Living in Celilo A Storypath Exploring the Lasting Legacy of Celilo Falls by Shana Brown Office of Native Education Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Washington State Trillium Publishing, Inc. Acknowledgements Contents Shana Brown would like to thank: Carol Craig, Yakama Elder, writer, and historian, for her photos of Celilo as well as her Introduction to Storypath ..................... 2 expertise and her children’s story “I Wish I Had Seen the Falls.” Chucky is really her first grandson (and my cousin!). Episode 1: Creating the Setting ...............22 The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission for providing information about their organization and granting permission to use articles, including a piece from their Episode 2: Creating the Characters............42 magazine Wana Chinook Tymoo. Episode 3: Building Context ..................54 HistoryLink.org for granting permission to use the article “Dorothea Nordstrand Recalls Old Celilo Falls.” Episode 4: Authorizing the Dam ..............68 The Northwest Power and Conservation Council for granting permission to use an excerpt from the article “Celilo Falls.” Episode 5: Negotiations .....................86 Ritchie Graves, Chief of the NW Region Hydropower Division’s FCRPS Branch, NOAA Fisheries, for providing information on survival rates of salmon through the Episode 6: Broken Promises ................118 dams on the Columbia River system. Episode 7: Inundation .....................142 Sally Thompson, PhD., for granting permission to use her articles. Se-Ah-Dom Edmo, Shoshone-Bannock/Nez Perce/ Yakama, Coordinator of the Classroom-Based Assessment ...............154 Indigenous Ways of Knowing Program at Lewis & Clark College, Columbia River Board Member, and Vice President of the Oregon Indian Education Association, for providing invaluable feedback and guidance as well as copies of the actual notes and letters from the Celilo Falls Community Club. The Oregon Historical Society for granting permission to use articles from the Oregon Historical Quarterly. The Oregon Historical Society Research Library Moving Image Collections for granting permission to use video material. Acknowledgements Contents Shana Brown would like to thank: Carol Craig, Yakama Elder, writer, and historian, for her photos of Celilo as well as her Introduction to Storypath ..................... 2 expertise and her children’s story “I Wish I Had Seen the Falls.” Chucky is really her first grandson (and my cousin!). Episode 1: Creating the Setting ...............22 The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission for providing information about their organization and granting permission to use articles, including a piece from their Episode 2: Creating the Characters............42 magazine Wana Chinook Tymoo. Episode 3: Building Context ..................54 HistoryLink.org for granting permission to use the article “Dorothea Nordstrand Recalls Old Celilo Falls.” Episode 4: Authorizing the Dam ..............68 The Northwest Power and Conservation Council for granting permission to use an excerpt from the article “Celilo Falls.” Episode 5: Negotiations .....................86 Ritchie Graves, Chief of the NW Region Hydropower Division’s FCRPS Branch, NOAA Fisheries, for providing information on survival rates of salmon through the Episode 6: Broken Promises ................118 dams on the Columbia River system. Episode 7: Inundation .....................142 Sally Thompson, PhD., for granting permission to use her articles. Se-Ah-Dom Edmo, Shoshone-Bannock/Nez Perce/ Yakama, Coordinator of the Classroom-Based Assessment ...............154 Indigenous Ways of Knowing Program at Lewis & Clark College, Columbia River Board Member, and Vice President of the Oregon Indian Education Association, for providing invaluable feedback and guidance as well as copies of the actual notes and letters from the Celilo Falls Community Club. The Oregon Historical Society for granting permission to use articles from the Oregon Historical Quarterly. The Oregon Historical Society Research Library Moving Image Collections for granting permission to use video material. Introduction to Storypath Program Overview This Storypath consists of seven episodes that explore the story of Celilo Falls. Depending on the reading and learn- About Storypath: Philosophy and Aims ing levels of your students, each episode should take about a week. In Episodes 1–3, students create the setting, char- Storypath is a constructivist simulation in which students create their “ I am grateful to acters, and context. Students then respond to and create own communities and stories based on a historical events. This storypath Margit E. McGuire, author stories surrounding the historical events that lead up to the design