Confluence Library

Indigenous communities in our region have been hit disproportionately hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Join Emily Washines (Yakama) and Chuck Sams (CTUIR) to hear first-hand stories of the different ways Tribes have responded. This conversation will go beyond statistics and headlines to consider the daily lives of Native people as they confront what, for them, the most recent pandemic.

Indigenous communities in our region have been hit disproportionately hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Join Emily Washines (Yakama) and Chuck Sams (CTUIR) to hear first-hand stories of the different ways Tribes have responded. This conversation will go beyond statistics and headlines to consider the daily lives of Native people as they confront what, for them, the most recent pandemic.

In this excerpt, Bessie Greene Scott talks about her childhood, respect for the river, and language.

In this excerpt, Bill Yallup Jr. talks about the power of the river and the respect given to it.

Roberta Conner recounts stories told to her by her relative Nettie Showaway. This excerpt goes over Nette’s experience at Celilo, in the Dalles, at boarding school, and Nettie’s birth in Simnasho.

The text of a Chinook Blessing delivered by Chinook Tribal Chief Gary Johnson in Chinook homelands, November 18, 2005.

On November 17th, we held a talk with nationally recognized author Robin Wall Kimmerer, of Braiding Sweetgrass fame, on how themes from it can offer lessons on moving towards a more just and sustainable future

In this excerpt, Lillian Pitt [Warm Springs/Wasco/Yakama] talks about her experience first seeing She Who Watches and the power of ancestry.

This Story Collection explores ways of looking at our economy in terms of our environment, our history and our connections to each other.

In this excerpt, Antone Minthorn (Umatilla) talks about the Whitman mission, the coming of settlers, and the Cayuse War, as well as treaty negotiations with Issac Stevens.