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