Native Connections
Still Here: Portraits of the Chemakum Exhibit and Presentation
Chemakum people, who lived in the Chimacum Creek watershed, have been widely considered extinct and written out of history. In fact, there are many Chemakum descendants. They hold a family gathering each summer to honor the lives and history of their people.
In 2021, the League of Extraordinary Observers (LEO) was invited to photograph the families at this event and a special exhibit of these photographs was unveiled at Chimacum High School April 14, 2022. The portraits are on display during March and April in the QUUF sanctuary, foyer and fellowship hall. The public is welcome to view the portraits on Fridays March 8 to April 19 from noon to 3pm. Questions: ncagquuf@gmail.com.
The exhibition has its genesis in the monthly meetings of the Chimacum History Group, a committee of the QUUF’s Native Connections Action Group. It is chaired by Maria Mendes and Barbara Jo Blair and includes Chemakum descendants, representatives from local Chimacum organizations, the Chimacum School District and Jefferson County Historical Society. Brian Goodman was the principal photographer of this project with assistance of LEO members Tim Lawson, Robert Tognoli, and Kerry Tremain. “We are grateful to them and to the Chimacum History Group for helping to correct the record and acknowledging that we are, indeed, still here,” says Rosalee Walz, Chair of the Chemakum Tribe.
Land Acknowledgement
We honor these waters, mountains, valleys and shorelines and acknowledge they are the traditional territory of the Chemakum and S’Klallam Peoples. We honor and acknowledge that the Makah and Snohomish peoples have also inhabited this place for untold years, as well as the indigenous members of the community who have arrived from many directions. We will work to restore and sustain these waters, lands and all creation.
Goals:
We endeavor to provide the following opportunities to the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and the wider community:
Educate Ourselves to better understand the history of Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula, Salish Sea, and Pacific Northwest, as well as the far-reaching impact that colonization continues to have on Native Peoples.
Deepen Respect to increase our appreciation for the rich traditions of Native cultures, including, environmental issues, spiritual and social philosophies and the wisdom they can bring into our own lives through participating in educational events and cultural experiences when invited and appropriate.
Stand in Solidarity to develop connections with Native Peoples and to become aware of critical environmental issues affecting the very survival of Mother Earth and all her beings and to provide opportunities for activism to address these issues.
Every year we honor the legacy of Billy Frank, Jr. near his birthday on March 9. Click here to learn more about his work to guard Tribal treaty rights, sovereignty and protect salmon and their habitat.
NATIVE CONNECTIONS ACTION GROUP MEETINGS
September 2023 to June 2024 – We will hold in-person meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of the month in RE 2/3 from 10am to noon. All are welcome!
General information:
Jo Blair, Co-Facilitator, 425-417-2164
Maria Mendes, Co-Facilitator, 203-415-1463
Our group email is ncagquuf@gmail.com.
Native Connections Library:
We have a collection of 250 books that are mostly focused on native topics in the Pacific NW and British Columbia. To view the list click here.If you would like to check one of these books out to read, contact Jo Blair.
NCAG Group Read Book List, 2015-2024
čičməhán (Chetzemoka) Trail Team:
The čičməhán Trail is a 3, 6 or 12-mile walking, cycling and driving route through Port Townsend that chronicles the history of the S’Klallam people and tells the story of the relationship between the 19th century European Settlers and the S’Klallam leader they called Chetzemoka. The Trail is a joint project of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and NCAG. Trail maps are available at Chetzemoka Park and on the corner of Water and Monroe, across from the Totem. To support the trail and educate the public we offer a variety of volunteer opportunities including, trail maintenance, tour guide training, youth involvement and K-12 education.
Contact: Celeste Dybeck
About the Chetzemoka (čičməhán) Interpretive Trail
Chimacum History Group
This group formed to listen to descendants of the Chemakum tell their stories and learn the counter-narrative to the settler history.
Contact co-facilitator Maria Mendes (203-415-1463) for more information.
NOOP (North Olympic Orca Pod)
NOOP consists of concerned people around the North Olympic Peninsula of Washington and beyond who advocate on behalf of our critically endangered Southern Resident Orcas. Each person typically represents an actual Southern Resident orca to educate people about the endangered Southern Resident Orcas and their home waters of the Salish Sea.
