Indigenous Thinkers

Sunday, June 03, 2007
KATIE SCHNEIDER

History is more than just a set of facts and figures. It's made up of people, their motivations and their desires. For most of American history, the books have been written by European settlers and their descendants, pushing their way westward with inexorable force. Now that has changed.
A first-of-its-kind volume, "As Days Go By: Our History, Our Land, Our People -- the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla" presents history from the point of view of the indigenous peoples. "As Days Go By" takes oral tradition and transforms it into a written record that documents and celebrates the tribal point of view.
"Our time has come," wrote Debra Croswell of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, "time for our people to write about our history, our culture, our way of life and our future."
In the first chapter, linguist Philip E. Cash Cash documents the origins of the Columbia Plateau peoples and their languages. In cultures where history was passed down orally, facts were distilled into particularly potent stories. "Over millennia," he writes, "our oral traditions have given us an understanding of the natural world, the capacity of life and the fundamental human relationship that are bound by it."
These traditions came under attack in the early 1800s. The explorations of Lewis and Clark laid the groundwork for westward expansion. When Marcus Whitman established a Protestant Mission near today's Walla Walla, settlers began to arrive, encroaching on Indian lands and bringing devastating disease. The Cayuse retaliated, murdering Whitman and 13 others. The incident ignited 30 years of war between various tribes and the federal government. The period ended with the tribes' confinement to the area that is today the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Punitive laws followed as treaties were made and broken.
Despite these hardships, many of the book's authors look forward with hope. Legal and political gains have been made in the past 50 years, as treaty obligations are finally being enforced. The tribal government has undertaken joint projects with corporate partners to increase economic prosperity. Long-held traditions continue in modern ways, including award-winning salmon restoration in the Umatilla River. The Tamastslikt Cultural Institute is serving as a key source for understanding the culture and history of the Confederated Tribes. In 2004, the Nixyaawii Community High School opened, the first of its kind in Oregon.
"This history project," Croswell wrote, "is a key ingredient in understanding -- not only understanding by our neighbors but also understanding by our own people . . ." History can only be considered accurate when all voices are heard.
Katie Schneider recently reviewed "High Tech Trash" by Elizabeth Grossman for The Oregonian.

source: http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1180567519211640.xml&coll=7