Andrew H. Fisher - Shadow Tribe: The Making of Columbia River Indian Identity

THE EMIL AND KATHLEEN SICK LECTURE-BOOK SERIES IN WESTERN HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY

Under the provisions of a Fund established by the children of Mr. and Mrs. Emil Sick, whose deep interest in the history and culture of the American West was inspired by their own experience in the region, distinguished scholars are brought to the University of Washington to deliver public lectures based on original research in the fields of Western history and biography. The terms of the gift also provide for the publication by the University of Washington Press of the books resulting from the research upon which the lectures are based. This is the sixteenth book in the series. A complete listing of the books in the series appears at the end of this book.

SHADOW TRIBE

THE MAKING OF COLUMBIA RIVER INDIAN IDENTITY

Andrew H. Fisher

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
IN ASSOCIATIONWITH
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS
SEATTLE AND LONDON

2010 by University of Washington Press

Printed in the United States of America

Designed by Pamela Canell

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

University of Washington Press
Center for the Study of the Pacific

PO Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145, USA
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www.washington.edu/uwpress
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fisher, Andrew H.

Shadow tribe : the making of Columbia River Indian identity / Andrew H. Fisher. 1st ed.

p. cm. (The Emil and Kathleen Sick lecture-book series in western history and biography)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-295-99020-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-0-29580-197-1 (electronic)

1. Indians of North AmericaColumbia River ValleyHistory. 2. Indians of North AmericaColumbia River ValleyEthnic identity. 3. Indians of North AmericaColumbia River ValleyGovernment relations. 4. Tribal governmentColumbia River Valley. 5. Columbia River ValleyEthnic relations. I. Title. II. Series.

E78.C64F57 2010 323.11970797dc22 2010002144

The paper used in this publication is acid-free and 90 percent recycled from at least 50 percent post-consumer waste. It meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI z39.481984.

CONTENTS

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Three Native American men pose with backs to the camera, their bodies wrapped in Pendleton blankets and their faces hidden or shadowed by the broad-brimmed reservation hats popular among western Indians at the turn of the twentieth century. A pair of safety bikes leans together in the foreground, dating the scene sometime in the early 1900s. The photographers intention in juxtaposing Indians and bicycles is unclear, though similar images from that time suggest an attempt to evoke the idea of progress overtaking primitivism. The Columbia River and the forested hills of the Columbia Gorge stretch out in front of the scene, yet unmarked by the highways, bridges, and dams that would further displace the areas Native residents. The men are watching the activity at the ferry landing in Hood River, Oregon, more than a hundred miles from the nearest Indian reservation. They are part of everyday life in the community, but the photograph sets them apart as idle observers. It also renders them anonymous. Contemporary viewers would have seen them only as types, as symbols of a fading frontier and a vanishing race. Their identities remain shadowy, and that ambiguity captures the subject of this book.

Shadow Tribe grew out of conversations with Native peopleinitially uncomfortable conversations in which my flawed assumptions about them became apparent. One of the earliest occurred following the publication of my first article, which related the history of an agreement between Indians I had identified as Yakamas and representatives of the U.S. Forest Service regarding access to huckleberry fields within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. tway Frederick Ike, Sr., the head of the Rock Creek Longhouse and a member of the Yakama Tribal Council, invited me to the annual huckleberry feast at the Cold Springs campground. To my surprise, he also asked me to speak to the group assembled beneath a makeshift arbor of wooden beams and plastic tarps. After stumbling through a brief speech, I was approached by a woman who told me bluntly: We dont like people making assumptions about us. Were not Yakama Indians. Her declaration puzzled me because Ike and many others in the crowd lived on the Yakama reservation and even worked for the tribe. I put on the face of the discerning scholar, though, venturing my best guess about her possible affiliation within the confederated tribes and bands of the Yakama Nation: Are you Klickitat? No, she replied, were Columbia River Indians. I nodded vaguely, unsure of what to say. I had never heard of any such people, as Columbia River Indians are neither a federally recognized tribe nor an aboriginal group noted in the ethnographic literature. It took a few more awkward conversations for me to realize that the tribal framework I had used in my early research did not fully capture the lived experiences and identities of the people about whom I wrote. Born of curiosity and the desire to correct past mistakes, this book traces the development of Columbia River Indian identity and explains its significance within the broader context of Native American history.

I am indebted to tway Frederick Ike for starting me down this path, and I regret that he did not live to see the project to completion. Many other Native people have offered invaluable advice and information along the way, especially Vivian Adams, George Aguilar, Sr., Yvonne Colfax, Carol Craig, Roberta Conner, Ed Edmo, Johnny Jackson, Lewis Malatare, Anita Nez, Louie Pitt, Ron Pond, Marilyn Skahan-Malatare, Wilbur Slockish, Jr., Wilson Wewa, Deborah Winnier, and Galen Yallup. Although I am still very much an outsider looking in, I deeply appreciate their interest, feedback, and guidance over the past ten years.

Much of the archival research for this project was financed by a Castles Fellowship from the Center for Columbia River History, a Graduate Research Support Grant from Arizona State University, and a Phillips Fund Grant for Native American Research from the American Philosophical Society. Friendly and knowledgeable archivists at federal, state, and university repositories ensured that my time and money were well spent. First and foremost, Joyce Justice of the National Archives branch in Seattle paid me the great kindness of not retiring before I could take advantage of her vast expertise. When she did finally step down, John Ferrell, Susan Karren, and Patty McNamee did an excellent job of filling her shoes. Additional thanks go to the many helpful staff members I encountered at the High Desert Museum, the National Archives in Washington, DC, the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, the Oregon Historical Society, the Oregon State Archives, the Portland Library, the Washington State Archives, the Washington State Historical Society, the Yakima Valley Regional Library, and the special collections departments of the University of Idaho, the University of Oregon, the University of Washington, and Washington State University. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to Forest Service archaeologists Cheryl Mack and Rick McClure, Carol Craig of the Yakama Nation, and Keith Hatch from the Portland Area Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for sharing their personal files with me.