<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Cathlapotle Plankhouse opens another season of events Sunday

Monthly heritage programs spotlight native traditions, histories

By Tom Vogt, Columbian Science, Military & History Reporter
Published: April 11, 2017, 6:00am
3 Photos
The Cathlapotle Plankhouse at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge opens its 2017 programming on Sunday.
The Cathlapotle Plankhouse at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge opens its 2017 programming on Sunday. (Columbian files) Photo Gallery

Over the years, a couple of locales along the Columbia River have represented Clark County’s most populated communities.

One of those spots will be highlighted over the next six months when the Cathlapotle Plankhouse holds its annual heritage programs. The season opener on Sunday will be the first of seven monthly events representing the traditions and history of native people who lived in what’s now the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.

Vancouver has overtaken the Chinookan village, home to about 900 people in the early 1800s, as the county’s population center. But even as one of the Northwest’s most historic places — it marked its 150th anniversary a decade ago — the city has some catching up to do in another area.

“There are 15,000 years of indigenous presence” at Cathlapotle, said Steve Fountain, a history professor at Washington State University Vancouver. “The last 150 years is 1 percent of that.”

If You Go

 What: 2017 season at Cathlapotle Plankhouse.

• When: Starting Sunday, plankhouse is open from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 8.

• Where: Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, 28908 N.W. Main Ave., Ridgefield.

• How much: Refuge parking is $3 per vehicle.

• Information: ridgefieldfriends.org/plankhouse

The plankhouse was not built on the same spot in 2005 because the actual village location is a protected archaeological site. But it’s obvious why that stretch of the Columbia River was such a great place to live.

“Cathlapotle is there for a reason. It was an important trading site. Travel routes came together at their front door,” Fountain said.

He called the Cathlapotle Plankhouse “an important reminder of the success of this region and the trade networks that were established hundreds — if not thousands — of years ago. It is one of a handful of places that highlights the importance of native people in this community.”

The event schedule (monthly Sunday events are noon to 4 p.m.):

Sunday — Season opener: Springtime foods of Chinookan peoples at hands-on stations throughout the plankhouse; samples of stinging nettle tea.

May 14 — Mother’s Day celebration: Learn about the power of medicinal plants during a workshop led by a naturalist; sample some wild teas, and learn how to make a healing herbal salve.

June 11 — Colonizing native history: David Lewis will explore commonly known native oral histories such as the creation of the Bridge of the Gods, and the origins of Mount Hood’s traditional name, Wy’east. He will examine why these stories have been so popular among non-native people in the Pacific Northwest, and how their acceptance as common-knowledge history actually supports the erasure of the true indigenous history of our region.

July 9 — Oak Appreciation Day: Learn how Oregon white oak ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest are biodiversity hotspots and intimately connected with the region’s First Peoples. Learn about the rare oak habitat that exists at the refuge and why it’s important.

Aug. 13 — Traditional Technologies Day: Experience archery, friction fire, ethnobotany and native arts in a hands-on event, and learn about tools and technologies used by people all around the world.

Sept. 10 — Traditional ecological knowledge and climate change: Samantha Chisholm Hatfield will discuss how traditional ecological knowledge can be brought to bear on climate change in the Pacific Northwest.

Oct. 7-8 — BirdFest and Bluegrass Festival and salmon bake: Seasonal closing of the Cathlapotle Plankhouse, with walks, talks and workshops and Sunday’s Chinookan-style salmon bake.

Loading...
Columbian Science, Military & History Reporter