Confluence Story Gathering Collection

Confluence Story Gathering Collection

A collection of interview excerpts with indigenous elders and leaders from along the Columbia River system.

First-person story telling has a unique power to deepen our understanding of the histories, cultures and environment that surrounds us. Confluence Story Gatherings are welcoming forums that feature the stories of native elders, told in their own voices, as a way to explore the interconnectedness of people and places of the Columbia River system. Confluence Story Gatherings are story-driven discussions using these interview excerpts to frame a thoughtful discussion by a panel of native thinkers, writers and leaders before a live audience.

Items in Collection: 

Greg Archuleta - Handing Culture to Next Generation

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lifeways
Summary
Greg Archuleta describes some of the various approaches that tribal people take to pass down traditional cultural knowledge. Decisions about how to do this are made at the tribal, community and family level.

Greg Archuleta - Connection to the River

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lands, Lifeways
Summary
Greg Archuleta explains how the tribes use stories and education to remind people about their connection to the river and work with people to repair damage to the river.

Greg Archuleta - Wapato Returns to the Sandy River Delta

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Natural Resources
Summary
Greg Archuleta talks about the reemergence of wapato, a staple of the traditional native diet, at the Sandy River Delta restoration site.

Greg Archuleta - Treaties

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lands
Summary
Greg Archuleta talks about termination and relocation of indigenous people in western Oregon.

Greg Archuleta - Honoring the Ancestors

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lifeways
Summary
At the Sandy River Delta, Greg Archuleta talks about the importance of honoring the ancestors. He also describes the importance of adapting and connecting old ways to new things and ideas.

Johnny Jackson - Fishing at Celilo

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lifeways, Natural Resources
Summary
Johnny Jackson tells a story about catching fish at Celilo Falls and how the river made the salmon strong.

Johnny Jackson - Connection to the River

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Religion
Summary
Johnny Jackson talks about the spiritual connection to the Columbia River.

Leah Conner - Encounter with Militia

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Wars/Military/Conflict
Summary
Leah Conner talks about her grandmother Wye-as-us (Stepping High Dancing), who had a terrifying encounter with a local militia.

Leah Conner - Seasonal Rounds

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lifeways
Summary
Leah Conner recalls details about the route taken during her family's seasonal rounds.

Louie Pitt - River as Provider

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Natural Resources, Religion
Summary
Louie Pitt talks about the river as a provider, and the spiritual connection to the natural resources in and along the river.

Louie Pitt - Coyote Story

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lifeways
Summary
Louie Pitt tells a shortened version of a Coyote story, where he plays the trickster at a meeting of dogs.

Louie Pitt - Celilo Memories

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lands
Summary
Louie Pitt recalls memories of going to Celilo Falls as a kid. He describes the sound, the smell and feel of the area.

Louie Pitt - Elders

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lifeways
Summary
Louie Pitt describes how elders share cultural knowledge and pass down important lifeways.

Louie Pitt - Many Celilos

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lands, Natural Resources
Summary
Louie Pitt talks about "many Celilos," or the many places where indigenous people were pushed away from their livelihoods along the river systems in the Northwest.

Tony Johnson - What Makes a Chinook Indian

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Government to Government Relations
Summary
Tony Johnson talks about some of the differences between indigenous and non-indigenous cultures and how colonial culture sometimes seems invisible to non-indigenous people but becomes obvious in comparison to indigenous cultures living here.

Tony Johnson - Connection to Place

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lands, Lifeways
Summary
Tony Johnson talks about connection to place and why it's important to educate non-native people about places that are important to indigenous people of the Northwest.

Tony Johnson - Chinuk Wawa Language

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Language
Summary
Tony Johnson describes Chinuk Wawa, the pidgen language known as "Chinook Jargon" that is the one of the remaining living Chinook languages and was widely used for trading in the Northwest.

Tony Johnson - Cultural Inheritance

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lifeways
Summary
Tony Johnson explains how his cultural lifeways are his inheritance and that it has value that continues to need to be passed down to future generations.

Tony Johnson - Treaties

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Government to Government Relations, Natural Resources
Summary
Tony Johnson talks about the Boldt Decision, which granted Treaty Tribes access to fishing sites, but denied traditional rights to unrecognized tribal communities like the Chinook Nation.

Wilbur Slockish - Water is the Giver of Life

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Natural Resources
Summary
Wilbur Slockish tells us "water is the giver of life" and describes his connection to the river.

Wilbur Slockish - Built-in Conservation

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lifeways, Natural Resources
Summary
Wilbur Slockish explains that indigenous lifeways have built-in conservation practices, meaning that the very foundation is a necessary respect for the water and land that provide food resources.

Wilbur Slockish - Prison Experience

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Lands, Natural Resources
Summary
Wilbur Slockish tells a story of a life lesson he learned from a man named Hobart Garneaux while in prison for "illegal" fishing.

Wilbur Slockish - Treaties

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Government to Government Relations, Lands
Summary
Wilbur Slockish talks about how Issac Stevens came down the river to negotiate treaties with the tribes. He gives a little background on what it means to be "River People" indirectly explaining the phrase "usual and accustomed places".

Wilfred and Bessie Scott - Redheart Band

Digital Heritage
Community
Confluence
Category
Ceremony
Summary
Wilfred Scott explains their role in the memorial ceremonies for the Redheart Band in Vancouver, WA.