Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 23, 1999)
SpilyayTymoo Warm Springs, Oregon September 23, 1999 3 "By Hand Through Memory" An introduction of the little known journey of the Indian nations of the Columbia River Plateau as they traveled from reservation confinement to the computer age. F I !, ill- W J - I ... s.' A- .... -i Beaded buckskin dresses. If X i i . '. " ' f v - air e Ji . J - - . vife. vs-v J ' -VM :' j:V: W 'V W' ! 1 3 j - W"" J -3.-. , ... (ST Fishing tools belonged to Hank Palmer. "I : " I ' ' iff, ' ' : 9 ;l;7 (''! I Baskets used for picking huckleberries. Tommy Thompson, third generation artifacts. High Desert Museum held the Grand Opening of the new Henry J. Casey Hall of Plateau Indians and its inaugural exhibit, By Hand Through Memory. The long-anticipated event represents many years of planning, scholarship, tribal consultation and fund raising following the gift of the 7000-item Doris Swayze Bounds Collection to the Museum in 1990. By Hand Through Memory, a title taken from a poem written by Warm Springs author Elizabeth Woody, will tell the story of how the Native Americans of the Columbia River Plateau region, through memory, adaptation and spiritual tradition, transformed reservations in the 20th century from places of confinement to sanctuaries of cultural exchange and empowerment. The exhibit is a walk-through experience emphasizing the personal lives of Plateau individuals, authentic artifacts and memorabilia, rare historic photography, live salmon and sturgeon habitats, displays of traditional and contemporary artwork, and a video theater featuring work by native videographers. The National Endowment for the Humanities, a major donor to the $6.2 million exhibit wing, ; . ... lil r r v has called the exhibit a project of "uncommon value" and a "model for other museums." The new hall, along with an enhanced entryway and visitor lobby, comprises a nearly 10,000-square-foot addition. The centerpiece of A New Plateau campaign, a $20 million fundraising effort begun in 1994, the hall is the largest single expansion project at the Museum since the completion of the Earle A. Chiles Center of the Spirit of the West in 1989. By Hand Through Memory will introduce visitors to the little known journey of the Indian nations of the Columbia River Plateau as they traveled from reservation confinement to the computer age. The exhibit will show the process of cultural change as the peoples of the Plateau nations, the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, Yakama, Spokane, and Colville and others made the passage to modernity. It will present the first serious study of a distinctive cultural group and the broad story of the twentieth century reservation experience. To tell this complex story, the exhibit will depart from traditional depictions of Native Americans and portray them as active historic players whose practical efforts to retain cultural memory enabled them to retain their ethnic identity. Featured in the exhibit will be the Doris Swayze Bounds Collection, a major collection of Native American artifacts donated to the Museum in 1990. Amassed over a period of 80 years by Doris Bounds, the late chair of the Board of Inland Empire Bank, the Bounds Collection reflects both purchases by her and gifts given to her by Native Americans in recognition of a lifelong respect for their culture. A soft-spoken woman, she had many friends among the North American tribes. She was an adopted member of the Blackfeet, and had deep connections with the peoples of the Wasco, Walla Walla, Sioux, Navajo, Umatilla, NezPerce, Yakima, and other tribes. Born in Indian Territory in what is now Muskogee, Oklahoma, she moved to Oregon as a young child, growing up in close association with the people of Umatilla reservation. Continued on page 8 I - r i ..." : 1 rw v , t$ i it. " " ? -4 Root diggers in ceremonial digging clothes. Spilyay Tymoo photos by Selena Boise "A 4 Beaded bag. 1 1