Confluence Podcast

From June to October of 1877, the US Calvary waged a brutal war against the Nimiipuu people, or the Nez Perce Tribe in the place we now call Idaho. Chief RedHeart and his band were not involved in that war. Even so, the US Army took him prisoner, along with the men, women, and children under his protection and held them at Fort Vancouver. Starting in 1998 the Nez Perce Tribe have hosted an annual memorial on the grounds of Fort Vancouver to honor the Redheart Band. In today’s program, we’ll hear today from Nez Perce Tribal members: Jeffery Scott, Clendon Allen, Danae Wilson, Pete Wilson, Jamie Pinkham, Tai Simpson, and Wilfred Scott. We’ll also hear from Mary Wood and former Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard.

200 years after the Lewis and Clark journey, the first Confluence art installation was completed in 2006 at Cape Disappointment state park on the Washington state side of the river. At Confluence, we like to say that their journey’s end point is where Confluence’s work began–to reinterpret who this story is about and include the long neglected voices of Indigenous people. In this episode we talk with Tony Johnson, the chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation, Rachel Cushman, the Secretary/Treasurer of the Chinook Indian Nation, and Aaron Webster, a long time Washington State Park Interpretive Ranger at Cape Disappointment State Park.

In this episode of Confluence Radio, we hear from Antone Minthorn, a respected Elder and leader from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. In today’s episode, we’ll hear Antone Minthorn talk about tribal economies, the history of treaties along the Columbia River system, and how to get a collaborative “win-win”. You’ll also hear Umatilla Tribal member Chuck Sams, who conducted this interview for Confluence back in 2019. Chuck went on to become the first Native American to lead the National Park Service.

What is the legacy of dams on the Columbia River? What would be the benefit of restoring salmon to the Columbia and reviving the health of the river? These are the questions considered in the latest volume of the Confluence journal Voices from the River. Volume 2 of our journal explores the Columbia River system’s history, living cultures, and ecology through Indigenous voices. Dr. David Lewis led the development of our second volume as the Lead Editor. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Lewis, artist Chanti Manon, and Managing Editor Lily Hart.

In this episode, we talk with Tanna Engdahl, the spiritual leader for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, located in Southwest Washington state. She is also an associate supervisor of the Clark Conservation District and a board member with the Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Her career started in the 1960s as one of the first Native American television journalists. She worked in local TV news in Seattle. Tanna went on to work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and as Public Affairs Chief for both National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management. She is the founder of the Cowlitz Medicine Women

In today’s episode, Confluence takes a look at our education program and how reciprocity appears in education. We’ll hear from Heather Gurko, Confluence Education Manager and three Confluence Educators; Cowlitz Tribal member Emma Johnson, who recently earned her masters of science in cultural anthropology from Portland State University; and Christine and Clifton Bruno who have been sharing the Indigenous culture of the Pacific Northwest for more than 25 years. Clifton is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and Christine is Comache, Basque and Irish.

In today’s episode, Confluence takes a look inward, specifically at Confluence’s education programming in schools. Today, we’ll hear from h three of those educators about what they do with students and why, including Emma Johnson, a Cowlitz Tribal member and recently earned her masters of science in cultural anthropology from Portland State University. Her interests include tribal food sovereignty and traditional ecological and cultural knowledge. We’ll also hear from Christine and Clifton Bruno who have been sharing the Indigenous culture of the Pacific Northwest for more than 25 years. Clifton is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and Christine is Comache, Basque and Irish. The two of them work with schools, parks, land restoration projects and nonprofit organizations like Confluence and the Native Gathering Garden at Cully Park in Portland.

In this episode Roberta Conner, Director of the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, talks about oral traditions, Celilo Falls. She was raised in Cayuse Country and spent most of her formative years on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Her work as an author, speaker, local and national leader, and a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation earned her the 2007 Buffett Award.

In this episode, we hear from Bruce Jim, an elder with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and fish commissioner with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. Bruce Jim is actively involved in restoring wildlife habitat on the Warm Springs Reservation in Central Oregon and beyond those boundaries to the Tribe’s ceded lands in the John Day River basin and the high desert of the Columbia River region.

