Overview
Lesson 1: Stories as History and Tradition
Lesson 2: Historical Landscape
Lesson 3: The Treaties and the Reservation Experience
Lesson 4: Historical Figures and their Impact
Lesson 5: Stories of Today
Extending the lesson/References
1. Books containing stories of American Indians are useful in understanding many aspects of the culture: how lessons are learned, how history is passed down, etc.
2. In writing segments, repeat the activity of students’ writing their own Creation stories.
3. During American Indian Heritage Month (November of each year) watch for announcement of television specials or special events that are held locally. Encourage the class to watch the specials or attend the events such as pow wows.
Websites
Kalapuya Creation Story:
HYPERLINK “http://archaeologychannel.com/” http://archaeologychannel.com/
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
HYPERLINK “http://www.grandronde.org/” http://www.grandronde.org/
Confederated Tribe of Siletz Indians
HYPERLINK “http://ctsi.nsn.us/” http://ctsi.nsn.us/
Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw
HYPERLINK “http://www.ctclusi.org/” http://www.ctclusi.org/
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians
HYPERLINK “http://www.cowcreek.com/” http://www.cowcreek.com/
Coquille Indian Tribe
HYPERLINK “http://www.coquilletribe.org/” http://www.coquilletribe.org/
Photos
Courtesy of the Komemma Cultural Protection Association of Yoncalla, OR and private collections of the Fearn and Stutzman families
Attachments
Historical photos that may be duplicated for educational purposes.
The Story of Martha Sands
Camafeema
Salista
THE STORY OF MARTHA SANDS
From Wisdom of the Elders Radio Series 3, Program 7
Martha Sands was an Indian woman who was removed to the Grand Ronde reservation. This is one person’s story of her accomplishment.
“Many Kalapuya were rounded up by the U.S. Army then marched to the Grand Ronde region from a site called Table Rock, a journey made 265 miles north in the winter time. They kept the men together and they kept the women together. And the women were treated a little bit better, although it was abhorrent treatment by any standard. The children were left to the women to take care of. And all that you might have is that prayer, you know. That’s all. That’s your meat. Your food is that prayer. And some faith in the God. And they were tested.
And so enter Martha Sands. Martha Sands knew that our people would be dying from this trip from exposure and from lack of sustenance. And she would hunt and gather for that whole journey. And she would come down and disperse the food amongst the women and the children and then they would give it to the men. And I’ve heard that she would hide in beaver dams.
How could she do this to sustain so many people? And I thought, well, she had to have that prayer. She had to be shown some. ‘Course she’s walking the earth like that and knowing that the earth will provide in a good way, you know.
Every year we celebrate that. We bow our heads by having our children walk from the elementary school to the Community Center. It’s just a mile. But when they get up there then we tell them why; what that was about.
And they have this bust of Martha (in the Spirit Mountain Casino) and she’s weaving a basket. And her granddaughter is also weaving, looking on, attentive and learning how to weave the baskets.
And the bust does portray that she was a teacher. So Martha Sands has taught me about perseverance. If she was focusing on hate and something to avenge and hurt the dominant culture, she wouldn’t have been able to help her people. She’s a hero to me because without her we wouldn’t have all the people that we have today.”
Michael Reibach, Grand Ronde Elder
SALISTA
Salista was a Multnomah woman who was promised to a great leader of the Columbia River tribes. She met and fell in love with Be-El, a man from the Komemma/Kalapuya and made a long and treacherous journey in the middle of winter to the Yoncalla area to be with him. They were married and lived their lives in the Yoncalla area, south of Cottage Grove.
Salista (daughter-in-law of the Kalapuya Headman, Camafeema) often worked for the Applegate family. She helped with the ironing and gardening and also helped to tend the babies. One summer while the men were in the fields, Salista was helping the Applegate women can some of the garden produce. The big kitchen woodstove was hot in order to heat the water for canning. The stove flue caught on fire and the house went up in a blaze. The women ran out of the house with the children. Salista was the only one with the presence of mind to go back in the house repeatedly, carrying out the canned jars in her apron to insure that the family at least had food to eat after their house was gone.
Salista became a hero to the Applegate family.
CAMAFEEMA
Camafeema was the headman of the Kalapuya village, Splac’ta Alla, in the Upper Umpqua valley when the pioneer Applegate brothers arrived shortly before 1850. Camafeema saw that the Applegates were “skookum,” a word in the Chinook trade jargon meaning “strong of spirit.” Friendships were made and the Applegate family was allowed to settle on land not far from Camafeema’s village.
The eldest Applegate brother, Charley, and the headman Camafeema became close friends often hunting together and spending time just sitting and talking in the Chinook jargon.
After the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855, the U. S. Army went from village to village to round up the Indians and take them to reservations. When the soldiers arrived at Camafeema’s village in 1856, Camafeema tore open his shirt and stood in front of the soldier’s guns and said “No, I will not go! I will die here in the land of my grandfathers.”
The soldiers did not know what to do. They tried to force Camafeema and his family to march ahead of them and away from the valley.
Before long, the three Applegate brothers arrived, defending Camafeema. They were very politically influential and told the soldiers to leave. The Applegates said they would take responsibility for Camafeema and his village.
After much negotiation, the soldiers did leave, but not before securing a promise from the Applegates: that they would take responsibility and insure that the Indians “caused no trouble.”
And so it was that Camafeema and his family stayed in the valley until many died of disease or moved to other locations with the coming of more settlers.