Spi'fyy Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
August 7, 2005
P3ge5
Artist sees challenges, opportunities
By Dave McMechan
Spiljay Tymoo
Tribal artists face many chal
lenges, and unique opportunities
in marketing their work.
One person with great insight
into these challenges and oppor
tunities is artist and art advocate
Roxanne Chinook.
For the past two years Chi
nook has worked as the direc
tor of the art marketing pro
gram at Northwest Indian Col
lege. The college is in Bellingham,
Wash. Chinook has been work
ing there for the past two years.
"In order for Native Ameri
can artists to persevere in today's
economy," she said, "it is impera
tive that we learn to compete at
a much more aggressive level."
Tribal casinos, she says, pro
vide a unique opportunity for
Native artists to make their work
known to the buying public.
"I am ecstatic that Kah-Nee-Ta
now has a gallery to feature
tribal members' artwork," Chi
nook said of the resort's new
art gallery.
The Museum at Warm
Springs, she said, is an excellent
venue to display tribal member
artwork. "But a museum's role,"
she said, "is primarily to preserve
and exhibit artwork, and to edu
cate the public."
The casino is a better place
to display tribal artwork for po
tential sales, she said. "And we
create a greater recognition of
the continuity of Native Ameri
can art," said Chinook, "and how
the appropriation of these art
forms impacts the survival of
our culture."
For decades, she said, Native
' Submitted photo
Roxanne Chinook at her office at Northwest Indian College.
American art, cultural and spiri
tual symbols, artifacts and crafts
have been appropriated by the
Western world market economy.
"And they are way ahead of us
in marketing," said Chinook.
Developing ways for tribal
members to sell their art is a
main goal for Chinook, as di
rector of the Northwest Indian
College art marketing program.
In addition to advocating for
display of Native art at tribal
casinos, she advocates for tribes
to hire tribal member artists as
consultants during the casino
design process, building and re
modeling. Toward this goal she began
an advocacy campaign in 2002,
while living in Warm Springs.
She sent e-mails, letters and ar
ticles to tribal leaders, newspa
pers, casino management, archi
tectural firms and native com
munities nationwide.
Her effort gained recogni
tion: she was an invited guest on
the Native American Calling talk
radio show in April of 2002; and
Indian Gaming magazine pub
lished an article on Chinook in
May of that year.
She was an invited guest pan
elist at the Burke Museum in
Seattle earlier this year. The
topic was the "Indian-ness" of
Indian Art.
New marketing strategy
Through her job, Chinook
oversees an internet website,
www.ebuynativeart.com, an elec
tronic brochure of Native
American art. The site receives
over 100,000 hits per month.
Chinook was one of the
original artists recruited into the
Northwest Indian College art
marketing program.
Shortly after joining, she re
alized that the program needed
to change in order to continue
helping tribal artists and
craftspeople toward self-sufficiency.
Originally, the college devel
oped the program to help Na
tive artists by providing them
with a venue to sell their work
on-line, and generate enough
sales to sustain the art market
ing program.
However, after she re
searched similar Native Ameri
can and on-line galleries, art mar
keting resources and forums,
she found that products under
$50, such as prints, posters and
craft items are what generate
sales. Art directors, buyers and
collectors are more interested in
the old fashion way of viewing
and buying high-end art, but will
visit on-line galleries to gain in
formation about artists.
So she revised the art mar
keting program grant to reflect
the necessary change.
The program's primary focus,
she said, will always be to pro
vide assistance to Pacific North
west Native American artists.
The assistance is through promo
tion, education and preservation
of traditional and contemporary
fine art, crafts and culture.
The process of education has
to start at home, said Chinook.
By this she means that Native
American communities first
must honor their tribal artists by
buying only authentic native art,
and by offering venues to sell
their art. Toward this goals, she
said, a special thanks goes to
Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Re
sort and Casino, and the Warm
Springs Community.
Young poet receives
national recognition
Walsey Ike-Thomas will
travel to Orlando, Fla., to at
tend a national poetry award
conference, Aug. 28-Sept. 1.
Ike-Thomas, who will be a
senior at Madras High
School, has been busy lately
raising money for the trip.
He's held car washes with his
friends, and has more events
planned for this week.
