Celilo – Never Silenced
Gallery exhibit from March 1 – June 5, 2022. Gallery hours are Wednesday-Saturday 10 am-6 pm.
Saturday, April 30th | 2:00 pm – Artist talk with Joe Cantrell, Ed Edmo & Nancy Ives
Our lives flow in historic currents, sometimes direct and personal, others, more distant. As NChi’Wana (the Columbia River) runs through our communities, the past flows through us, literally, culturally, and figuratively, defining the lives of people connected to it. Wyam (Celilo Falls), sacred and primary to Indigenous people for hundreds of miles around, was destroyed by The Dalles Dam in 1957, obliterating a way of life, a thriving fishery, and far more than that. The flooded falls displaced those who celebrated and relied upon its essential life-giving forces, destroying a vital culture.
To honor Celilo, Never Silenced features the creative talents of Indigenous artists Don Bailey, Rick Bartow, Joe Cantrell, Jonnel Covault, Ed Edmo, Joe Fedderson, Analee Fuentes, Sean Gallagher, Lillian Pitt, Pah-tu Pitt, Richard Rowland, Sara Siestreem, Gail Tremblay, and Richard York.
Responding to the spiritual and sacred, exhibiting visual and literary artists create up-close and personal views of their integral relationship to salmon and the River. Although treaties and land acknowledgments were enacted to justify these irrevocable actions, the people of Celilo continue to persist, remaining strong and resilient to carry forth their ancestral traditions and beliefs.
For inquiries and submissions please email artgallery@thereser.org