Scenic outlook of the Columbia River and Celilo VIllage

Scenic outlook of The Columbia River and of Celilo Village-
For centuries Indians caught the giant chinook and other food salmon that struggled to make their way upstream through the rocky barrier of tumbling waters and swift, narrow channels of the Columbia River known as Celilo Falls, or Wy-am. During the spring flooding, ten times more water passed over this spectacular waterfall than passes over Niagara Falls today. The ancient ones left a record of their lives in the ashes of campfires and buried sanctuaries of their dead. They left tools and weapons, items of adornment, and samples of their art. Their record of habitation proves Wy-am to be one of the longest occupied sites on the continent.
For thousands of years, Wy-am was one of history’s great marketplaces. A half-dozen tribes had permanent villages between the falls and where the city of The Dalles now stands. As many as 5,000 people would gather to trade, feast, and participate in games and religious ceremonies.
Elders and chiefs regulated the fishing, permitting none until after the First Salmon ceremony. Each day, fishing started and ended at the sound of a whistle. There was no night fishing. And when a fisher was pulled into the water – most who fell perished in the roiling water – all fishing ceased for the day. In later years, each fisher was required to tie a rope around his waist, with the other end fastened to the shore. Elders and others without family members able to fish could take what they needed from the catches. Visiting tribes were given what they could transport to their homes. The rest belonged to the fishers and their families.
All this changed on the morning of March 10, 1957, when the massive steel and concrete gates of The Dalles Dam closed and choked back the downstream surge of the Columbia River. Four and a half hours later and eight miles upstream, Celilo Falls, the spectacular natural wonder and the age-old Indian salmon fishery associated with it was under water.
That was more than 50 years ago. But the spirit of Wy-am – which some say means “echo of falling water” – still lives in the traditions and religions, indeed in the very soul of Columbia River Indian people.
When the United States government submerged Celilo Falls in 1957, it compensated the tribes for flooding their fishing sites. It did not, however, purchase their fishing rights. Those rights, as set forth in the 1855 treaties, were not in principle affected when the government paid for inundating tribal fishing sites, but the tribes’ economic base was shattered. Francis Seufert in Wheels of Progress, his book about his family’s many years as cannery owners and operators in the Celilo area, explained, “The government, in paying the Indians for destroying their fishing sites at Celilo, was doing no more for the Indians than the United States government did for Seufert’s when they bought Seufert’s shore lands that were flooded out by The Dalles Dam pool.”

Celilo Village/Longhouse
CELILO VILLAGE, Ore. - The longhouse at Celilo Village was recently utilized for a gathering of roughly 400 people in recognition of the loss of Celilo Falls on the Columbia River 50 years ago due to the rising waters behind The Dalles Dam.
A revered place, Celilo Falls was one of the most important fishing locations on the Columbia River and people have lived in the area continuously for roughly 12,000 years, making it one of the longest continuously inhabited places in North America. Platforms were built over the river and when salmon migrated by families could catch and dry enough fish to last throughout the year. That ended March 10, 1957, when rising waters inundated the falls. Fishing still takes place there and people still live in Celilo Village alongside the railroad and the highway, but it's not like it once was.
The longhouse, completed in 2006 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was an attempt to correct some of the wrongs that were done when the dam was built. The area is held in trust for three tribes, the Warm Springs, Yakama, and Umatilla, but the community needs repair and homes need to be rebuilt to replace those currently in existence.
One of the Plateau tribes’ most important ceremonies is the First Salmon Feast. This salmon ceremony must occur before open fishing can take place. It is why every fishing season begins with a ceremonial harvest for fishers to catch salmon for use in these ceremonies. The timing of these feasts matches the arrival of the salmon to each longhouse. The feasts move upriver with the fish.
Honoring the Salmon
A tribal myth tells that when the Creator was preparing to bring forth people onto the earth, he called a grand council of all the animals and plants. He asked each for a gift for these new creatures – a gift to help the new humans survive, since they would be quite helpless and require much assistance.
The very first to come forward was Salmon, who offered his body to feed the people. The second to come forward was Water, who promised to be the home to the Salmon. In turn, everyone else gathered at the council gave the coming humans a gift, but it is significant that the very first two were Salmon and Water.
In accordance with their sacrifice, these two receive a place of honor at traditional feasts throughout the Columbia Basin. These ceremonies always begin with a blessing on and the drinking of water, followed by a prayer of thanksgiving on and the serving of the salmon. This ceremony reinforces the central role that salmon and water play in the health and culture of the tribal people in the Columbia Basin.
Tribal Traditions
The First Salmon Feast is part of the traditional tribal religion of the Columbia Basin. Known by various names including Washut, Longhouse, and Seven Drums, this religion continues to guide tribal people and connect them with the Creator and the gifts He has given them. It also connects followers to the land and to the culture practiced by their ancestors.