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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (May 18, 2018)
T he C olumbia P ress May 18, 2018 Native plants, uses is topic of monthly talk and region make use of Judith Lampi of War- native plants. renton will speak on The forum will take “Ethnobotany Near participants on a tour the Mouth of the Co- of the Lewis and Clark lumbia River” at 1 p.m. Expedition journals Sunday, May 20, in the and share how the in- Netul River Room of digenous people of the Fort Clatsop’s visitor Lampi Lower Columbia Riv- center. er used the plants that The free talk is part of the “In Their Footsteps” se- Capt. Meriwether Lewis de- ries sponsored by the Lewis scribed the winter of 1805-06. Lampi attributes her pas- and Clark National Park As- sion for native plants and sociation. Humans have always de- how the Chinook and Clat- pended on plants for food, sop people used them, to her medicine and textiles. Eth- grandfather, a retired logger. nobotany is the study of how He would walk with her as a people of a particular culture child in the forest and along the shores of the river and tell her the plant names and stories of the American Indi- ans who lived there. She has been collecting and sharing information about them for decades. Lampi taught ethnobotany as a science elective at the Health Sciences Biotech- nology Magnet School in Portland and later became a national park ranger at Fort Clatsop. She has guided countless ethnobotany walks and lectured around the country. For more information, call the park at 503-861-2471. This Week in Aboriginal History by Carl A. Ellis President Clinton issues ‘sacred sites’ order May 18, 1661: A treaty signed two days earlier re- quires Maryland to protect the Susquehannock Indians from raids by the Seneca. The Maryland General Assembly orders Capt. John Odber to take 50 men to the “Susque- sahannough Forte” and pro- tect them. May 19, 1796: Congress passes a peace treaty with tribes northwest of the Ohio River “to put an end to a de- structive war, to settle all controversies and to restore harmony and friendly inter- course” between all parties. May 20, 1702: Francis- cans establish the Santa Fe de Toloca mission at a large Timucua village in northern Florida. Apalachicola Indians fight a battle with Spanish and Mission Indians. Both sides lose many fighters be- fore the Apalachicolas gain the upper hand. May 21, 1832: A group of 50 Potawatomis attack a set- tlement on Indian Creek near modern Ottawa, Ill., as part of Black Hawk’s War, some- times called the Indian Creek Massacre. Fifteen settlers are killed. May 22, 1851: A large group of Yosemite Indians are captured at Lake Tenai- ja, one of the last conflicts in California’s Mariposa Indian Wars. May 23, 1838: An esti- mated 2,000 Cherokees have emigrated to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma by today’s deadline, established in the New Echota Treaty of Dec. 29, 1835. Any Cherokees east of the Mississippi River after this date will be forced to leave. Gen. Winfield Scott is charged with removing the remaining Cherokees and many are forced from their homes at bayonet point. May 24, 1996: President Bill Clinton issues the “In- dian Sacred Sites” executive order, making it mandatory for federal agencies to allow access and ceremonial use of the sites by American Indi- ans. Ellis is an author and his- torian working on a book about American Indians. Learn more about American Indian history at facebook. com/snippetsintime. Senior lunch menu Monday, May 21: Roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed vegetables, coleslaw, ice cream. Thursday, May 24: Pulled pork, baked beans, corn, cucumber salad, bread pudding. The Warrenton senior lunch program is at noon (doors open at 10:30 a.m.) Mondays and Thursdays at Warrenton Community Center, 170 SW Third St. Suggested donation is $5 for ages 55 and older; $7 for those younger. For more information, call 503-861-3502. 7 Senior Moments with Emma Edwards A debate on oysters and faces Competitiveness has good cognitive value. I think it’s good to be a com- petitive person. Adrenaline kicks in when I get a 99-point score in Words with Friends. It doesn’t happen very often. But you know my first thought? There is a standing I can work toward for 100 and over, so I like the score of 99. But my competitive spirit wants me to score more than 100. I think we seniors (some- times called the elderly) need to keep competitiveness alive if possible. As in gardening. Yes, it’s time to take on gardening. And don’t tell me there isn’t a little competi- tiveness related to our desire to have our gardens admired! No matter our age, we get excited as those little shoots pop up out of the earth. I have a neighbor who excit- edly called me over to see her wild flowers showing their little heads. I remember sharing that miracle with my children and I’m still excited about how that seed, bulb or tuber can sprout when the sun begins to warm them. You and I know it’s a “God thing” and maybe that’s why I find it extra thrilling as I look out the window and see my fuchsias in full bloom and a hanging planter with lots of yellows and reds and then those sprouts promis- ing more beauty in the weeks ahead. I have a senior neighbor who has been tenderly nurs- ing her five tomato plants (she planted them about 10 days ago) and can be seen carefully watering them and watching them grow. Hey, spring is in full bloom and soon summer will be here. So much to learn and do and so little time! At our Warrenton meal site table a few weeks ago, we got to wondering if oysters, crabs and clams have eyes. Would a person who is vegan – some- one who does not eat or use animal products -- eat them? You can’t believe what I found out. Seems ostroveg- ans eat oysters even though there are eyes all over an oyster’s body to help it see and escape predators. Like turtles, when oysters sense danger, they hide inside their shells, which snap tightly shut. So why the exception? Seems oysters feel no pain and that’s a criterion followed by many vegans. So, for those who chose to eat oysters, en- joy them! Oh, and crabs and clams do have eyes. Go to your Na- tional Geographic web site and learn more about them. It says they have no brain but have a foot that serves them well. Since oysters don’t have central nervous systems, they’re unlikely to experience pain in a way resembling ours — unlike a pig, a herring or a lobster. They can’t move, so they don’t respond to inju- ry like those animals do. Did you catch that an oyster is considered an animal? When you have time, run over to Warrenton Commu- nity Library and Nettie-Lee Calog (our smiling librarian) will be most happy to guide you on this and probably 100 million or more other items to stir your pure, peaceful minds. Competitiveness? Be kind. Remember we’re all in a battle of sorts called life.