Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
April 12, 2017
Page 5
New publication tells of River People’s way of life
Shattered Civilization
latest by author
George Aguilar
The project of The Shattered
Civilization will soon be unveiling
its pages, published as an Amazon
E-Book, depicting our robust way
of life of about 250 years ago.
This writing is to reveal how we
as River People flourished during
those early times.
The documented historical
events are to make our people
aware of the once powerful civili-
zation of the mid and lower River
People of the Columbia River
from the years of 1700s to 1855.
The dates and activity of the
explorers, Missionaries, traders,
trappers, and the documented dia-
ries of the pioneers will be utilized
for historical purposes.
In this way are documented the
Native River people’s way of life
and customs of that time.
When the River Ran Wild! was
published in 2005. This book re-
ceived the 2006 Oregon Book
Award for Creative Nonfiction,
and the 2006 Award of Merit
from the American Association for
State and Local History.
The project was well received
in the Pacific Northwest. The
Museum at Warm Springs is the
place to purchase this book.
Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Books,
and Amazon carry the same item.
As of February 21 of this year,
the Barns & Noble book store rat-
ing system grades When the River
Ran Wild! at five stars.
As most local people have
learned these are voices from out
of the past. These stories are
yours. Without you the tribal mem-
bers this project would not have
evolved into being.
It was fortunate the Kiksht
(Wasco) were put on the same res-
ervation with their allies, the Co-
lumbia River Ilkaimamnt’s
(Shahaptins), and Native Peoples
of the entire Pacific Northwest,
because this is their story as well.
Many stories of old lie dormant
with our elders, and they live as
reminiscences to some of those
individuals.
It is my hope When the River
Ran Wild! and The Shattered Civi-
lization will inspire other elders to
take on the task of leaving a legacy
for those who are to come.
The Shattered
Civilization is a
semi-novel inspired by
an essay by Jeannette
Garcia, a grand-
daughter of Chief
Billy Chinook.
I’m sure when their information
is put to the paper it will be appre-
ciated by the future generations.
For instance, the Amazon E
Book The Shattered Civilization
is a semi-novel inspired by an es-
say by Jeannette Garcia, a grand-
daughter of Chief Billy Chinook.
The script was written long-
hand on a lined paper with a lead
pencil.
Jeannette’s story was about her
grandfather Billy Chinook.
It was written over a 100 years
ago, and remained with the Macey
family, Jeannette’s grandchildren.
Excerpts of reviews of When
the River Ran W ild! from other
parts of the Pacific Northwest
area:
“A how-to manual for those
Sea lion problem growing at Columbia
From January through May of
last year, sea lions took the largest
portion of the spring Chinook and
steelhead runs since the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers began docu-
menting sea lion presence and con-
sumption in the Columbia River.
Some 190 sea lions were
counted at the Bonneville Dam in
2016. The sea lions ate 9,525 spring
Chinook and steelhead, or 5.8 per-
cent of the runs.
The Corps’ report says a larger
number of sea lions, some 264,
were obser ved at the dam in
2015. But at 4.5 percent of the
salmonid runs, the 2015 pinniped
consumption of spring Chinook
and steelhead was less than in
2016.
Sea lions also eat lamprey and
sturgeon. The Corps recorded sea
lions consuming 501 Pacific lam-
prey and 90 juvenile sturgeon in
2016.
A NOAA task force
found that hazing sea
lions was not discour-
aging the animals...
Steller sea lions start arriving at
the dam as early as January, while
California sea lions show up in
March and peak in early May. By
the end of May, most sea lions are
gone, headed to coastal breeding
areas.
Some salmonids taken by pin-
nipeds are protected under the En-
dangered Species Act, including
Snake River spring/summer Chi-
nook.
Earlier this month, a pinniped
task force organized by NOAA
Fisheries found that hazing sea li-
ons was not discouraging the ani-
mals and should end except in the
dam’s fish ladders. Hazing consists
of harassing the animals with gun-
shot warnings and loud noise.
Exclusion gates installed at fish-
ladder entrances and barrier gates
at the second powerhouse’s fish
channel have deterred more sea li-
ons than has hazing.
According to the Pinniped-Fish-
ery Interaction Task Force, the
most successful prevention activ-
ity has been the removal of indi-
vidually identified predatory Cali-
fornia sea lions; Steller sea lions are
ESA protected, and so cannot be
removed.
Since 2008, 166 sea lions have
been removed, either by relocation
to zoos or euthanasia.
The task force will soon make
recommendations to NOAA Fish-
eries that will be the basis of a po-
tentially new course of action for
sea lion removal.
who like to resurrect traditional
practices. A required read for stu-
dents on Native American culture.”
- Katherine Barber, Portland
State University.
“The voices from the past come
alive in When the River Ran Wild!
A fascinating historical account of
how Native Americans lived along
the Columbia River. A welcome
new perspective on the history of
the Columbia Basin, sure to be read
and enjoyed for generations to
come.”
- Jeff Baker, The Oregonian book
critic.
“The book is almost a spiritual
document, because it resurrects a
people. It presents their culture and
their history as one and the same,
a living creature of fact and lore,
time and myth... Even a history
book as brilliant as Stephen
Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage can-
not do what this book does.
Undaunted Courage provides
truth as paper and documents have
recorded it, but it doesn’t breathe
history, as does When the River Ran
Wild! It can’t, because it is from a
culture that prefers its history dis-
following a string of oil train acci-
dents across North America, in-
cluding a 2013 derailment in Lac-
Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47
people.
Federal regulators said the in-
spections resulted in 1,118 viola-
tion recommendations, prompting
railroads to become more respon-
sive to concerns raised by track in-
spectors and to improve safety.
Problems identified by federal
inspectors included worn rails and
The Veterans and Families
Healing Gathering—Honoring
the Sixty-Seventh Anniversary
of the Korean War—is coming
up this month.
The gathering, set for April
27-30, will be at the HeHe
Longhouse. The weekend in-
cludes healing ceremonies,
other equipment; bolts meant to
hold tracks in place that were bro-
ken, loosened or missing; and cracks
in steel bars joining sections of track.
They also noted failures by railroads
to quickly fix problems identified
through inspections.
15% OFF product
purchases
To redeem mention this ad,
or show your tribal ID.
“All Northwest people can feel
a sense of pride at this accomplish-
ment.”
- Matt Winters, Daily Astorian.
“If I were a movie producer,
I’d buy the film rights to When the
River Ran Wild!”
Matt Winters, The Chinook
Observer
“The American Association for
State and Local History is a na-
tional organization that supports
and encourages all history projects,
and they have pretty high standards.
An award from them is something
to crow about.”
- Marrianne Keddington Lang,
editor, Oregon Historical Society
speakers, talking circles, men
and women sweat lodges, games
and kids’ activities.
There is no charge to partici-
pate. Contributions of food,
volunteer time and raffle items
are greatly appreciated. For in-
formation contact Larsen
Kalama at 541-553-3093.
The Museum at Warm Springs is accepting artwork for its upcom-
ing exhibit, Creativity Explored. This is a community art exhibit
showcasing artists who live or work on the reservation, or are
married into the tribes. The deadline to submit work is this Friday,
April 14 by 5 p.m. Applications and guidelines are available at the
museum. Call Natalie Kirk for information, 541-553-3331. Note,
this not the Member Art Exhibit, which is in October.
2321 Ollallie Lane
(PO Box 6)
Warm Springs, OR
Call 541-
553-1182
Excerpt from a letter from Mr.
and Mrs. Dell Hymes, Kiksht lin-
guists and Anthropologists:
“We don’t know of another
book like it.”
Veterans gathering at HeHe
Report finds safety defects in rail oil transport
Government inspections of rail-
roads that haul volatile crude oil
across the United States have un-
covered almost 24,000 safety de-
fects, including problems similar to
those blamed in derailments that
triggered fires or oil spills in Or-
egon, Montana and elsewhere.
The safety defects were discov-
ered during targeted federal inspec-
tions on nearly 58,000 miles of oil
train routes in 44 states. The inspec-
tion program began two years ago
tant. When the River Ran Wild!
does something few can: It pre-
sents history as the breath of life
itself.”
- Dan Hayes, Northwest Best
Books.
341 SW Sixth St.
Redmond
Tuesday - Saturday
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
ph. 541-923-8071