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EDITOR'S NOTE
| WITHOUT THE INPUT of Native voices, this special issue would not be a meaningful documentation of Celilo Falls, and the guest editors and I thank all of the contributors who have helped keep the memory of Celilo alive by generously sharing their recollections. We also acknowledge the following people for their guidance, encouragement, and assistance in working with tribal members and elders: Hilda Alexander, Tina Antone, John Beevis, Roberta Conner, Carol Craig, Kateri Halfmoon, Jennifer Karson, Diane Mallickan, Louie Pitt, Jr., Karen Jim Whitford, and Elizabeth Woody; and we thank the Wyam Board and the Warm Springs, Yakama, Umatilla, and Nez Perce tribal councils for their reception to the project as well as the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute for its work commemorating Celilo Falls throughout 2007. |
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In the fiftieth anniversary of the drowning of Celilo Falls, Marianne Keddington-Lang saw an opportunity to document what now lies under Lake Celilo by gathering a wide range of knowledge about the place. The guest editors and I are indebted to Marianne for her vision. Guest editors Katrine Barber and Andrew H. Fisher, who gave two years of attention to this special issue, are historians who have both deep knowledge about and passion for their fields of study; it is wonderfully satisfying to work with them. The Quarterly's Editorial Advisory Board has long supported this project, and I am grateful to them, particularly Jeff Ostler, for all they did to help create this special issue. |
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The March 2007 "Celilo Stories" symposium, organized by the Center for Columbia River History and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, was an informative and inspirational gathering of elders, scholars, and residents of the region. The Quarterly is honored to reproduce in this issue some of the talks presented there and is grateful for the work Katrine Barber, Andrew Brainard, Jan Dilg, and Mary Wheeler did to make the conference possible. |
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Several current and former staff members, volunteers, and interns at the Oregon Historical Society made significant contributions to this issue. Cain Allen researched the OHS photograph collection, and Dean Shapiro processed scores of photographs. Rose Tucker Fellows Jeremy Skinner and Erin McCullugh Peneva aided the conception and completion of the issue. Intern Dorothy Anne Mix and volunteer Rachel S. Tobie gave valuable design and photograph assistance. Weekly Quarterly volunteers Tom Comeford, Abby Dawson, and Marvin Dawson each read the entire issue at least once, catching mistakes, making suggestions, and offering enthusiasm. Oregon Historical Society Research Library staff, including director MaryAnn Campbell, photograph coordinator Lucy Berkeley, and OHS photographer Evan Schneider, provided the journal with outstanding images and essential research support. The Quarterly is grateful to OHS Executive Director George Vogt for his support of this special issue. |
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Susan Karren at the National Archives and Records Administration provided essential research support. Sara Thompson and Charles Hudson of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission also assisted the journal. |
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The Quarterly is indebted to the oral historians who conducted interviews with those who knew Celilo, documenting knowledge that would otherwise be lost. Excerpts from several interviews are published here. The editors have made grammatical changes for clarity and, when possible, interviewees have reviewed the excerpts and made corrections and additions; what is printed here, therefore, will not fully match archived transcripts. Introductory notes to the excerpts were written by the guest editors. |
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Throughout the issue, there are variations in spellings of Native words, reflecting the vast array of languages that were used for millennia along the mid–Columbia River and the challenges in making written languages from spoken ones. Readers will find, for example, that the place Wishram or Wishxam is spelled different ways. Similarly, instead of conforming capitalization among articles, we have generally maintained authors' use of capitalization for words such as tribes and people. |
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Finally, this special issue marks a transition for the Quarterly, as Marianne Keddington-Lang finishes her official connection with the journal, which she edited from 1999 to 2007. For over four years, I worked under Marianne's thoughtful guidance, and her expertise, vision, and enthusiasm for scholarly publishing has left its mark on OHQ. From Marianne, I came to understand the breadth of intellectual possibilities for Oregon history. The many voices in this issue produce a diverse set of narratives about a single place, much like all 108 volumes of OHQ do for Oregon as a whole. I am glad to have the opportunity to help the journal continue its mission, and I hope you enjoy this special issue as much as I have.
—Eliza E. Canty-Jones
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| The volcanoes in our stories moved and lived before our human presence. They made way for the contour of skyline. The river shifted this way, left its mark. It made a way for us. Coyote walked here and made this so in this time's beginning. Songs are sung through our lives and are a part of how we follow. There is a difference here. We dream. We know our bodies are made of all these elements. On this land we are all motion. We age. Society changes. New people arrive. Old people leave. Memory stays.
—Elizabeth Woody
originally published in River of Memory: The Everlasting Columbia, by William Laymanreproduced here by permission of University of Washington Press and the author
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