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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 2007)
Spîlyay Tyrnoo, Warm Springs, Oregon July 19, 20 0 7 P a g e 11 Remembering Celilo Falls | (Continued from page 1) As a result o f the massive !' migration o f whites into the re- ! gion during Chief Thompson’s !; youth, Celilo Village had changed ¡! dramatically by the time he as- I sumed the chieftainship. What I had been a community o f 600 i| to 700 people, and host to thou- sands more who came from all !’ over the region to trade and visit, I had shrunk to less than 200. !; W h ile m o st o f the Ind ians |; moved to One o f the region’s I reservations, many o f the river • people remained by die banks i! on the shores o f the Columbia. The Wyams and other river Indians adapted to the new j economy the whites had devel- i oped, working in the orchards jl and on the railroads, and selling iis h to the c a n n e rie s th at cropped up along the Mid-Co lumbia in the last; two decades o f the Nineteenth Century. Celilo was the center o f the Indian contribution to the com mercial fishing industry. The Smiles o f rapids, eddies and nar- ’ row channels leading up to the great falls concentrated the mi grating salmon, making them i easy targets ’ fo r experienced 1 dipnetters. The fishery at Celilo became 1 especially important during dip 1 Twentieth Century due to the 1 gradual destruction o f tradi- ' tional fishing sites and salmon • runs in tributary streams like the ' Y akim a, C learw ater and ^UmatiHa. C h ief Thom pson struggled vto maintain traditional manage- ' merit o f the fishery at Celilo 1 where, by the 1940s, dipnetters scooped more than 2.5 million pounds o f salmon out o f the i river every year. | In addition to determining He declared that he was of- I; ten troubled to maintain peace I and a cooperative spirit among i the growing number o f Indian j! fishermen. The gathered elders decided | to form an inter-tribal fishery ; management agency, the first b f C O ^ Sales Repairs Installation 873 SW Hwy 97 Madras, OR 97741 475-3723 M * W prayer and song ceremony in. a final attempt to save Celilo Falls, reminding Congress that “ The Almighty took a long time to make this place.” ; W ie n other Indian leaders finally relented, accepting a $27 million settlement, C hief T h ompson adamantly refused to “signature his Salmon away.” His Ufe was the river, the greát falls, and the salm ón. H e neither knew nor wanted any other. O n M arch It), 1 9 5 7 , the Corps o f Engineers filled the reservoir o f T he Dalles dam, flooding Celilo Falls and old CeHlo Village, resulting ih the dispersal o f more than half the resid en ts; Indians gath ered around the region to mourn the loss o f their most important fish ery, The elderly chief was con fined ,to a nursing home-, how ever, and did not witness the jrom the its kind. They dubbed it the Celilo Fish Commission, and elected Chief Thompson as the first chair. Though the members becaine embroiled in a bitter debate over whether the Nez Perce had rights at Celilo, the commission’s primary objective was to promote and protect In dian fishing rights. The tribes’ right to fish at off- reservation fishing places like the treaties o f i 855, was threat ened on two sides. T he fish and game agencies o f Oregon and Washington saw the Indians as competitors in a zero-sum game, and used discriminatory regula tions in an attempt to minimize Indian harvest; More alarming, how ever, was th e fe d e ra l government’s plans to dam the Columbia Rivet, which threat ened to destroy entirely the river people’s most sacred resource, the salmon. Upon learning o f the Army Corps o f Engineers’ plans to build Bonneville dam 54 miles downstream from CeHlo, Chief Thompson urged the U S. Attor ney Carl C. Donaugh to protest the dam as a violation o f Indian fishing tights. Despite firm tribal opposi tion, the Corps Commenced con struction o f Bonneville in 1934, using Public Works Administra tion funds meant to.helpyamd- liorate the nation’s dire eco nomic situation. In* addition to interfering with salmon migra tion and destroying important mainstream spawning habitat, the dam flooded numerous In dian homes, as