A new children’s book by Warm Springs Elder Linda Meanus is hitting shelves this June, entitled My Name is LaMoosh. Linda grew up with her grandma Flora Thompson and grandpa Chief Tommy Thompson near Celilo Falls, a mighty fishery on the Columbia flooded in 1957 by the construction of The Dalles Dam. Linda persevered through this historic trauma and life’s challenges to teach young people about the Indigenous ways of the Columbia River. Intended for young readers to learn more about Native American history through a first-hand account, the book also reminds them that Indigenous people maintain a cultural connection to the land and river that gave them their identity. In today’s episode, we talk to Linda as well as Dr. Katy Barber (PSU) who supported her in this project.

For several year Confluence has gathering oral history interviews on an event known as the Redheart Memorial. It's an annual commemoration in Vancouver, Washington, commoratinve the suffering of the Redheart Band who the US Army imprisoned in 1877. Over the years, the Redheart memorial has evolved and deepened. In today’s episode, we’re going to hear from three Nez Perce Tribal members: Jeffery Scott, Clendon Allen, and Danae Wilson. You’ll hear them talk about the healing and happiness this memorial brings, despite the tragedy it commemorates.

Canoe culture has been integral to the Columbia River system’s Indigenous people since time immemorial. And Tribal canoes are still on the water today. In this episode of Confluence Radio, we hear from Brian Krehbiel and Bobby Mercier of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, Sam Robinson of the Chinook Indian Nation, Jefferson Greene of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and Tsali Cross and Jacelyn Lowley of the Portland All Nations Canoe Family. Tsali Cross is Cherokee and Caddo and Jacelyn Lowley is Couer d'Alene and Colville. Together, they all talk about their connection to the river, to canoes, and the importance of keeping Indigenous cultures alive today.

On today’s episode, you’re going to hear something most people never get a chance to hear—extended excerpts of stories in a traditional Native language of the Northwest, specifically the Nimiipuu, or Nez Perce people. We’ll listen to Harry Slickpoo Jr. who is a traditional storyteller and member of the Nez Perce Tribe.

In this episode, we talk with Patsy Whitefoot. She’s an elder from the Yakama Nation, a well known leader in education circles, an activist, and a Confluence board member. oday she talks about the Columbia River system, her experience with it, and the importance of reciprocity.

In November 2022, Confluence launched a new publication. Voices of the River journal features articles, stories, poetry and artwork by Native American writers and artists from Northwest Tribes. Confluence and its supporters celebrated the release of the inaugural issue of the journal during a launch party and panel discussion on November 18, 2022 at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, which is shared here in podcast format. Speakers include Rachel Cushman (Chinook), Chance White Eyes (Oneida), Emily Washinee (Yakama), and Sean Smith (Chinook).

Historians, like Alice in her Adventures in Wonderland, tend to fall down rabbit holes. At least that’s what it feels like sometimes, getting lost in research into one period or people or historical event. In this episode of the Confluence podcast, we hear from a group of historians musing on their experiences going down rabbit holes in their study of Indigenous history. The conversation was moderated by historian Emily Washines, a member of the Yakama Nation, along with Gonzaga University Native American Studies Director Laurie Arnold and Coll Thrush, Professor of History at the University of British Columbia. This conversation was originally held at the Pacific Northwest History Conference in 2022, at the Confluence Story Circles.

In this episode of Confluence Podcast, we hear from Antone Minthorn, a respected Elder and leader from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. In this episode, Antone discusses tribal governance, what the tribal economy means for the wider community, and the role of treaties today.

In this episode, we’re reaching into the Confluence Library to hear an interview with Tony Johnson, the Chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation. He describes how his Tribe has been working for decades to win federal recognition and what it means to him to be Chinook.

In this installment of the Confluence podcast, storyteller Ed Edmo (Shoshone Bannock), photographer Joe Cantrell (Cherokee) and composter Nancy Ives who talked about their new symphony called “Celilo Falls We Were There.” Conductor Yaki Bergman was also at the event but as he was there via zoom, the mic did not pick up his audio. For the symphony Ed paired his poetry with Nancy Ives music and projected photographic images by Joe Cantrell. “Celilo Falls We Were There” explores the geologic and human history of Celilo Falls, and how when The Dalles Dam flooded the Falls in 1957 Indigenous people lost not only their livelihoods but their cultural and spiritual home since time immemorial.

What do we do with these stories, what do I do with these stories, asks Ciarra Green in this episode of the Confluence Podcast. Ciarra’s academic background is in chemistry and environmental science. Ciarra shares traditional stories about her homelands in what we now call Idaho and eastern Oregon and Washington. She also explains the values and lessons those stories can mean for us today.