Roberta Conner on Stories and Celilo

Last month, more than 25 educators gathered in our first-ever Confluence conference. A culmination of the Confluence learning community, it was the first time many of the participants had met in person. Today, we’re talking with Confluence staff members Heather Gurko and Daria Martin Bigham and educators Kavika Kalama and Katherine Philips about the Confluence approach to education, which focuses on uplifting Indigenous voices.

From June to October of 1877, the US Calvary waged a brutal war against the Nimiipuu people, or the Nez Perce Tribe in the place we now call Idaho. Chief RedHeart and his band were not involved in that war. Even so, the US Army took him prisoner, along with the men, women, and children under his protection and held them at Fort Vancouver. Starting in 1998 the Nez Perce Tribe have hosted an annual memorial on the grounds of Fort Vancouver to honor the Redheart Band. In today’s program, we’ll hear today from Nez Perce Tribal members: Jeffery Scott, Clendon Allen, Danae Wilson, Pete Wilson, Jamie Pinkham, Tai Simpson, and Wilfred Scott. We’ll also hear from Mary Wood and former Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard.

200 years after the Lewis and Clark journey, the first Confluence art installation was completed in 2006 at Cape Disappointment state park on the Washington state side of the river. At Confluence, we like to say that their journey’s end point is where Confluence’s work began–to reinterpret who this story is about and include the long neglected voices of Indigenous people. In this episode we talk with Tony Johnson, the chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation, Rachel Cushman, the Secretary/Treasurer of the Chinook Indian Nation, and Aaron Webster, a long time Washington State Park Interpretive Ranger at Cape Disappointment State Park.

In this episode of Confluence Radio, we hear from Antone Minthorn, a respected Elder and leader from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. In today’s episode, we’ll hear Antone Minthorn talk about tribal economies, the history of treaties along the Columbia River system, and how to get a collaborative “win-win”. You’ll also hear Umatilla Tribal member Chuck Sams, who conducted this interview for Confluence back in 2019. Chuck went on to become the first Native American to lead the National Park Service.

What is the legacy of dams on the Columbia River? What would be the benefit of restoring salmon to the Columbia and reviving the health of the river? These are the questions considered in the latest volume of the Confluence journal Voices from the River. Volume 2 of our journal explores the Columbia River system’s history, living cultures, and ecology through Indigenous voices. Dr. David Lewis led the development of our second volume as the Lead Editor. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Lewis, artist Chanti Manon, and Managing Editor Lily Hart.

In this episode, we talk with Tanna Engdahl, the spiritual leader for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, located in Southwest Washington state. She is also an associate supervisor of the Clark Conservation District and a board member with the Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Her career started in the 1960s as one of the first Native American television journalists. She worked in local TV news in Seattle. Tanna went on to work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and as Public Affairs Chief for both National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management. She is the founder of the Cowlitz Medicine Women

In today’s episode, Confluence takes a look at our education program and how reciprocity appears in education. We’ll hear from Heather Gurko, Confluence Education Manager and three Confluence Educators; Cowlitz Tribal member Emma Johnson, who recently earned her masters of science in cultural anthropology from Portland State University; and Christine and Clifton Bruno who have been sharing the Indigenous culture of the Pacific Northwest for more than 25 years. Clifton is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and Christine is Comache, Basque and Irish.

In today’s episode, Confluence takes a look inward, specifically at Confluence’s education programming in schools. Today, we’ll hear from h three of those educators about what they do with students and why, including Emma Johnson, a Cowlitz Tribal member and recently earned her masters of science in cultural anthropology from Portland State University. Her interests include tribal food sovereignty and traditional ecological and cultural knowledge. We’ll also hear from Christine and Clifton Bruno who have been sharing the Indigenous culture of the Pacific Northwest for more than 25 years. Clifton is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and Christine is Comache, Basque and Irish. The two of them work with schools, parks, land restoration projects and nonprofit organizations like Confluence and the Native Gathering Garden at Cully Park in Portland.

In this episode Roberta Conner, Director of the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, talks about oral traditions, Celilo Falls. She was raised in Cayuse Country and spent most of her formative years on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Her work as an author, speaker, local and national leader, and a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation earned her the 2007 Buffett Award.

In this episode, we hear from Bruce Jim, an elder with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and fish commissioner with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. Bruce Jim is actively involved in restoring wildlife habitat on the Warm Springs Reservation in Central Oregon and beyond those boundaries to the Tribe’s ceded lands in the John Day River basin and the high desert of the Columbia River region.