well as the great Cascades, an important Indian fishery, A few years after the Corps finished Bonneville, the state fishery' agencies attempted to Close the river above the dam to commercial fishing. Though they claimed it was for conser vation purposes, it was dear they were targeting the Indians, who made up the vast majority o f com m ercial fisherm en above B o n n e v i l l e . I i destruction. H e died dri April 12, > ^^hieraM ^tiipson Voiced his T 9 5 9 .. F lo ra, his Wife o f 20 opposition to Congress and years, Was convinced the loss o f stated a p e titio n cam paign CeHlo Falls kiHed him. against; Washington Gov. Mon More than a thousand people • C. Wallgren’s scheme to buy out came from around the region to Indian fishing tights. The chief pay their, respects to the great argued forcefully in a statement chief. He was survived by his to Congress, translated from his wife and many children, grand native Sahaptin, the tribal fish children and great grandchildren. ing rights successfully stopped D esp ite tn e ir lo ss, many o f the states from closing their com Chief Thompson’s people con mercial fishery, but Only tempo tinúe to fish for salmon, and rarily., Only the U.S. v. Oregon Celilo ViUagç, though much re (1969) and U.S. v. Washington duced, stiH sits by the side o f (1974) decisions .would come N ch’I-Wana. close to addressing the problem ■ o f discriminatory regulation o f the salmon fishery, which still occasionally occurs. The greatest challenge Chief Thompson faced in preserving salmon and Native fishing rights came in the form o f The Dalles dam, a power and navigation project that destroyed the Celilo dipnet fishery in 1957. Thfe tribes o f the Warm Springs, Yakam a, U m atilla and N e l Perce reservations, as well as unaffiliated river people like the Wyams, fought a long and ulti m ately' u n su ccessfu l b attle against this dam. : C h ief Thom pson testified numerous times in opposition to the project. H e conducted a ¡ 1 1 1 . M l * à * * Auto Repair 5 4 1 -4 7 5 -6 1 4 0 U Hours: 8 a m . - 5 p .m . Mon. - M FREE ESTIMATES • GUARANTEED WORK CUSTOM EXHAUST • MUFFLERS • RADIATORS ENGINES • TRANSMISSIONS • HEATERS AIR CONDITIONING • ELECTRICAL * BRAKES SUSPENSION AND M O R E . . . Ceililo Falls photos on display at the museum. Honest, Friendly Auto Repair & Service! Fax: 475-2677 880 S. Adams Dr., Madras, OR BlÆBHRk'aS:* Kent Wright Owner 380 SW 5th Street-Madras, OR 97741 Ph: 541-475-5656 Fax: 541-475-5662 kwright@crestviewcable.com m kndiüx Arfá cmd C tbfy 2132 Mm Sprmß $t> Mm Sprnßt OR 92761 m$smï Need help with a legal problem? Legal Aid Services of Oregon provides free a s s is ta n c e to .lo w - income Oregonians in m any civil c ases. Speak with an attorney during drop-in hours 1 to 4 p.m. on the first Monday of the month at the Family Resources C e n te r • in W arm Springs. Or call us at 3 8 5 -6 9 4 4 M on d ay through W e d n e s d a y between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ‘Your Local Paint & Glass Experts3 MADRAS PAINT & GLASS Over 26 Years Experience Master ASE Certified Technician Madras Paint & Glass Steve, Danita & Henry the dog! 475-2412 ¡111 1076 SW Hwy 97 in M a d ra s, ph. 475-2166 OPEN 8-5:30 M-F; 9-4 Sat 85 SW 3rd Street (Located in the old Palmain Shop) i i R to go- Quality Automotive Service V O © fiteHIciPá llsi? I cific fishing places, as Salmon |i Chief, Chief Thompson opened |l and closed the fishery on both |i an annual and a daily basis. How- ever, as Columbia River salmon | runs declined and increasing I numbers o f both Indians and whites came, to Celilo to fish, 1 traditional management prac- ! rices becaine harder to enforce, j; In 1954, several dozen In- |! dian leaders from the Warm J Springs, Yakama and Umatilla 1 reservations met to discuss the !; c o n flic ts ’ over the Colum bia I River salmon fishery between | whites and Indians, and between i Indians themselves. Chief Th- I' ompson urged the attendees to • fish in harmony, and to heed ; fishing traditions as handed down by their ancestors. H e lamented the fact that fishermen at Celilo were exhib iting selfish attitudes, claiming jf priority o f rights to productive '! fishing stations. vO if * m ia i iM m
