www.marysvillepictographproject.com
Along the banks of the Columbia and Willamette River flourished the Chinook people whom lived off the fish of the rivers, the animals of the land, and the roots and berries of the earth. Villages made out of planks of cedar and mats of cattail and tule provided shelter for the people to gather and trade. Celilo and Willamette Falls were very important trading sites that brought people from far off places to trade and celebrate the abundance of salmon that were heading up stream to spawn. Pictographs and petroglyphs were painted and carved into the rock surfaces along the "Narrows" of Celilo Falls as well as at Willamette Falls by children seeking spriit power (tamanawas) as well as by adults such as shamans who wanted to connect with the world of spirits. Once European contact began to colonize, the tribes along the rivers began to feel the effects of not only disease, but also the subjugation of a foreign culture that brought with it different religions, politics, agricultural practices, and technologies. As a result of the inevitable change that began to occur, the first people had to learn to adapt to the European's way of life and culture. Over the years, a lot has changed and one of the most dramatic events beyond the loss of human life through disease and war has been the loss of Celilo Falls and the free flowing rivers. Due to the dams we have gained power through electricity and the capabilities of moving barges full of cargo up and down the river for economic growth. Yet in the end we lost the sound of the falls echoing against the rocks, the mist rising up above the torrent water, the salmon navigating their way upstream to give life and to end life, the images painted and carved into rocks over the past ten thousand years, and a place of gathering for people of all nations to share stories and to create memories. We have lost an important part of the culture that gave life to the Columbia River, Celilo Falls.
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Culture & History
Celilo Falls
Bonneville Dam
Camas Flower
PLANKHOUSE
As part of of the Marysville Pictograph Project 60+ students got the chance to see the pictographs and petroglyphs at Columbia Hills State Park for the first time, as well as a visit to the Maryhill Museum. During the tour of the pictographs the students heard stories from tribal elder Ed Edmo as well as from tribal member Greg Archuleta. We discussed the role of the pictographs within the culture that flourished at this exact site less than 200 years ago. The children envisioned what it would have been like back then when the river's shoreline was much lower and when the water was in constant motion as a train passed us creating vibrations similar to that of the water passing over the falls.
One of the main staple foods for the people of the Columbia River was the salmon that swam up stream to spawn. The salmon were caught with fish nets and spears that were then dried in the sun or next to fires to be eaten as well as traded. Celilo Falls was a place that many people gathered, traveling from as far off as what is now Idaho and Montana from the east, and California and Canada from the west. These travelers brought items of trade that they collected and prepared in their own natural environment such as hide, shell, stone, berries, and camas to name a few. Prior to horses the rivers were the main source of travel for these people and their commute was made in carved out cedar canoes that are a piece of art in themselves. The river also provided food such as sturgeon, trout, and eel for the people to eat depending on the season. The landscape along the banks of the river provided prized food items such as camas and wapato which are root vegetables/bulbs that were very important to the sustinance and survival of the Clackamas Chinook as well as other tribes.
The traditional homes of the Clackamas Chinook were made of cedar planks that were built into large structures called a plankhouse that was the home to a large family or more than one family. The plankhouses were lined with mats made of tule and cattail that were used as floor covering and as well as partitions. On the east side of the Cascade mountain range in what is now Umatilla the lodges were made with these mats as well. The actual outside walls were layered with mats that provided a shelter that was easily taken down and transported from one place to another. The picture of the plankhouse is a fairly recent project that was completed in 2005 at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington. Please visit the website on the plankhouse project at www.plankhouse.org.
One of the main staple foods for the people of the Columbia River was the salmon that swam up stream to spawn. The salmon were caught with fish nets and spears that were then dried in the sun or next to fires to be eaten as well as traded. Celilo Falls was a place that many people gathered, traveling from as far off as what is now Idaho and Montana from the east, and California and Canada from the west. These travelers brought items of trade that they collected and prepared in their own natural environment such as hide, shell, stone, berries, and camas to name a few. Prior to horses the rivers were the main source of travel for these people and their commute was made in carved out cedar canoes that are a piece of art in themselves. The river also provided food such as sturgeon, trout, and eel for the people to eat depending on the season. The landscape along the banks of the river provided prized food items such as camas and wapato which are root vegetables/bulbs that were very important to the sustinance and survival of the Clackamas Chinook as well as other tribes.
The traditional homes of the Clackamas Chinook were made of cedar planks that were built into large structures called a plankhouse that was the home to a large family or more than one family. The plankhouses were lined with mats made of tule and cattail that were used as floor covering and as well as partitions. On the east side of the Cascade mountain range in what is now Umatilla the lodges were made with these mats as well. The actual outside walls were layered with mats that provided a shelter that was easily taken down and transported from one place to another. The picture of the plankhouse is a fairly recent project that was completed in 2005 at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington. Please visit the website on the plankhouse project at www.plankhouse.org.
Walking the path of pictographs
Students along the Columbia River
Tsagaglallal and Marysville Students