Ranger Miranda Mendoza shows a beaver skull to young Silvia, who is engaged in a game of matching skulls, pawprints, and realistic rubber poop of various species, including elk, bear and cougar.
D'na Chase holds a discussion in her booth, where festival goers could purchase a stone and watch Chase make it into a custom necklace, or acquire an antler charcuterie knife.
Circling dancers shake hands as they pass each other in the Gorge Festival of Nations traditional pow wow June 15.
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Ranger Miranda Mendoza shows a beaver skull to young Silvia, who is engaged in a game of matching skulls, pawprints, and realistic rubber poop of various species, including elk, bear and cougar.
Flora Gibson photo
A group of festival goers look out over the Columbia, as the historic Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge comes in to dock for the festival.
Flora Gibson photo
Lightening Paul Sr. watches over several spring Chinook, baked traditionally over a fire.
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A dancer circles the grass, joining performers of many ages.
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Toppenish Creek and Eagle Spirit drummed and sang for the full three hours of dancing.
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A young dancer swirls across the grass.
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D'na Chase holds a discussion in her booth, where festival goers could purchase a stone and watch Chase make it into a custom necklace, or acquire an antler charcuterie knife.
Flora Gibson photo
D'na Chase twists a wire necklace together for a customer.
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CAT buses were among the many resources on show at nonprofit's booths.
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Elaine Harvey speaks about the gathering of First Foods, on exhibit in the tepee behind her.
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Lightening Paul Sr.'s spring Chinook, traditionally cooked over a fire, getting closer and closer to done.
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The festival weathered a few spats of rain, mist, and patches of cheerful sunlight. The historic Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge docked alongside.
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A dancer watches the pow wow. The sunlight emerged just in time to light up the last few dances.
CASCADE LOCKS — The Gorge Festival of Nations attracted a crowd of several hundred to share, celebrate and raise awareness of Indigenous culture across the Gorge, in Cascade Locks’ Marine Park on June 15.
The day began with speeches from river chiefs, and visits from officials. Throughout the day, the people who came to demonstrate First Foods, basketry, and dance expressed their pride in the continuance of the traditions they brought to the event, practices continued for thousands of years. “We have been here since the beginning of time,” one speaker noted.
“We didn’t leave. We still live here along the river,” Elaine Harvey, whose family brought tepees and an exhibit to share information about First Foods, told the crowd.
“Today, we practice our ways, we go and gather all of our foods on both sides of the river ... we want our children to continue to practice our ways,” Harvey said.
A dancer from the audience shared a few clouds of bubbles with the youth dancers.
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Harvey, a member of the Kahmiltpah Band of the Yakama Nation, said her people have gathered First Foods like lomatium tubers for thousands of years, but stand to lose significant gathering areas to solar and other energy projects.
“We have trouble as indigenous people in this land,” she said. While they are out on the landscape, digging or gathering, they face discrimination from people who don’t understand who they are, or what they are doing, on lands where they have done so “forever,” she explained.
In one incident, while digging for First Foods near Goldendale, in a place her group had permission to be, Harvey noticed five sheriffs gathered by the road, watching them. Passing cars had reported them for trespassing, destroying private property and harassing cattle — none of which they were doing.
So the family brings the First Food tepee around the Gorge, hoping to raise awareness and educate the community around them.
“It’s hard for us because we try to gather the food in a good way,” Elaine Harvey said. The gatherers can’t be sad, or mad, or those feelings will go into the food. So being impeded like this can make it difficult to continue gathering.
She hopes the young people of her community can continue practicing their traditions, Harvey said. Her family has brought their exhibit to Goldendale and White Salmon, and now Cascade Locks.
They joined a lineup of other demonstrations, exhibits and artisan vendors at Festival of Nations, including many nonprofits like Columbia Riverkeeper, who shared information on various public transit, healthcare, local ecology and restoration efforts. The afternoon ended with a traditional salmon bake.
The sun finally came out for the dancing at 5 p.m. Eagle Spirit and Toppenish Creek drummed for three hours of dancing, games, and general enjoyment by the crowd — who were invited to join in on many dances — until the sun went down. “It’s a really good pow wow, I’ll say that,” one dancer commented, as visiting pow wow royalty introduced themselves during a pause between dances. “Keep it up!”
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