Contact: Debra Ellers
Facebook Group: North Olympic Orca Pod
STAY INFORMED / TAKE ACTION
If you are curious about the issues we follow and the requests for your support, you’ll find a list of reliable news outlets, websites and FB pages listed below. This list covers most of the environmental and Native justice causes we are following. We do not endeavor to have an exhaustive list, just the issues on which our group agrees to focus.
The Brinnon Group, Barbara Moore-Lewis, Pleasant Harbor MPR – To protect the habitat of the Hood Canal so Tribes may exercise their Treaty rights, we support the sustainable development of Black Point, insuring that all development is of reasonable size, fits with the rural character of Brinnon, preserves natural features of the area, including glacial kettles, and protects the Hood Canal.
Chehalis Flood Control Dam – Comments Related to the US Army Corp of Engineers Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Chehalis River Basin Flood Damage Reduction Project.
It’s Time to Restore the Chinook Indian Nation
In 2001, Jo Blair’s tribe, the Chinook Nation obtained federal recognition from the U.S. government. However, celebration turned into heartbreak when recognition was rescinded eighteen months later. The Chinook Indian Nation was essentially declared nonexistent in the eyes of the government. Our nation has been unable to access programs and resources to which federally recognized tribes are entitled. Over the last 20 years, the lack of official recognition has cost economic and educational opportunities and countless lives.” Congress has both the power and authority to recognize tribes.
Here’s a link to show your support: Facebook Page for Chinook Indian Nation
~ hayu masi, Jo Blair
Columbia Riverkeeper – News on removal of the Lower Snake River Dams, Oil Trains, Stopping fossil fuel, Hanford Clean-up and more.
DamTruth – comprehensive resources with special focus on orcas, and take action links (organized by our former member, Rick Rupp, and colleagues).
Earth Ministry transforms faith into action for the well-being of communities and the environment. We organize people of faith to advocate for strong environmental policies and provide strategic guidance to religious communities working toward environmental justice.
JUUstice Washington’s First / American Indian Nations (FAIN) news provides timely updates and calls to action for network members who are in solidarity with First / American Indian Nations. Please SEND information you recommend for dissemination to Deb Cruz at DebC@juustwa.org. If you wish to change the email address at which you receive these or other emails from JUUstice Washington, please contact DD at Web@JUUstwa.org or Sharon at Memberservices@JUUstwa.org.
KHIMSTONIK [Giving Voice] – Advocating the Background and Skills of Original Peoples and Persons from Southeastern Washington State – Non-profit led by Ione Jones, part of the Nightwalker family/Lower Snake Palouse tribe, seeking return of ancestral lands taken by US Army Corps for Ice Harbor Dam and reservoir.
Lummi House of Tears Carvers – Follow the House of Tears Carvers on their journey to support Native environmental and Social Justice issues.
National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition – The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) is dedicated to advocating for Native peoples impacted by U.S. Indian boarding schools. We seek truth through education and research, justice through activism and policy advocacy, and healing through programs and traditional gatherings.
Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment – great video on LSRD breaching “Every Voice is a Crack in the Dams”.
One River, Ethics Matter – Since 2014 One River Ethics conferences have been bringing together those negotiating the Columbia River Treaty from the US and Canada annually to inform the teams while advancing public dialog about water ethics and the past and future of the Columbia River.
Olympia UU – Learning Right Relations Group. Email learningrightrelations.org if you would like to receive their newsletter.
Orange Shirt Day, “Every Child Matters”: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada was established as a federal holiday September 30, 2021. Orange Shirt Day, established in 2013 in Williams Lake BC, recognizes the tragic legacy of residential schools, the missing children, the families left behind and the survivors of these institutions on the same day.
RAVEN Trust – is a non-profit charitable organization that provides financial resources to assist Aboriginal Nations within Canada in lawfully forcing industrial development to be reconciled with their traditional ways of life, and in a manner that addresses global warming or other ecological sustainability challenges. It is also a US 501(c)(3).
Save our Wild Salmon – This is a diverse nationwide coalition working together to restore wild salmon and steelhead to the rivers, streams and marine waters of the Pacific Northwest for the benefit of our region’s ecology, economy and culture.
Se Si Le – Indigenous, Non-Profit Organization, Native.
Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples (Paula Palmer – Office: 303-443-0402, Cell: 240-595-5993, Email) to join the TRR Email News List group.
This page last updated April 1, 2024