Celilo Park, Near The Dalles, Oregon

December 5, 2009

Maya Lin's arched walkway at Celilo Park will memorialize the loss of Celilo Falls, one of North America's largest waterfalls which offered life-sustaining salmon and served as a gathering place for thousands of Native Americans for more than 10,000 years. Visit the site today (eleven miles east of The Dalles, Oregon) and you will not hear the thunder of cascading water falling on rocks or see salmon jumping from the water during their annual run. Construction of The Dalles Dam in 1957 inundated the great Celilo Falls, creating a slack water lake forever silencing it. Maya Lin's walkway will rise gently from the shore and then extend above the water until it brings the visitor to the place above where the mighty Celilo Falls once roared. The installation will: tell the story of this place and its peoples through text set into the walkway; provide opportunities for the visitor to experience the natural environment in a new and motivating way; set a high standard for engagement, listening, and design in public places; and, seek to build a new sense of community among the many people and organizations who are invested in Celilo Falls. 

As with each Confluence project, the project at Celilo Falls is a significant collaboration among many people and organizations. Central to this project are the four ceded tribes of Celilo and Celilo Village residents as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who own and manage the Park. The design of the artwork emerged from a process including multiple conversations with representatives of the Warm Springs and Plauteau tribes. Maya Lin's installation at Celilo Park is also serving as impetus to redesign the Park for local residents and to serve as a significant tourism destination. This simple yet powerful artwork, situated in the redesigned park, will build on and perpetuate the centuries-old relationship between the people of the Pacific Northwest and the mighty Columbia River.