Tribes mark 50 years after loss of Celilo Falls
Monday, March 12, 2007
Filed Under:
Environment
More than a thousand people, representing tribes across the Pacific Northwest, gathered on Saturday to mark the 50 years since the loss of Celilo Falls in Washington.
Celilo Falls, on the Columbia River, was traditional fishing grounds for dozens of tribes. But on March 10, 1957, it was flooded when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created The Dalles Dam.
Destroyed were Celilo Village and a way of life. "My ancestry is right here, underwater," James Kiona, a member of the Yakama Nation who was born at the falls in 1949, told The Seattle Times.
The falls were so loud that the sound of the water crashing down could be heard for miles. "Fifty years of silence," said Wilbur Slockish Jr., a hereditary chief of the Klickitat Tribe.
After a salmon meal, tribal leaders spoke about the need to protect treaty rights and preserve culture.
Get the Story:
Tribes mourn loss of falls
(The Seattle Times 3/12)
Phil Ferolito: Visit brings history of Celilo Falls to life (The Yakima Herald-Republic 3/12)
Silenced thunder (The Dalles Chronicle 3/11)
Relevant Links:
Celilo Legacy Blog -
http://web.mac.com/fivecrows/iWeb/Celilo/Blog/Blog.html
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission -
http://www.critfc.org
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