Post by Okwes on Dec 28, 2007 13:26:10 GMT -5
Tribal victory June 11, 2007
<http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Issue?issue_id=348>
www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17060
<http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17060> [Yakama
Chief Johnny Jackson fishes for salmon on the Columbia River at Lyle
Point, Washington, as his ancestors did for thousands of years. PHIL
SCHERMEISTER]
Yakama Chief Johnny Jackson fishes for salmon on the Columbia River at
Lyle Point, Washington, as his ancestors did for thousands of years.
PHIL SCHERMEISTER
Yakama Nation buys Lyle Point, ending decades-long struggle over fishing
rights
LYLE, WASHINGTON
On maps it is called Lyle Point, but to tribal fishing people it has
always been Nanainmi Waki Uulktt, "the place where the wind blows
from two directions."
The rocky promontory overlooks the confluence of the Klickitat and
Columbia rivers, providing spectacular views of the Columbia River Gorge
as it cuts through the Cascade Range. To the west, Oregon's Mount
Hood stands sentinel over magnificent canyon walls rising to 4,000 feet
above the river.
The gorge was the center of trade for tribes from the Plains to the
Pacific. Lyle Point was home to a Cascade and Klickitat village, and
provided an important fishery and meeting place for over 10,000 years.
But like many tribal lands in the Northwest, it was lost when white
immigrants moved to the area in the mid-1800s. The drowning of Celilo
Falls, another traditional tribal fishing place, under the waters of The
Dalles Dam 50 years ago was a further blow. Now, at least one of those
lost fishing grounds will be restored to the tribes that once depended
on it. On May 8, the Yakama Nation announced the $2.4 million
acquisition of Lyle Point from the Trust for Public Land, ending a
long-simmering battle with would-be developers.
"This is a great day for the Yakamas — to get the land returned
back for access to our fishing right areas," announced Yakama Tribal
Council Chairwoman Lavina Washines. "The younger generation will
continue to exercise their Creator-given right to our very important
salmon."
The same winds that made Lyle Point a primary salmon-drying area for
thousands of years also made it a world-class windsurfing mecca in the
late 1980s. Klickitat County approved a 33-lot subdivision in 1992,
threatening to turn the area into a gated community.
Yakama Margaret Saluskin was the first to raise the alarm about the
subdivision plans. One day while she was drying salmon that her husband,
Douglas, caught at Lyle Point, she noticed bulldozers carving the first
roads into the promontory. Protests by tribal members and
environmentalists swiftly ensued. When vandals destroyed a fishing
scaffold at the point, the protesters began a nine-month encampment on
the site. The tribe's access to traditional scaffold fishing,
protected by the Treaty of 1855, was at stake, Saluskin said.
Conservation groups joined the protest, saying Lyle Point was a resting
place for bald eagles. The Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit
specializing in conservation of real estate, began negotiations to
purchase Lyle Point and held discussions with tribal members about ways
to protect and manage the sacred site.
By 2002, the trust had purchased most of the lots, paving the way for
conveyance to the Yakama. But tribal councils could not reach a
consensus until the current administration, led by Washines,
accomplished the acquisition.
Word spread like wildfire among Columbia River tribal peoples when the
land deal finally became official. Nearly 200 tribal members and their
supporters gathered at the point on May 15 to celebrate their
long-awaited victory.
"Today marks the return and protection of sacred land," said
Charles F. Sams III, director of the trust's Tribal and Native Lands
Program and a member of the Cocopah, Payuse and Assinoboine Sioux
tribes. "My grandfather took me up and down the river and showed me
what we had lost. He told me I had a responsibility to the People, and
to the salmon, to ensure their existence so they would continue to feed
the People."
Some visibly struggled to maintain composure as memories were brought to
life. "We fought for this," Cascade Chief Wilbur Slockish said.
"It almost came to actual blows! So they can recreate? Make money,
and windsurf? It was because we were standing in the way of economic
progress. Progress."
He brought out a chuckle when he told the crowd, "Progress always
involves our homes, our cemeteries, our fishing grounds. There would
have been coffee shops, cheese shops, wine tasting here."
In 1945, Nisqually Billy Frank Jr. was arrested at age 14 for illegal
fishing, starting a fight with the state of Washington that culminated
in the 1974 Boldt decision affirming tribal fishing rights as reserved
in treaties with the United States. "When I started singing today, I
started thinking about all my partners," he said. "All the good
times here. All the bad times." He paused in reflection.
"I'm happy to be here to witness this great occasion. It feels
good."
Even as the tribes and the Trust for Public Land celebrate, the nearby
town remains divided. There are those who still hope to see Lyle Point
developed. "We need the tax basis for schools and fire departments
and so forth," resident Don Smith said. Others, like Pam Essling,
support the return of the land to the Yakama. "We honor the
historical, cultural and spiritual significance of this place," she
said. "We're here to congratulate the Yakama people for
reacquiring their land to preserve, protect and enhance their cultural
and natural resources for all people. It can be a place for healing old
wounds and misunderstanding."
The purchase of Lyle Point ensures that thousands of years of tradition
will continue along the river. Supporters from nearby communities will
continue to be invited to tribal gatherings and feasts, Yakama leaders
say, aiding cultural understanding and reconciliation.
After those who'd gathered finished a dinner of salmon and dried
venison, Margaret Saluskin, who had fought so long and so hard, said
with a peaceful smile, "Whatever you had in your hearts and minds
for saving this land where the wind blows two ways, I want to thank
you."
