I recently followed the Salmon Spirit to the upper Columbia River region, my literary homeland. The first time I felt that spirit’s power was in 2019, when I attended a tribal ceremony marking the release of several dozen ocean Chinook into Lake Roosevelt Reservoir. With the 500+ foot Grand Coulee Dam blocking their ancient pathway, […]
Upper Columbia River Region
Journey Home
After several months’ delay due to supply chain issues, the 20th anniversary edition of my first book, The Geography of Memory has finally arrived in warehouses! I’m grateful to Don Gorman of Rocky Mountain Books for proposing the new edition, and to the many Sinixt people who have contributed essays and enthusiasm. Public awareness of land and […]
Lighting a Flame
In April, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that the Sinixt/Arrow Lakes tribe are Aboriginal People of Canada. It was the end of a long legal road travelled by this transboundary tribe, to reverse a 1956 Canadian government declaration that they were “extinct.” The word “extinct” descends through English from the Latin word extinctus, […]
The Sense of an Ending
It’s nearly the equinox, when day and night are equal in length, often called the first day of autumn. For several weeks, creeks in the upper Columbia River region have hosted anadromous sockeye salmon, returning home to spawn and die. Chemical changes transform the silver scales of the adults into vivid red. After they spawn […]
Taking the Leap
February 29th, is one of those breakouts – a rogue day in the standard calendar. The year (as we measure it) has been around, more or less, since Ancient Rome. A far older calendar common to most Indigenous cultures is one based on the cycles of the moon. Every four years, February adds one day, […]
The Submerged Canoe
The Sinixt, or Arrow Lakes Tribe, have been in the news lately. After a decade of legal battles over the right to hunt in the Canadian portion of their territory, their case will be heard at the Supreme Court of Canada. It’s hard to imagine why, in an era of cultural reconciliation for Indigenous people, […]