Program 307

Chinook Canoe. National Geographic.

Historical Introduction:
The Chinook

with Arlie Neskahi

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Arlie Neskahi:
Welcome to Wisdom of the Elders. I’m Arlie Neskahi.

Taucum’s canoes were powered by twenty-five sturdy men. Cold rain dripped off the rims of their woven conical hats, but they were cheerfully singing and rowing, as they cut through the choppy waters of the Columbia River. Taucum was on his way to visit “basisiyuks ” — the blanket men, who had come overland, and not – like the Bostons – on a sailing ship, seeking furs. Instead, they traded cloth blankets for food, and very little else. But Taucum was going to see for himself. Read more »

Millie Lagergren. Photo by Larry Johnson

George and Millie Lagergren

with Brian Bull

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Arlie Neskahi:
For Millie and George Lagergren, the remote, quiet fishing town of Bay Center, Washington, affords them time to practice their Chinook traditions. Basket weaving, canoe building, paddle-making, and telling stories of the “early years” are but a few of the past times the couple enjoys. Brian Bull shares a glimpse of their lives in our latest Elder Wisdom: Read more »

Don Addison. Photo by Larry Johnson.

Chinook Wa-Wa

with Don Addison

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Arlie Neskahi:
Welcome back. This is Wisdom of the Elders.

Don Addison:
Halito! I’m Don Addision and this is Speaking Native.

The term Chinook refers to several different languages. “Chinook Wa-Wa” (pejoratively known as “Chinook jargon”) is a trade language composed of words from many languages, along the west coast. Read more »

Judy Bluehorse Skelton

Native People Are Still Here

with Judy Bluehorse Skelton

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Arlie Neskahi:
Two hundred years have passed since Lewis and Clark. We stand at the edge of the continent and look back at where we’ve been and ask where we are headed. The Chinook people look to the future as they continue their appeals to the U.S. Government to be remembered and officially recognized as a sovereign nation. What is sovereignty and why is it so important to Native Americans? Today in Sacred Landscape, Judy Bluehorse Skelton, talks about sovereignty and offers reflections on the land, the people, and the journey that changed a continent forever. Read more »

Jerry Bouchard

with Rose High Bear

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Arlie Neskahi:
Its true. Type II diabetes occurs in one in seven Native Americans, and there is no cure, but many diabetics are beginning to discover that the risk of serious complications can be reduced with proper diet and daily exercise. It means the difference between living and dying, according to Cowlitz elder, Jerry Bouchard. In today’s Health and Healing, Rose High Bear interviews Jerry about his life experience with diabetes. Read more »

Peggy Disney

Peggy Disney

with Nico Wind

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Arlie Neskahi:
We’ve discussed the courageous stand of the Chinook nation to reestablish its sovereignty. Now let’s look at another stand being made by the Chinook — to rebuild their culture. Because of declining tribal population and loss of federal recognition, the culture of the Chinookan peoples came close to being dissolved into neighboring tribes. On today’s Tribal Rhythms, Nico Wind tells the story of the revitalization of Chinook music, and shares a variety of their musical forms. Read more »

Fort Clatsop Canoe. Columbia River Photographic Journey.

Tony Johnson

with Bruce Crespin

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Arlie Neskahi:
By the time of Lewis and Clark, Chinook people had long established their role as “middlemen” between tribes throughout the lower Columbia and Northwest Coast regions. Their prominence in trade was, in part, due to their skill as boatsmen and their superior watercraft: the Chinook canoe. Lewis and Clark were highly impressed with, in Clark’s words, these “butiful” canoes, and they secured one through barter at their first opportunity. Today in the Artists Circle, Bruce Crespin will focus on Chinook canoe carver and tribal linguist Tony Johnson, who discusses the fine art of marine engineering. Read more »

Cliff Snider. Trail Tribes.

Cliff Snider

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Cliff Snider:
Klahooya, everyone! My name is Cliff Snider and I am the honorary chief of the Chinook Indian Tribe.

My fourth great grandfather was Chief Concomly that met Lewis and Clark in 1805. Well, I always say they discovered the Lewis and Clark expedition at that particular time at the mouth of the Columbia River. And he was the most famous Chinook Indian chief of all time. Read more »