Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current, August 09, 2023, Page 2, Image 2

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    Page 2
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs
August 9, 2003
Return of the Columbia River Indian Fisher’s Expo
S tanding in a circle, tribal
youth opened the Columbia River
Indian Fisher’s Expo with a tradi-
tional prayer song.
Open to War m Springs,
Yakama, Umatilla and Nez Perce
members, the event provided re-
sources designed at addressing is-
sues unique to fishing in the Co-
lumbia River.
This year marked the return of
the expo, hosted by the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission,
for the first time in five years.
Roughly a dozen organizations
set up booths at Skamania Lodge,
where CRITFC held the expo. The
U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers each had
a booth providing education on wa-
ter and boating safety.
“We’ve lost a lot of fishermen,”
said Emerson Squiemphen, of
Warm Springs, a CRITFC commis-
sioner and committee member for
the Warm Springs Department of
Fisheries. “I lost my son like that.”
In 2009, Mr. Squiemphen’s son
drowned in rough waters while out
on a fishing boat.
Since losing his son and joining
CRITFC, Mr. Squiemphen priori-
tizes the safety of all tribal fishers
through events like the Columbia
River Indian Fisher’s Expo.
“We’ve got to educate people on
what we do, and why we do it. And
teach our young as best we can,”
Emerson said.
At lunch during the expo, a
group of panelists answered ques-
memories of eating salted salmon
belly prepared that way by their
mothers and grandmothers, ac-
cording to Valerie Switzler, Edu-
cation general manager for the
Confederated Tribes.
“People need to know that the
salmon are precious to us,” Ms.
Jarrette Werk/Underscore/News & Report for America
Deanie Johnson, Valerie Switzler and Doris Miller (from
left) staffed a booth that shared the traditional names of
fish and information on various fish storage methods. A
large pickle jar filled with layers of rock salt and salmon
belly illustrated one traditional storage method.
tions on the theme Empowering
Tribal Fishers in Public Sales and
Farmers Markets.
Salmon was a favorite at the
lunch buffet—fitting, as salmon
were a main topic of conversation
throughout the day.
While tribal fishers do catch and
harvest multiple types of fish,
salmon are for many the most im-
portant.
“Salmon are so culturally rel-
evant to our people. It’s not just a
commodity, it’s a First Food,” said
Buck Jones, Cayuse (Umatilla)
tribal member and salmon market-
ing specialist at CRITFC. “Fishing
is something our tribal members
have been doing since time imme-
Blue Ribbon goat at the Fair
Tashina Smith photo.
Arellie Scott with his goat The Boss. Arellie won the Blue
Ribbon for showmanship at the 2023 Jefferson County Fair.
This is his second year with the Lyle Gap 4-H Club.
T h e Wa r m Sp r i n g s
Community Action Team
is now offering Virtual
Reality Training and
Career Exploration, and
scheduling appointments
to use the technology.
It’s available for adults
and youth at the Painted
Pony
and
the
Community Action Team
office. Contact Emily
Courtney or Sara Dowty
to schedule a learning
time, 541-553-3148.
morial. We respect and honor the
salmon.”
Fishers of all ages attended.
Young children ran between the
booths, many of which had ways
to engage different generations.
Yakama Nation Fisheries brought
a fish tank. One of the safety tents
had a bucket of ice water where
youth splashed around, and two
women from Warm Springs laid out
different parts of prepared salmon
along with the Kiksht names.
In an old Vlasic pickle jar, layers
of rock salt and salmon belly
mingled together. The traditional
method for preparing salmon belly
is not as common these days, but
many Warm Springs elders have
Switzler said. “Wasco people have
always been here along the big
river.”
~ Stor y by Nika Bartoo-Smith,
UnderScore News, and a descendant
of the Osage and Oneida Nations.