The author writes from Portland, Oregon, and is a member of the
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
<http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Issue?issue_id=348>
www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17060
<http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17060> [Yakama
Chief Johnny Jackson fishes for salmon on the Columbia River at Lyle
Point, Washington, as his ancestors did for thousands of years. PHIL
SCHERMEISTER]
Yakama Chief Johnny Jackson fishes for salmon on the Columbia River at
Lyle Point, Washington, as his ancestors did for thousands of years.
PHIL SCHERMEISTER
Yakama Nation buys Lyle Point, ending decades-long struggle over fishing
rights
LYLE, WASHINGTON
On maps it is called Lyle Point, but to tribal fishing people it has
always been Nanainmi Waki Uulktt, "the place where the wind blows
from two directions."
The rocky promontory overlooks the confluence of the Klickitat and
Columbia rivers, providing spectacular views of the Columbia River Gorge
as it cuts through the Cascade Range. To the west, Oregon's Mount
Hood stands sentinel over magnificent canyon walls rising to 4,000 feet
above the river.
The gorge was the center of trade for tribes from the Plains to the
Pacific. Lyle Point was home to a Cascade and Klickitat village, and
provided an important fishery and meeting place for over 10,000 years.
But like many tribal lands in the Northwest, it was lost when white
immigrants moved to the area in the mid-1800s. The drowning of Celilo
Falls, another traditional tribal fishing place, under the waters of The
Dalles Dam 50 years ago was a further blow. Now, at least one of those
lost fishing grounds will be restored to the tribes that once depended
on it. On May 8, the Yakama Nation announced the $2.4 million
acquisition of Lyle Point from the Trust for Public Land, ending a
long-simmering battle with would-be developers.
"This is a great day for the Yakamas — to get the land returned
back for access to our fishing right areas," announced Yakama Tribal
Council Chairwoman Lavina Washines. "The younger generation will
continue to exercise their Creator-given right to our very important
salmon."
The same winds that made Lyle Point a primary salmon-drying area for
thousands of years also made it a world-class windsurfing mecca in the
late 1980s. Klickitat County approved a 33-lot subdivision in 1992,
threatening to turn the area into a gated community.
Yakama Margaret Saluskin was the first to raise the alarm about the
subdivision plans. One day while she was drying salmon that her husband,
Douglas, caught at Lyle Point, she noticed bulldozers carving the first
roads into the promontory. Protests by tribal members and
environmentalists swiftly ensued. When vandals destroyed a fishing
scaffold at the point, the protesters began a nine-month encampment on
the site. The tribe's access to traditional scaffold fishing,
protected by the Treaty of 1855, was at stake, Saluskin said.
Conservation groups joined the protest, saying Lyle Point was a resting
place for bald eagles. The Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit
specializing in conservation of real estate, began negotiations to
purchase Lyle Point and held discussions with tribal members about ways
to protect and manage the sacred site.
By 2002, the trust had purchased most of the lots, paving the way for
conveyance to the Yakama. But tribal councils could not reach a
consensus until the current administration, led by Washines,
accomplished the acquisition.
Word spread like wildfire among Columbia River tribal peoples when the
land deal finally became official. Nearly 200 tribal members and their
supporters gathered at the point on May 15 to celebrate their
long-awaited victory.
"Today marks the return and protection of sacred land," said
Charles F. Sams III, director of the trust's Tribal and Native Lands
Program and a member of the Cocopah, Payuse and Assinoboine Sioux
tribes. "My grandfather took me up and down the river and showed me
what we had lost. He told me I had a responsibility to the People, and
to the salmon, to ensure their existence so they would continue to feed
the People."
Some visibly struggled to maintain composure as memories were brought to
life. "We fought for this," Cascade Chief Wilbur Slockish said.
"It almost came to actual blows! So they can recreate? Make money,
and windsurf? It was because we were standing in the way of economic
progress. Progress."
He brought out a chuckle when he told the crowd, "Progress always
involves our homes, our cemeteries, our fishing grounds. There would
have been coffee shops, cheese shops, wine tasting here."
In 1945, Nisqually Billy Frank Jr. was arrested at age 14 for illegal
fishing, starting a fight with the state of Washington that culminated
in the 1974 Boldt decision affirming tribal fishing rights as reserved
in treaties with the United States. "When I started singing today, I
started thinking about all my partners," he said. "All the good
times here. All the bad times." He paused in reflection.
"I'm happy to be here to witness this great occasion. It feels
good."
Even as the tribes and the Trust for Public Land celebrate, the nearby
town remains divided. There are those who still hope to see Lyle Point
developed. "We need the tax basis for schools and fire departments
and so forth," resident Don Smith said. Others, like Pam Essling,
support the return of the land to the Yakama. "We honor the
historical, cultural and spiritual significance of this place," she
said. "We're here to congratulate the Yakama people for
reacquiring their land to preserve, protect and enhance their cultural
and natural resources for all people. It can be a place for healing old
wounds and misunderstanding."
The purchase of Lyle Point ensures that thousands of years of tradition
will continue along the river. Supporters from nearby communities will
continue to be invited to tribal gatherings and feasts, Yakama leaders
say, aiding cultural understanding and reconciliation.
After those who'd gathered finished a dinner of salmon and dried
venison, Margaret Saluskin, who had fought so long and so hard, said
with a peaceful smile, "Whatever you had in your hearts and minds
for saving this land where the wind blows two ways, I want to thank
you."
The author writes from Portland, Oregon, and is a member of the
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.