On Friday, Aug. 8, he will
host a fundraiser from 11
a.m. till 3 p.m. at Elmer Quinn
Park. People contributing re
ceive a large slice of pizza and
drink; hamburger and hotdog
with chips and drink. Contri
butions of $3 are requested.
On Saturday, Aug. 9, he
will host a fundraiser behind
the Community Wellness Cen
ter. Food items include stew
and fry bread, plus a bake
sale. There will be a variety
of pies, cakes and cupcakes.
Contributions of $5 are re
quested. This fundraiser will
be from 11 a.m. until the
items for sale are gone.
Ike-Thomas has many in
terests besides poetry. These
include writing music, weav
ing baskets, and computer
science.
He is drug and alcohol
free. Ike-Thomas is a good
role model for his younger
sisters, said his mother Lovie
Ike.
Walsey has pre-enlisted in
the Marine Corps and will be
leaving soon after graduation
next year.
He said that his role mod
els in life are his uncle Ty and
Walsey James Ike-Thomas
his mom. "Tyrone always en
courages me by spending lots
of quality time, like taking me
to the movies, on trips, shop
ping and doing chores. He's
my other dad," said Walsey.
Of his mother Lovie Ike,
Walsey said, "Because my
mom's a cop, she always
keeps us in check, I appreci
ate everything she has done.
There are no words that can
express everything she's done
for my sisters and me."
He said he would like to
thank Natalie Kirk for teach
ing him how to weave bas
kets. He also wished to thank
all his friends who have
helped with the car wash
fundraiser. These include
Clinton Tohet, Delmer
Davis, Truman Merrifield,
Curtis Satanaus, Wynona
Tohet and Felicity VanPelt.
Any assistance toward
making the trip to Orlando
happen would be greatly ap
preciated, said Ike-Thomas.
The home phone is 553-1242.
Land purchase to help restore fish above dams
Streams supported chinook, sockeye
By Dave McMechan
Spiljay Tymoo
Salmon runs once existed in
rivers and streams above the
Pelton-Round Butte hydroelec
tric facilities on the Deschutes
River.
Bringing the fish back to
their historic habitat is a goal of
the Confederated Tribes, as co
owner with Portland General
Electric (PGE) of Pelton
Round Butte.
One key aspect of restoring
the fish runs is passage above
and below the dams, which for
now form impassable barriers
to migrating fish.
Another critical aspect of
restoration is ensuring that fish
habitat still exists above the
dams.
The tribes and PGE currently
are working on how to establish
fish passage past the dams.
Meanwhile, the Deschutes
Basin Land Trust announced
good news recently in regard to
fish habitat upstream from the
dams.
The land trust, based in Bend,
has purchased 1,240 forested
acres near Camp Sherman.
The land is on Like Creek, a
primary tributary of the
Deschutes River. The creek con
tains some of the most impor
tant fish and wildlife habitat in
the region.
The purchase will greatly
help in the effort to restore the
salmon above Pelton-Round
Butte, said Robert Brunoe, gen
eral manager of Warm Springs
Natural Resources.
Brunoe is an advisor and
former board member of the
Deschutes Basin Land Trust.
He's visited the property several
times. "This is a great purchase,"
Brunoe said of the new Lake
Creek preserve.
Brad Chalfant, executive di
rector of the land trust, said,
"With this project the land trust
really has come of age. Our
success on the Metolius will pro
pel us forward with projects on
the Crooked and Deschutes Riv
ers." The land trust, based in Bend,
works with landowners and com
munities in the region toward
protecting privately-owned land
that is important to fish and
wildlife.
Chinook, sockeye runs
Spring chinook once
spawned in the many forks of
Lake Creek on the preserve
property,
Sockeye salmon - one of
only two historic runs in the
I
mm
TMt & lit
. :T'tfk j
3d
'4
5y f
A
"PI
8 Mmm
' "1!
.. . ft r
sis
Courtuy of th land Iruit
These photos show the preserve property and Lake Creek.
state - swam through the prop
erty to their spawning gravels
above Suttle Lake.
The preserve is located within
a highly diverse forest support
ing a variety of wildlife, includ
ing a large herd of elk. The for
est is a stopping place for song-
the preserve is the
historic spawning ground
for one species, while
another passes through
the preserve to spawn
farther upstream...
birds migrating between Canada
and South and Central
America.