relies on the imagination and creativity of the students and gives of the Storypath Program, inundation of Celilo Falls. Finally, students reflect on the them an opportunity to blend their imagination with the historical record. Social Studies School effects of the damming, not only for tribal people, but for Services, and Professor all stakeholders: commercial non-tribal fisheries, farmers, of Education at Seattle For example, one of the tasks is that students will build a model of Celilo and non-tribal citizens. Students will bear witness to the University, for permission to Village. The goal is not to get the model exactly as Celilo Village was use the Storypath approach before the falls’ inundation. Rather, the goal is to have students become legacy of Celilo and its importance to tribal people, even as a structure for Celilo Falls personally invested in the story they are about to tell, understand the 50 years after its death. Storypath.” significance of the village, and become emotionally involved in the tell- –Shana Brown, writer ing of their story. This is when the real learning begins. Essential Questions for the Legacy of Celilo Falls Storypath’s goal is not to memorize names and dates; its intended focus 1. What is the legal status of the tribes who negotiated settlement for compensation is on concepts and emotions. Thus, this Storypath is designed to give for the loss of Celilo as sovereign nations with respect to the United States students a deep understanding and empathy of what it might have been government? like to be a Northwest stakeholder during this tumultuous and heart- a. Only federally recognized tribes with nation-to-nation sovereignty were breaking time. involved in Celilo negotiations between the Indians and the U.S. government: The unit contains the essential elements of all Storypaths—the creation • Yakama (then spelled “Yakima”) For more information of the frieze (showing the setting of the story), characters that the stu- • Umatilla (OR) about the Storypath dents create for themselves, the building of a social context, and critical approach, see http:// • Nez Perce (ID) incidents. Critical incidents are introduced in this unit through videos, fac-staff.seattleu.edu/ articles, and oral history. • Warm Springs (OR) mmcguire/web/. b. The U.S. government deals with tribes on a nation-to-nation basis. Though these Indian nations exist within the boundaries of the United States, which has a trust responsibility to those tribes, in general the United States deals with tribal governments just as it would any other country. 2. What are the ways in which these tribes responded to the damming of Celilo, which threatened to extinguish their cultures and independence? a. Tribes formed organizations such as the Celilo Fish Committee and the Celilo Community Club to fight the damming of Celilo Falls. b. They negotiated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2 Storypath: Living in Celilo - Introduction Storypath: Living in Celilo - Introduction 3 Introduction to Storypath Program Overview This Storypath consists of seven episodes that explore the story of Celilo Falls. Depending on the reading and learn- About Storypath: Philosophy and Aims ing levels of your students, each episode should take about a week. In Episodes 1–3, students create the setting, char- Storypath is a constructivist simulation in which students create their “ I am grateful to acters, and context. Students then respond to and create own communities and stories based on a historical events. This storypath Margit E. McGuire, author stories surrounding the historical events that lead up to the design relies on the imagination and creativity of the students and gives of the Storypath Program, inundation of Celilo Falls. Finally, students reflect on the them an opportunity to blend their imagination with the historical record. Social Studies School effects of the damming, not only for tribal people, but for Services, and Professor all stakeholders: commercial non-tribal fisheries, farmers, of Education at Seattle For example, one of the tasks is that students will build a model of Celilo and non-tribal citizens. Students will bear witness to the University, for permission to Village. The goal is not to get the model exactly as Celilo Village was use the Storypath approach before the falls’ inundation. Rather, the goal is to have students become legacy of Celilo and its importance to tribal people, even as a structure for Celilo Falls personally invested in the story they are about to tell, understand the 50 years after its death. Storypath.” significance of the village, and become emotionally involved in the tell- –Shana Brown, writer ing of their story. This is when the real learning begins. Essential Questions for the Legacy of Celilo Falls