10A • January 12, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
The under-told story of Lewis and Clark
“
Gideon For-mukwai in a
one-man history show
I thought,
‘Someone needs to
tell this story.’ Many
stories like York’s
are missing and
need to be told.
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
T
here are many things to remind those
who live here that where they live on
the coast is built upon the footprints
of the 19th-century explorers Meri-
wether Lewis and William Clark.
But there’s another set of footprints,
walking right alongside the famous ex-
plorers. They belong to York, Clark’s slave
who was the only African-American mem-
ber of the Corps of Discovery. It’s a story
that is often in the shadows of the larger
expedition that explored the American
West, and one that North Coast resident
Gideon For-mukwai believes should be
brought back to life.
For the past two years, For-mukwai has
been developing the one-man show, “Dare
to Tell: Crossing the Columbia with York.”
His 45-minute performance will debut 7
p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Hoffman
Center for the Arts in Manzanita.
It’s a performance that aims to entertain
as well as open up a community conversa-
tion on issues relating to equity, diversity
and inclusion in today’s world, he said.
“There’s a lot of history in the Pacific
Northwest, and I started reading extensive-
ly about Lewis and Clark. The more I read,
the more interesting it became,” For-muk-
wai said. “I thought, ‘Someone needs to
tell this story.’ Many stories like York’s are
missing and need to be told.”
Gideon For-mukwai
An ‘unsung hero’
COURTESY GIDEON FOR-MUKWAI
Gideon For-mukwai spent two years developing his
show about the only African-American crew member
of the Corps of Discovery.
For-mukwai has long been a storytell-
er. He has made a career out of educating
businesses and students with his book,
“The Science of Storytelling.” But telling
it in the form of a one-man show will be a
new experience for him.
York’s contributions to the expedition
are intermittently documented
throughout the Lewis and Clark
journals. Between the years 1804
and 1806, York was recognized as a free
man, and was an integral crew member
who helped prepare shelters, hunt game,
portage around rapids and scout travel
routes. Most notably, he was given power
to delegate trades with Native Americans
and was allowed to vote on decisions.
“And despite this, he did not exploit
his advantages. These small moments give
COURTESY GIDEON FOR-MUKWAI
North Coast resident Gideon For-mukwai decided to develop a performance cen-
tered around York, a member of the Corps of Discovery, after reading extensively
about the Lewis and Clark expedition.
A springboard
More than 200 years later, For-mukwai
sees portraying York’s story as a way to
evaluate how far society has come, and as
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a road map for where it needs to go next.
“Lewis and Clark gave permission to
this man to vote. Now we ask are we giv-
ing people permission to be free today?”
he said.
After the performance, For-mukwai
hopes to lead a discussion about what peo-
ple can learn from York’s story and apply it
to modern attempts at equity and inclusion.
Learning and sharing stories is what he has
learned builds community after living in
various countries across Africa, Europe,
North America and the Middle East.
“I recognize if I were ignorant about
York, others were, too. But ignorance
can’t let us keep us from leading,” he said.
“Equity comes from recognition. It comes
from knowing who is doing what.”
For-mukwai said while he was partic-
ularly inspired by York, he doesn’t plan to
stop there. He hopes to take his one-man
show around the country, and hopefully
expand his work to highlighting more his-
torical unsung heroes.
“They couldn’t tell at the time their
work would define the West. You don’t
know who or what will be significant.
But telling these stories help us to tell us
how far we can go,” he said. “Who knows
whose story I will be telling next?”
us indication of the type of guy he was,”
For-mukwai said. “He was very unique.
He refused to be stubborn. He refused to
be evil.”
After the expedition, York went back to
a life of slavery before being freed some-
time in the 1810s.
“He didn’t get to go to D.C. like ev-
eryone else. Everyone else was given
land, double pay. He was given nothing.
He served with dignity even when things
didn’t end that well. He was the lowest on
the totem pole yet became one of the stron-
gest leaders.”
Part of York’s appeal, For-mukwai said,
comes from the parallels he drew between
his journey and the modern day plight
of those who contribute to a world that
doesn’t recognize them. Today, they work
at food banks, as bus drivers, as flaggers on
U.S. Highway 101.
“They are today’s Yorks, and I feel
there’s a need to tell these stories. They’re
the unsung heroes,” he said. “If we collec-
tively forget, we forget the best of us.”
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