At a summer camp, children hear lessons on Chinook history and culture
Jul. 21—Don Abing, of the Chinook Indian Nation, tapped his chin so the children would remember to pronounce "Chinook" with a "chin" and not a "shin."
He told them that Chinook people used Oregon ash trees for canoe paddles, never hunted spiritually important brown or white pelicans, fashioned tools out of elk and deer bones and kept dogs as pets.
Abing's lessons on Chinook history and culture Wednesday morning were part of a junior naturalist summer camp for third-through-fifth graders at the Wildlife Center of the North Coast.
"They're our neighbors ... ," he said of the children. "We need to make sure that our original culture, as well as our contemporary culture, is knowledge that is shared so that there would be peace and cooperation and understanding of values."
Abing explained the Chinook Nation's connection to nature and how they cared for the land for thousands of years.
"The Chinook Indian Nation were, for millennia, the original caretakers and stewards of the soil you are now sitting on ... of the trail you just came from, of the air you're just now breathing," he said.
He advised the children to leave no trace where they walk. He said after the Chinook would hunt and gather, the last people to leave would look to make sure the trail was not disturbed.
Abing also shared the Chinook Nation's effort to restore federal recognition, which would give the roughly 3,000 members access to federal programs and resources. He asked the children to speak to their parents and gave them a link to a petition, which they scribbled down in their notebooks.
The Chinook were recognized by the federal government in 2001 at the end of the Clinton administration, but the status was rescinded under the George W. Bush administration in 2002.
"Our lands were taken away from us, our resources were taken away from us ... ," Abing said. "That's one reason why I shared that website with you."
Abing brought a book that translates English to Chinuk Wawa, the Chinook language, to show the children the language is not dead despite few people speaking it.
Wesley Maier, one of the campers, said he can relate to some of what Abing said about the Chinook Nation because he is Navajo. He said he feels sad that there aren't many people who speak Chinuk Wawa because he worries the Navajo language is dying.
He liked hearing about how the Chinook do not hunt pelicans, because it reminds him of his own culture, where he cannot touch or look at snakes to avoid an evil spirit and bad luck.
Another boy told Abing his parents said he is part Native American, but he didn't know where exactly he was from.
"It's important that you reach out and find that identity, keep that identity and be proud of that identity because it has a connection," Abing said.
