of ested in the small collection of artifacts.
the
ninth
of
September,”
let
him
alone
as
he
is
the Umatilla Indian Reservation from His mother, who lives in Hillsboro, had
— Randall Melton, the letter began.
1897 to the early 1900s. A century later, toured the museum and was impressed. under my protection
collections curator
Everyone
gazed
and
at
present
employed
Potter came into possession of a leather Though he valued the items, he didn’t feel
with
interest
at
the
by
me
...”
satchel belonging to his great-grandfather good about keeping them. It was a matter,
early
photo
of
Tutuilla
Church.
The
Another
is
a
1903
letter
from
a
Wilkins. Inside was a register where KHVDLGRIEULQJLQJWKHPKRPHRUVWXI¿QJ
35-year-old Missouri widower to a woman teepees surrounding the church likely
various Indian agents had recorded in them back in a closet.
“I think they will do the right thing he addressed as “Miss Sacajawea.” He had been occupied by parishioners who
cursive every person in the tribe until
had seen her picture in the newspaper and had traveled a long distance. Potter asked
1892 and the allotment of land each had with them,” he said.
directions so he could take a modern
The leather bag also contained a stack cut it out.
been assigned.
“I fell deeply in love with you and photo. Eventually, he said goodbye, got
This week, Potter sat at a table in a of letters, a drawing of tribal men and a
Tamastslikt conference room and watched black-and-white early 1900s photo of the would give anything on earth to see you back into his rented Hyundai and drove
Tamastslikt Director Roberta Conner page Tutuilla Presbyterian Church with teepees … I have plenty of money,” he wrote, “but about three miles to the church. He got
gingerly through the ledger. Potter, a tall, around it. Melton read some of the letters have no one to share it with … I have cut out and walked around the old building,
EHDUGHG FDUHHU $UP\ RI¿FHU ZKR JUHZ through their plastic sleeves. The topics your picture out and carry it in my pocket rebuilt since the church was established in
DQGWKH¿UVWEXLOGLQJEXUQHGGRZQ
up on a ranch near Enterprise, smiled as
He stared down at words in the concrete
Conner become absorbed in the book and
sidewalk that proclaimed it as the “First
explained what she was seeing.
FKXUFKRIWKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW´$VWKH
“This is a census,” Conner said. “What
FORXGVVSLWWLQ\UDLQGURSVDQGZLQGUXIÀHG
it shows us is that (in 1892) there are 393
his shirt, he snapped some photos with his
Cayuses, 196 Umatillas and 455 Walla
Fuji camera.
Wallas. That totals 1,043.”
Back at Tamastslikt, Melton said each
She explained that following the
of the artifacts would be scanned, placed
treaty of 1855, the federal government
in sleeves and put into the museum’s
eventually broke the communally held
archive vault. The vault is temperature
reservation into individual allotments.
and humidity controlled and was built to
“This is the beginning of a system that
EH HDUWKTXDNH SURRI 7KH YDXOW LV ¿OOLQJ
dissects the reservation into small pieces
rapidly with artifacts donated by people
of individual ownership,” she said.
such as Potter. Built to house 50 years of
Allotments ranged in size, totaling
artifacts, the vault is nearing capacity after
HLWKHURUDFUHV7KH¿UVWQDPH
only 15. Now, he said, artifacts are scru-
in the book is Philip Minthorn, a Cayuse
tinized more closely to determine direct
known as Kash-Kash, who was 49 years
VLJQL¿FDQFH WR WKH &78,5 7KH OHGJHU
old and had an allotment of 160 acres as
though, was a keeper.
head of household. Chief No Shirt headed
“Yes, we already have the information,
the Walla Walla list. Moses Minthorn was
EXWWKLVLVZULWWHQLQ¿UVWSHUVRQ´0HOWRQ
WKH¿UVW8PDWLOOD
said. “Glimpsing these handwritten pages
Conner said the tribe already has allot-
transports one to a different time.”
ment information on a digitized map, but
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
———
the ledger is a connection with history and Wes Potter looks around while taking photographs at the Tutuilla Presbyterian
Contact
Kathy
Aney at kaney@
Church recently on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
those who have gone before.
eastoregonian.com
or
call 541-966-0810.
east
of
Pendleton.
“It’s a big deal,” she said of the allot-
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian