Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
January 3, 2018
Page 3
Museum celebrating Twenty-Fifth Anniversary
I t was March 13, 1993
when the tribes celebrated
the opening of the Museum
at Warm Springs. The day
marked the fulfillment of
a vision decades in the mak-
ing:
“Way back in the 1960s,
we could see that the old
ways were disappearing,”
Warm Springs Chief Delvis
Heath said at the time.
“The old languages were
disappearing, and pretty
soon none of our young
people would know where
they came from or who
they were. That’s when we
decided to build a mu-
seum.”
Tribal Council passed
resolution 4084—the Mu-
seum Project—in 1974.
The resolution included
the first museum charter,
and established the first
board, at the time called the
Middle Oregon Indian His-
torical Society.
The ensuing years in-
volved the intensive
fundraising needed for the
ambitious museum project.
The board hired the first
executive director in 1987,
and in 1988 Tribal Council
put a referendum before the
membership:
The question was
whether to appropriate $2.5
million for construction of
the Museum at War m
Springs.
At the time, the funding
was the most ever for a
tribal museum. The Mu-
seum at Warm Springs was
also the first tribal museum
in the state of Oregon.
After hiring the first ex-
ecutive director, it took only
a few short months to raise
another $3.1 million from
grant foundations, corpora-
tions and individuals.
Benefiting from these
monies was the construc-
tion, Education program and
an endowment, bringing the
total cost of the museum
project to $7,628,900.
Construction began in the
spring of 1991 by SM
Andersen Construction
Company of Portland.
The building designer was
Stastny & Burke Architec-
ture of Portland. The exhib-
its were designed by the For-
mations Co.
From the day of its open-
ing in 1993, the museum has
been under the leadership
of the board of directors,
who created the mission
statement, and a Board of
Regents. The mission:
‘The Museum At Warm
Springs exists to preserve
the culture, history and tra-
ditions of the three tribes
that comprise the Confed-
erated Tribes of War m
Springs. The Museum was
designed to provide a wel-
coming sight to the public
as well as a safe conserva-
tory for the traditional trea-
sures of the tribes.’
tegration of any tribal tradi-
tions. Elders of each tribe
were invited to meetings to
give their ideas.
The exterior is arranged
to resemble a traditional en-
campment among the cot-
tonwood. Construction ma-
terials—local stone, timber
and brick—reflect the sur-
roundings and traditions of
the tribes. There is a stream
outside, continuing as a floor
design through the lobby.
The columns are made of
tall reservation trees.
The design
The architects invited
tribal members to partici-
pate in the designing and in-
Still time to check out the Member Art Show
The year ahead at the museum
This is a calendar of
events coming up in 2018 at
the Museum at War m
Springs.
Januar y 25: Grand
opening of the Annual
Tribal Youth Art Exhibit.
This show will be on display
through early March.
March 17: War m
Springs community cel-
ebration of the opening of
the Museum at War m
Springs.
March 17 - May 26:
New exhibit, TWANAT -
Celebrating Our Legacy.
April 14: Honor Dinner
at the World Forestry Cen-
ter. Presentation of the
Twanat, and the Lifetime
Achievement awards.
May 11: Seeds of Dis-
covery Science Field Day
for local fourth-grade stu-
dents, supported by Oregon
State University and NASA.
June 7 - September 29:
Reception hall exhibit, Patriot
Nations, a banner exhibit
from the National Museum
of the American Indian.
June 21 – November
3: Exhibit, Memor y of the
L a n d , art from the
museum’s collection, other
museums and private collec-
tions.
August 18: The Huck-
leberry Harvest annual ban-
quet and auction.
October: Middle Or-
egon Treaty of 1855 display.
October 25-27: Treaty
symposium at Kah-Nee-Ta
Resort.
November - January
2019: Twenty-Fifth Annual
Tribal Member Art Exhibit.
November 17: Native
American Art Market.
There are few days left to see the Tribal Member Art Show at the Museum at
Warm Springs. The Twenty-Fourth Annual member show will be on display
through this Saturday, January 6. Queen of the Amazon—an oil and air brush
on gesso board piece by Travis Bobb—won the Judges Choice Award.