Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2013)
Page 12 Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon Repatriation: at peace after 142 years (Continued from page 1) T h e Memaloose M e m a lo n s e I Islands s la n d s The were known solely as burial islands and were used by the descendants of the claimant tribes who now reside on the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Reservations. It is the traditional culture and beliefs of the Confeder ated Tribes of Warm Springs that demand the utmost rev erence and respect for the re mains of our departed ances tors. These beliefs require that the resting places of our an cestors not be disturbed, and that any remains or objects, which have been removed, be reburied in accordance with our customs and traditions. It is prem ised upon a shared group identity, shared traditional life ways, past and present and the cultural af filiation that binds the Wasco, Wishxam, White Salmon and Hood River peoples buried on the Memaloose islands and the present-day Wasco, Wishxam, White Salmon and Hood River peoples repre sented today by the Confed erated Tribes o f Warm Springs and the Yakama Na tion. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs are direct descendant com m unities from the Native people that are aboriginal to and tradi tionally used the region of the Mid Columbia River area of The Dalles, also known as Winquat and/ or Wascopum. Cultural Affiliation Evi dence The Wasco and Wishxam practiced the art of cranial modification which was done in infancy by placing the baby in a specially made cradle board that had a piece of board attached to the head and lowered onto the baby’s forehead to provide a gradual and slight head flattening. This was done to show beauty and signified an upper class or elite status as the Wasco had a class system of social stratification in place. The term “Memaloose” is a Chinook Jargon word and was taken from the Wasco KZG/tfword “Idmimlushdiksh? I ... Courtesy o f Roberta Kirk Val Switzler, Pam Cardenas and Wasco Chief JR Smith Jr. at the repatriation. which means “dead people.” This term was used for the burial islands that were lo cated in the Columbia River. For the WasCo and Wishxam they primarily used the U pper and Lower Memaloose Islands as well as Grave Island, two of the is- lands are now submerged. After Lewis and Clark ar rived, many o f the M em aloose Islands were swarmed by curiosity seekers and by scientific explorers. Many of our ancestral re mains were removed from the islands. W hen the Army Corps of Engineers built The Dalles and the Bonneville Lock and D am P rojects, many ancestral remains were removed by the Confeder ated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Yakama Nation to inland cemeteries before the islands were inundated. At present, we have been j finding our ancestral remains in museums and universities across the United States and some have been located across the seas in other coun- 2 tnes. place they are finally home and at peace. R ep atriatio n and The Army Corps of En Reburial gineers graciously provided a A N ative American^ room at The Dalles Dam to Graves Protection-and Repa wrap and prepare the ances triation A ct grant was tral remains for reburial. awarded to the Confederated ’ Colum bia River Inter- Tribes o f Warm Springs, Tribal Fish Enforcement gra from the National Parks Ser ciously Coordinated the escort vice to cover the expenses of, for the procession from The this repatriation. This in Dalles Dam to the reburial cluded transportation for the location. ancestors to return home, Thanks to our Spiritual C onfederated Tribes o f Leaders and the undertakers Warm Springs and Yakama for all of their hard work, Nation staff and traditional thanks to our Wasco Chief undertakers to travel, prepare Alfred Smith Jr:, and all that and reinter the ancestors, and came to witness and be a part the needed supplies such as of this historic event. This muslin and tule mats. was the biggest Wasco, D ue to the num ber o f Wishxam repatriation to date. ancestors, the grant was not sufficient to cover the full expense of the undertaking, therefore many staff donated their time to complete this repatriation and reburial. The ancestors reburied in- cltided 120 males, @7 female and 55 children. After 140 years after their removal from their original resting July 24, 2013 Tribal history tied up in land fight WISHRAM (AP) - Some time ago, Robert Zornes, a Forks RV-park ow ner, purchased *122 acres on more than a mile of the Columbia River. Then came the big sur prise: He had purchased one of the most historically and archaeologically sensi tive pieces of property in the state. ' H om e to a campsite and portage route on the Lewis and Clark Trail. A cave, with prehistorici In dian rock art, Indian buri als, petroglyphs and story stones. And some of the last upland vestiges of an important Indian village near Celilo Falls, once one o f the greatest .Indian , salmon fisheries, gathering grounds and trading areas in North America. Since he purchased die property in 2011, Zornes often can be found in what he calls his war room: a study in his double-wide by the river, packed with his- toric photos and books — and documents from two years of frustrating corre spondence w ith the Bonneville Power Admin istration. The federal agency is in the middle of Construction of a 28-mile, more than S200 million transmission line. Construction started right about when Zornes ft bought the property — and he soon received a letter from the agency inform ing him the BPA was about to cross the river and replace a tower, near the cave. The new tower would be taller, wider and require blasting to con struct — which he feared would destroy the cave and its ancient art. And Zornes, as it turns ojit, is a history -buff. As he put two and two to gether, he came to under stand just how special the landscape he had pur chased was. “BPA starts talking about a bulldozer and y e kind of freaked out.” BPA informed him in a 2012 letter that if he didn’t grant access across his property, the agency would dynamite an alter native access road, doing potentially more damage. The fight was on. Zornes denied access across the easement on his property, saying it was granted to a different federal agency for an other purpose, and since expired. He filed trespass claims. He invited the Yakama Indian Nation to revisit sacred lands on his property. Zornes’ efforts so far have helped shut down construction of the project on his property at a cost of $2 million and counting. Exhibit celebrates life, art 5 4202 Holliday St. Call 541- 615-0555 WARM SPRINGS TELECOM GET YOUR KICKS ON HIGHWAY U P C O M IN G JU LY P R O M O T IO N S • “The Heat is Rising” Cash Giveaway! - Sunday, July 28th lpm: $500,2pm: $1,000,3pm: $2,500,4pm: $5,000,5pm: $10,000 • “Mad Hot Mondays” - Win up to $500 • “Break the Bank” Thursdays - Win up to $600 • “Can You Take the Heat” Fridays - Win up to $1,500 Highway 26, Warm Springs • indianheadgaming.com • 5 4 1 .4 6 0 .7 7 7 7 Dave McMechan/Spilyay The Apalonia Susana Santos exhibit will be on display until September.
