Washougal fourth-graders embrace local history

WASHOUGAL – Thanks to a benefactor with a passion for history, Washougal fourth-graders are being introduced to Washougal heritage and history.

In addition to an annual field trip to the Two Rivers Heritage Museum, Sam Robinson, vice chair and member of the Chinook Indian Nation, gave a presentation at the district’s schools.

Robinson opened his presentation at Gause Elementary School on Feb. 25 with a blessing and played his drum. After his opening song, Robinson engaged students in stories about the Chinook people, explaining that some stories could only be told during specific months or seasons.

Robinson shared the Chinook creation story that explained that thousands of years ago, the Chinook popped out of Thunderbird’s eggs.

Robinson talked about important canoe journeys, saying that fog didn’t bother the Chinook as they feel it was a sign of the ancestors traveling with them. He said ancestors’ souls inhabited the canoes and plankhouses made from a living tree.

“We care for them, and they care for and protect us,” he said.

At the end of his presentation, Robinson showed a recently published book about the canoe reparation made by the fourth generation of the Clark family, from the Lewis and Clark expedition, that was based on a Chinook canoe stolen during the expedition.

Robinson donated the book to the school library.