Oregonion Story on the Chinook

Chinook tribe pushes for recognition, again

Thanksgiving

Much has been said regarding Native Americans and Thanksgiving.  As you can imagine, views differ.

Here is a great article I found.  Just follow the link:

Thanksgiving: A Native American View

Famous Quote

“ Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mochican, the Pocanet, and other powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before the avarice and oppression of the white man, as snow before the summer sun … Sleep not longer, O Choctaws and Chickasaws … Will not the bones of our dead be plowed up, and their graves turned into plowed fields? ”
—- Tecumseh, 1811, ‘The Portable North American Indian Reader’

More entries coming soon!

I will be writing again soon- keep checking back!

Tribe Gains Ground

Check out this recent article in the Chinook Observer.Click Here

THE PREMEDITATED EXTINCTION OF THE CHINOOK PEOPLE

Today’s lesson begins with the ill-fated Whitman party.  You know- those Presbyterian missionaries who were slaughtered by the Indians.  We read all about the Whitman massacre in our history books.  What we didn’t read is much more disturbing.  The Whitmans were distributing smallpox infested supplies to the Indians.  Now, we do not know for certain that Whitman and his people knew that the supplies were infected; however, I do not recall any reports of the mission being beset by smallpox which leaves me to conclude that the Whitman party knew better than to touch the supplies. 

Now let’s jump back farther in time to the early 1800’s.  Most of the Chinook nation is suddenly wiped out by viral influenza, ‘accidentally’ brought to the Columbia by British ships that picked it up in Asia.  Records show that only 52 members of the white population contracted this illness, and all of them survived.  This has easily been written off as the Indian population not being used to the white man’s diseases.  This was the excuse used by the American government to say the Chinook people were nearly extinct.  (Isn't it interesting that being 'nearly extinct' equates with being extinct for the government's purposes.  It reminds me of The Princess Bride where our hero was only 'mostly dead'.)  It should also be noted that 'viral infuenza' is someones educated guess, and no one seems to know what disease was killing off the Chinooks, only that it ended in 1841 when the real immigration into the Pacific Northwest begun.  How convenient.

Let's make a parable to better understand this.  Let's say your family has a home, and you go to the bank and borrow money against it.  Suddenly the bank shows up with an eviction notice saying they do not have to honor the agreement because your ancestors are dead making you and your small family virtually extinct.  You argue that you are not extinct, that you have a wife and three children.  The bank will not acknowledge them as your family because they are not pure bloods.  Just to complicate things, you discover your ancestors each died from a disease shortly after visiting the bank.

Now how would you keep the remaining tribes from getting together and causing you grief?  By following methods used throughout history.  You divide and conquer.  Take one portion of them and give them land and power.  Sounds a little like Braveheart, doesn't it?  Now the tribe given land and power will fight to maintain that land and power, turning against their own kind for the survival of their group  (See Chinook testimony).  I want to be clear on this- I do not blame the Quinaults for what they had to do.  I blame the U.S. government for putting them in a position where they felt they had to do this.  Notice that on the first page the Quinaults state that one tribe cannot interfere with the recognition of another tribe; at that point, they should have stopped reading.   Seattle Times article on Tribal Feud

Chief Skamokawa (Skamoque)

Do you know why the Quinaults have a treaty and the Chinooks do not?  When the Washington Governor Stevens gathered the tribal leaders together to make a treaty not all of the tribes were happy with the agreement.  Some of the tribes simply wanted their tribal areas where their ancestors were buried.  Indians disagreeing with the white man?  They must be drunk.  That is the logic that Stevens used to tear up the treaty.  The Indians must be drunk.  Witness the rape of the Chinook Indians here: Chehalis Treaty.  To quote this piece written by the Lanes:

Stevens failed to carry out his instructions and acted

improperly at the Chehalis council. Because of this, the

Cowlitz, Chehalis, Chinook, and Shoalwater Bay Indians were

deprived of their right to a treaty.

A few months later, Gov. Stevens signed a treaty with the only tribe willing to go along with them; the Quinaults, leaving the other tribes, including the Chinook, out completely.

UN Sides with Native Americans

I received the following link from my sister-in-law this morning. I think you will find this quite interesting.
~Layton
Click here to read article

INPUT FROM AUSTRALIA

My good friend Artfox over in Australia sent me this for the blog.  Here is an example of how the treatment of the native people by 'settlers' is not unique to the United States.

