Nez
Perce Tribe
Lewis
and Clark Bi-Centennial Committee
Mission
Our
mission is to present a forum for the tribes impacted by the Lewis and Clark
Trail and to provide an opportunity to present our perspective on the
forthcoming Bicentennial commemoration.
Events
News
article about Bi-Centennial
Norton pledges support for bicentennial
Interior Secretary Gale Norton, left, laughs while
stretching candle
wick to make a wax candle with Clatsop County Community College history teacher
Debbie Kaspar. Norton toured Fort Clatsop National Memorial after
giving a brief speech at the Dorchester Conference in Seattle. Norton is
the first woman to head the Department of Interior.
ANDY CARPENEAN--The Daily Astorian
By DARREN L. DUNLAP
The Daily Astorian
Sixteen-year-old Farrah Malatare came in her mother's place
Saturday to the
Fort Clatsop National Memorial.
Standing before U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton,
Malatare represented
the Yakama and Blackfeet nations at the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
Commemoration Readiness Forum.
"Commemoration, to me, is like all native tribes
getting together and being
one," she said. "Knowing that we've all gone through so much in the
past,
and now we're all together - it is like, healing each other."
During her first official trip outside Washington, D.C.,
Secretary Norton
heard Chinook, Yakama and Umatilla tribal representatives and National Park
Service officials. Norton left Fort Clatsop to catch a flight back to
Washington, D.C., before directors of Lewis and Clark planning agencies of
Oregon and Washington talked about challenges and plans for the
commemoration.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, signs his name with a
quill inside
the captain's quarters, while Fort Clatsop Superintendent Don Striker talks
with Gale Norton about the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
ANDY CARPENEAN--The Daily Astorian
Speaking briefly to about 85 officials in the Fort Clatsop
audience, Norton
said the Lewis and Clark expedition is a defining American story. She said
the 2003-2006 commemoration highlights that journey, the significance of
preserving national history, as well as the country's "wild places,"
and the Native American role in the Corps of Discovery's trek to the Pacific
Ocean.
Norton pledged support from 20 federal agencies and six
departments. She
noted the commitment of hundreds of communities along the Lewis and Clark
trail and 58 tribes.
"We're now in the critical planning stages of the
commemoration," Norton
said. "I have to say I'm overwhelmed by what we have in terms of
involvement.
"The history of the American Indian tribes, their
contributions to the
expedition and the interpretation of this event by their descendants, are an
integral part of this commemoration. ... The tribal members who traded
with the expedition and insured the survival of the Corps of Discovery were
important parts of this process, and we look forward to commemorating
them."
Lorraine Basch, 6, of Tacoma, Washington , falls asleep during the
visit of the Secretary of Interior inside the Fort Clatsop National
Memorial meeting room. Columbia River Indians Farrah Malature and her
father Lewis of Yakama, Washington, sit next to Basch. Farrah Malature
wears a sash inscribed Miss Treaty Day to mark the Treaty Day Commemoration
of 1855.
ANDY CARPENEAN--The Daily Astorian
Chinook Tribal Chairman Gary Johnson welcomed tribal leaders and offered
Chinook support for the commemoration.
"The first concern we have is the Quinault nation will
likely appeal our
(tribal) recognition, and that appeal can greatly affect our ability to
work on Lewis and Clark and tribal issues," Johnson said. "I need to
express these (concerns) because, we will help and work with you on the
Lewis and Clark bicentennial, but we need the help of the people in this
room to reach our goals for Chinook tribal survival."
Loss of recognition affects federal funding eligibility for
health care,
education and other resources.
"We're worried about all our people. We're worried
about our children,"
Johnson added. " We need Chinook canoes on the river in November 2005, and
we need resources to be able to do these things."
"It's great to see people who find politics to be
fun," said Interior
Secretary Gale Norton, as she holds up the name card of U.S. Senator Gordon
Smith, D-Oregon. The card reads "Important person everyone is sucking up
to." The former Colorado attorney general, in her first visit outside
Washington, D.C., since being appointed, gave a speech and shook hands with
the Republican crowd at the Dorchester Conference, held at the Seaside
Convention Center Saturday.
ANDY CARPENEAN--The
Daily Astorian
In addition to Norton, Johnson had the ear of U.S. Sen.
Gordon Smith,
R-Ore., who invited Norton to Fort Clatsop one week prior. His words also
reached U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., state Rep. Betsy Johnson,
D-Scappoose, and agency heads from both states.
Park Superintendent Don Striker gave Norton a tour of the
park and the
replica of Fort Clatsop beforehand.
"To have her here, first thing, that gives me the feeling that we
may
actually get some funding to do some of the things we need to do," said
Steve Wang, interpretative supervisor of Washington State Parks.
Road improvements and realization of an ocean-trail
corridor from Fort
Clatsop to Sunset Beach are priorities, as well as collaboration among agencies
at all levels. Organizers on both sides of the Columbia hope to
see funding for an interpretive site at Station Camp in McGowan, Wash., where
the Corps of Discovery members made the decision to come to Fort
Clatsop.
Last week, Smith re-introduced legislation to expand the
Fort Clatsop
National Memorial to 1,500 acres. In addition to the park's present 130
acres, Smith's proposal would include 60 acres involved in a pending sale
from Willamette industries, approximate acreage of 100-130 acres at Sunset
Beach for a trail head and land for the proposed Station Camp interpretive
center at McGowan, Wash.
Smith offered to serve as a contact between tribes and
regional Lewis and
Clark groups in the Pacific Northwest and the U.S. Interior Department.
"I make that offer because few things excite me more
than this
bicentennial," he said. "Because it's about us, it's about our home,
it's
about the Northwest and what really defines our history together as
newly-arrived Americans and as Native Americans. This is a story we did
together."
Fort Clatsop National Memorial
U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton
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