Affiliate Spotlight

Tamástslikt Cultural Institute

Richard H. Engeman, editor
with assistance from Charles Denight

Tamástslikt Cultural Institute 72789 Highway 331 Pendleton, Oregon 97801 Phone 541-966-9748 Fax 541-966-9927 E-mail: contact@tamastslikt.com Web site: www.tamastslikt.com OHS Affiliate since 1994
The Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, which opened its doors in August 1998, was built by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to preserve the Tribes' culture and history and to present their story to the world. Its walls of native rock and wood encompass forty-five thousand square feet filled with exhibits, meeting spaces, archives, a research library, museum store, and offices.	1
Located five miles east of Pendleton on the grounds of the Wildhorse Resort and Casino against the backdrop of the nearby Blue Mountains, Tamástslikt has drawn praise for its stunning architectural design and for the permanent exhibits that outline the story of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla — people who have resided in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington for millennia. The Tribes' story tells of a steadily growing base of knowledge and trade disrupted only recently by immigrants who were initially welcomed but who soon brought disaster to the Tribes. Those immigrants were, of course, the people who came along the Oregon Trail. Tamástslikt is the only interpretive center on the trail to tell its story from the American Indian point of view.	2
Permanent exhibits — housed in a round wing because the circle has special meaning in Tribal culture — are organized in three sections: "We Were," "We Are," and "We Will Be." Displays, sound effects, and interactive multimedia tell of the Tribes' past and present as well as their plans for the future. The permanent exhibits open with a multimedia trip into the mind of Coyote. Sitting in a darkened theater shaped like a tipi, with stars overhead, visitors hear and watch as Coyote defeats a monster and saves the world.	3
From the Coyote story, visitors move counterclockwise through the exhibits, beginning with the Seasonal Round, where the four seasons are presented as periods of harvesting, processing, and manufacturing. From high overhead come the natural sounds of the raven.	4
The exhibits reveal the extent of trade prior to the arrival of non-Indians and detail the importance of the horse to the Tribes in the two centuries after it first arrived in the seventeenth century. A lodge constructed of tule reeds demonstrates the traditional form of housing predominant in the Tribes' region. The first sign of non-Indian immigrants is in the exhibit on the fur traders. Closely following them are the missionaries and the settlers. The exhibits continue by recounting stories of disruption, war, forced treaties, and boarding schools and the parceling away of reservation land.	5
This image from the exhibit on the horse in the permanent exhibits at Tamástslikt shows a couple riding Cayuse horses that are wearing a variety of horse regalia, normally worn only on special occasions. The Cayuse are small but very sturdy horses that have been used on the Columbia Plateau for over two hundred years.
In the "We Are" section, visitors see modern Tribal members portrayed as active participants in their larger community, playing major roles in such celebrations as the Pendleton Round-Up. In "We Will Be," Tribal members young and old speak on video about their hopes and plans for a strong future that at once breaks with the disruption of the past two centuries and holds fast to a unique culture.	6
In addition to the permanent exhibits, Tamástslikt has rotating exhibits and hosts events ranging from an American Indian film festival to convocations with scholars and elders to discuss social and cultural issues in historical context.	7
In a few short years, the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute has become a major visitor attraction and a source of pride not only for Tribal members but also for the entire northeastern Oregon region.	8

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