Benjamin Lee

You know, as you explore the early history of your family in Australia, you can find yourself wondering what part your pioneer ancestors played in the aquisition of the land of native peoples, and just how they treated the Koori (aboriginal) people.

The behaviour of colonists was not unique to America, in Australia we too passed out the smallpox infested blankets to native peoples. We introduced them to alcohol. We pushed them further from their sacred lands. We dismissed their wisdom and spirituality. And if they preyed on our sheep, fought back or just got difficult, we killed them.

So I was pleased to discover that at least one of my ancestors was willing to stand up against colonial and public attitudes and, as part of a jury, to find 7 men guilty of the Myall Creek massacre of 28 men women and children, all aboriginal people.

This was the first time in Australia that any white men were hanged for such a horrific crime.

My respects to my great great great great grandfather Benjamin Lee.

I am proud of you.

Artfox

BLOOD OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS

[Note- This paper is my opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Chinook Nation.]

So much of our world is simply how you look at it. Perhaps all of our world is how you look at it.

As american citizens, we idealize equality; we make believe that we have it. We do not. In much the way man thinks he can manage fisheries better than the Great Spirit, he also tries to manage racism and bigotry; yet it runs rampant.

Do you judge a person by their skin? You know it's wrong- your government told you it was wrong; however, your government does just that.

Let's say a man is born of a black father and a white mother. They tell you he is black. Let's say he marries an oriental lady and they have a son. He is still black...and so on, and so on.

Now lets say a Native American marries outside his race...and their son marries outside his race....etc. The government has determined how much that your blood can be watered down until you are no longer a Native American.

The only difference between these two examples is the color of skin; therefore, the United States government is discriminating by skin color. Maybe their intentions were good; or maybe its a long term goal to eliminate our people.

Considering their history of not ratifying treaties that we signed in good faith, of my Great Great Grandmother's signature being forged on a deed to the Fort Columbia property ( an 'X' signature from an educated woman? Seriously...), the slaughter of Chinooks who were salvaging a wrecked ship (falsely accused of attacking it- apologies from the whites after they killed them), and the mysterious illness that wiped out thousands of us, said by the white man to be our own, only mere years after they introduced smallpox just south of here through a 'mission' (When that tribe fought back and killed those who were killing them, it was called a massacre); considering all this, I would lean towards a long term general plan to eliminate the troublesome redmen.

It's rather amusing, in a dark way. It used to be that Native American tribes would, on occassion, welcome members of other tribes and/or races to become members. The Chinooks were known to have some red-headed indians in the past; in fact, my own daughter has red hair. Yet the American government tells us we cannot be indians anymore unless we start marrying within ourselves to preserve the bloodline. Preserve the bloodline. Where have we heard that before? Ahhh yessss...the nazis.

A NATIVE AMERICAN’S TAKE ON THE SETTLEMENT OF THE AMERICAS THEORY

First, I would like to tell you a little about myself.

I am a Native American. My great-great-great-great grandfather on my father’s side was Chief Cumcumly of the Chinook Indians. My father, my grandfather, and my great-great grandmother were all leaders of the Chinooks.

When the Chinook Indians decided to protest their fishing rights being imposed upon, my father went to jail for them. He used his phone call to call the BIA, who said they would send someone. What they sent was an observer, while my father was convicted without a lawyer.

Now you know who I am and we can get to the problem at hand.

I have run across two rednecks in the last few months that have both told me the same thing- they feel that because the American Indians migrated here from Eurasia and that the white man migrated here from Europe, that they have just as much right as we do to claim the country. The first fellow was on Facebook so I simply unfriended him. You can’t fix stupid. The second fellow was sitting at my dinner table eating with me. At the time, I simply told him that I believe the best argument is that ‘we were here first’ and changed the subject; however, I feel it’s time to address this before it gets out of hand.

The theory of the Settlement of the Americas is simply that- a theory. A theory that, beginning 60,000 years ago, we migrated here. 60,000 years, people. Even if we took that theory as a fact, you are 60,000 years too late.

But that brings me to my next point. What kind of self-righteousness possesses someone to decide that they are the source of life on earth and all the other continents could only be inhabited by people from their own continent?

Alternative theory- The Indians have always been right here. That somewhere deep inside, you know that what you did to us was wrong. That deep inside, you need to reconcile this so you can live with yourself.

Make up whatever you want, people. Whatever gets you through your life; but please, don’t share your ignorance with others.

~Layton Elliott