LIFESTYLES
WEEKEND, JUNE 10-11, 2017
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Chris Howard and Woody Simmons, both of Walla Walla, watch a video of Celilo Falls projected into a miniature theater in the Celilo: Progress Versus
Protest exhibit on Wednesday at Tamastslikt Cultural Institute in Mission.
Progress silences Celilo Falls; stories keep its memory alive
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
A
lthough just a baby when the waters
of Celilo Falls went silent just more
than 60 years ago, Fred Hill passes
on stories to keep the memory alive.
“I never got the privilege to see Celilo
Falls,” he told a crowd during “Stories
& Songs,” a May 31 Pepsi Primetime @
the Museum presentation at Tamástslikt
Cultural Institute.
“The falls died, according to the stories
and things that I’ve heard, on March 10,
1957,” added Thomas Morning Owl,
who also is too young to have firsthand
memories.
The presentation coincided with the
museum’s current exhibit, “Celilo: Progress
Versus Protest.” The display, which remains
through July 14, tells the story of the
demise of the falls as a result of construc-
tion of The Dalles Dam.
“We predicted many years ago that the
dams would kill the salmon. We were a
voice in the wilderness. We were told by
the government and everyone else to keep
our mouths shut — we need the electricity,”
reads a caption attributed to Richard T.
Pressey, a biologist who worked for both
federal and state fish agencies.
On the morning of March 10, 1957,
the massive floodgates on the newly
constructed dam were closed. Within hours
Celilo Falls, located approximately 13
miles upstream, disappeared beneath the
rising water.
John Caldbick said the falls extended
across the entire river. At approximately 40
feet high, he described the Columbia River
as tumbling into a series of chutes, rapids,
eddies and narrows through the basalt rock.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Part of the exhibit asks people to write their family names on a tag and place it on a map of
the Columbia River where their families traditionally fished near the Celilo Falls area.
Throughout the early part of the 20th
century, American Indians used dip nets,
gaff hooks and spears to catch fish at Celilo
Falls. Later, the elaborate construction of
fishing scaffolds — or platforms — were
popular from the mid-1930s on. After a
number of deaths as fishermen were swept
into the churning water, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs required the use of harnesses
that secured fisherman to the platforms or
the shore.
Dorothy Cyr, who attended the “Stories
& Songs” presentation, said her father-
in-law, Wilfred Yallup, described the sound
of the pre-dam falls.
“He said it was like a freight train,” she
said. “It was really loud.”
Hill and Morning Owl said many stories
have been passed down about the day the
falls went silent. Morning Owl said a lot of
people, including
some elders, didn’t
think it would
really happen.
“When the falls
died, the sound
died,” Morning
Owl said. “You
could just hear
the wind and the
sound of people
crying. They
wailed.”
For thousands
of years, Celilo
Falls was a
gathering place
— Thomas Morning Owl
for the Plateau
peoples — a
place where they fished, traded goods and
shared common bonds. In addition to seven
species of salmonids, the museum display
indicates Celilo was known for its lamprey,
mussels, sturgeon and other fish.
Hill said his aunt Flora always shared
stories about Celilo Falls.
“When the falls
died, the sound
died. You could
just hear the wind
and the sound of
people crying.
They wailed.”
See CELILO/4C
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Fred Hill talks about his family and their relationship with Celilo Falls during Pepsi Prime-
time @ The Museum Series “Stories & Songs” at the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute.