A successful open house was held Saturday, September 7, 2002, at the site of our new plankhouse. About 150 people attended. Short speeches were made in a light rain. These are pictures of activities demonstrated at the open house which represent the great amount of skills to be learned and the work involved to make our dream a reality.

Prior to the public event, members of the Chinook tribe held a blessing ceremony at the plankhouse site. The "first hearth fire" was offered gifts and came to life. A few of us non-members felt very privileged to be allowed to attend.

Tribal member Sam Robinson described the ceremony this way: The time honored ritual began. Songs were sung, the bad spirits were swept from the plankhouse into the fire,the Ancestors were beckoned,and then fed. The blessing of the plankhouse by the Ancestors was asked for.

Once the site was pristine, we onlookers were invited inside to shake hands and thank each member who honored the site of the plank house.

 

This pin is available for $5 (from our Friends Group and at future events) and is a good looking way to show your support for the project.

This picture was taken after the ceremony- Chief Snider is seated and Tony Johnson, Head of the Tribe's cultural committee, led the blessing ceremony.

Plants are such a wonderful and versatile gift to us. At this activity table, cattail was turned into cordage, matting, and baskets. The plankhouse will need miles of cordage and rope and baskets and fish being smoked from the roof beams and benches and a kazillion other things - all of which we need to learn how to make and then make. Anyone who knows these skills and anyone who wants to learn these skills is encouraged to participate in this project.

This handsome canoe was constructed by tribal member Tony Johnson. It was on display at the plankhouse site during the activities and was his background for the next picture.

A very popular activity at the open house was the plank splitting station. This log was donated by the RLD Company, delivered by a member of the Chinook tribe and was split into planks by Kent and his helper of the day - Mike. Mike had never split a plank before the open house but, by the end of the day, he looked like a professional. With a good log and a few tips from someone who had split many planks, seemingly anyone can make a plank. Basically, once the initial split is started, wedges are driven into the end and, as the split continues the length of log, the wedges are moved. The main lesson seemed to be: don't force the plank - insert the wedges, encourage them to make a plank, but let the log decide when to split. Don't get in a hurry and the plank will present itself.

Pop! The act of producing a plank is a very sensual one. No, I don't mean the feeling of a mashed finger but the thrill of being the first person to feel the grain of that cedar. You see such a wide range of colors on just one plank: whitish at the edges where the wood is still alive and the yellows, golds, and reds of the wood that has already fed that wonderful tree and now serves to hold its head up high. And oh that smell - there is no way to describe it - you must drink it in first hand (if only we could bottle and sell that unique fragrance - we could fund the project).

Tony Johnson and Greg Robinson display traditional basketry and demonstrate cordage making techniques.

Many of us have read the Lewis and Clark journal references to the Chinook women who harvested wapato. This is the wapato plant that produces the potato-like bulbs in the fall. The plant does not have to be pulled, rather the fingers or toes can be theraputically wriggled under the mud and ooze to loosen the bulbs. Once the bulbs find their way into the water of the wetland, they bob to the top where they can be placed in the canoe (or bucket). Large ones reach walnut or hen egg size and can be prepared much like the versatile potato. Melissa Darby, who wrote her PSU thesis on wapato, helped kids make wapato prints to take home.

Another activity station featured the making of obsidian points and primitive tools. Here, Anan Raymond, Regional Archaeologist for the USFWS demonstrates his skill to Chief Snider. While the trees are being donated and the funding is being gathered, one of the first skills to be needed is the making of traditional tools. Many wedges, hammerstones, mauls, and chisels (and other tools we likely haven't heard about) will be needed and constructed. Will you be one of the people who will learn this skill?

Lyle Deschand, a volunteer and primitive technologist brought these wonderful looking primitive tools. We hope you had the opportunity to see the skill and craftsmanship that went into these tools. Thank you, Lyle, for sharing these with us.

Use your imagination and see this model of our plankhouse larger than life and overlooking Carty Lake. Your neighbor donated a tree. Your cousin made 300' of heavy rope. Your dentist donated money. Your daughter's school is learning a few words of Chinook and is preparing to make a presentation to the community at the plankhouse site next week. You learned how to split planks, spent several weekends making dozens of planks, and helped place the ridgepole during construction. There you are, the day after the plankhouse was completed, you have the site to yourself. Summer is ending; a small V of ducks just landed on the lake; a great blue heron is gliding over to the slough. You thrust your hands in your pockets, give a long satisfied sigh, and turn towards home knowing that you participated in one of the finest community projects of your time.