The Deschutes Basin Land
Trust obtained an option to pur
chase the 1,240 acres from
Willamette Industries, shortly
before Willamette was acquired
by Weyerhaeuser. The trust
completed the purchase with
Weyerhaeuser, after an ambi
tious campaign to raise the
funds to buy, restore and man
age the forest land.
The acquisition is part of the
land trust's campaign called
"Back to Home Waters," an ef
fort to restore salmon and steel
head to the upper Deschutes
River Basin.
"Relicensing the Pelton
Round Butte hydroelectric
project near Warm Springs,
which includes a plan for get
ting anadromous fish through
the dams, creates an historic
opportunity to bring salmon and
stcclhcad trout back to the up
per Deschutes Basin," said
Chalfant.
"That effort will succeed
only if the fish have some place
to spawn. The preserve is the
historic spawning ground for
one species, while the other
passes through the preserve to
spawn farther upstream. Vou
don't get many opportunities in
life like this."
Now that the land trust owns
the property, Chalfant said that
the most immediate challenge is
to balance the public's desire for
access against the need to begin
providing stewardship.
"We now need to convert
roads to trails, restore disturbed
areas, reduce the risk of wild
fires and improve wildlife habi
tat," he said.
The land trust was founded
in 1995. The trust acquires land
or development rights to help
conserve and protect the
Deschutes Basin's natural heri
tage and scenic vistas.
Since its founding, the trust
has protected over 5,500 acres
in the Deschutes Basin.
Through its "Back to I Iomc
Waters" campaign, the trust
seeks to facilitate the successful
rcintroduction of salmon and
steclhcad trout to the upper
Deschutes Basin.
This would be the first time
in four decades years that the
fish would be present above the
dams.
Native American artifacts featured in Lewis and Clark exhibit
GOLDENDALE, Washing
ton President Thomas
Jefferson's primary objective in
sending Meriwether Lewis, Wil
liam Clark and the Corps of
Discovery to explore for a river
route to the Pacific in 1 803 was
to sow the seeds for trade and
commerce in the Northwest.
Through Nov. 15, Maryhill
Museum will spotlight that as
pect of their epoch adventure
in a new intimate exhibit titled
Lewis and Clark At Maryhill,
Curatcd by noted authors
Mary Schlick and Rex Ziak, the
exhibit features original Native
American artifacts comparable
to those Lewis and Clark col
lected and documented while in
the Columbia River Gorge,
along with quotes from the
Corps of Discovery journals
describing such objects - objects
that Native Americans had been
using for generations to produce
merchandise for trade.
"Maryhill's vast collection of
Native American objects made
it possible for us to pull together
a wonderful exhibit illustrating
the fullness of Native American
culture at the time the Corps
traded with tribes in the region,"
said Schlick. "Everything from
horn bowls and spoons to fish
hooks and baskets made just
for cooking."
On April 19, 1806, William
Clark wrote in his journal,
"There was great joy with the
natives last night in consequence
of the arrival of the salmon."
The Maryhill exhibit brings
quotes such as this to life by dis
playing related artifacts like deer
bone fish hooks, a fish gig, and
fishing lines made of silk grass.
In October of 1805, and again
on April 22, 1806, the Corps
walked across much of the
6,000 acres the museum now
holds.
"This stretch of the Colum
bia River served as the Wall
Street of the Northwest," said
Rex Ziak. "A site of great sea
sonal gatherings, a place where
anything could be traded."
Many of the objects in the
museum's Native American ex
hibitions were gifted to it by the
Mary Underwood Lane family.
Lane was related to Chief
Welawa (Chcnoweth) of the
Cascade Tribe.
I ler grandmother, Sally Wa-chi-chus
attended the famous
council held by Lewis and Clark
at the Cascades of the Colum
bia during the Corps' stay in the
(Jorge.
The association of these fam
ily heirlooms with Sally Wa-chi-chus
indicates that some of
them are of the same era, style
and materials as those docu
mented and collected by the
Corps of Discovery.
Maryhill Museum, a castle
like mansion overlooking the
Columbia River, is located just
west of US. 97 on Washington's
Scenic Route 14.
The museum is open daily,
including holidays, from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. There is a cafe, mu
seum store, gardens and pic
nic area, General admission is
$7.