Newsletter of the Archaeological Society of Central ... - State of ...

Upcoming 2010 Activities
Historic Homesteads of Cove Palisades SP Tour/Thursday, May 6
May Special Meeting & Potluck Dinner/Thursday, May 20 (Dr. Patrick O’Grady)
Columbia River area trip/weekend of June 11‐12
Site Recording Training/June 19
Crescent Lake PIT/Session 1, June 22‐24; Session 2, July 13‐15
Survey Training/July 9
Paisley Caves tour with Dennis Jenkins and Mark Swisher, July 16‐17
Demaris Lake Backpack Trip with Don Zettel/August 7‐8
September General Meeting/Thursday, September 16
Oregon Archaeology Celebration/month of October
November General Meeting/Thursday, November 18 (Dr. Jim Keyser)
Family Picnic/TBD
“A Klamath is Never Afraid” - Perry Chocktoot, March 18, 2010
If it were possible to devote this entire issue of The Midden to it, there still wouldn’t be enough
room to transcribe all the notes I took during Perry’s talk at ASCO’s last General Meeting. I feel
completely and totally inadequate even trying to touch upon what he gave us that night. First
of all, he was not feeling well; yet he drove from Klamath Falls with the support of his wife to
meet with us. As he taught us the story of his people, no one could tell, so completely hidden
was this from his audience. That he found the will to come is a tribute to his strength of spirit,
and his gift of sharing truly honored us.
Perry’s sense of humor was evident right from the beginning. He delighted us with an ‘ice
breaker’ story about a brave who took three horses and went looking for a wife among the vari‐
ous bands camped around Crater Lake. The story has maidens, one who could process a big
stack of wocas in a day, a questionable ‘father’ who told him that these maidens were his sis‐
ters, and a wise mother who cleared it all up in the end. It was a very good ice breaker indeed.
Then, Perry told the Klamath story. His people were always here, since the beginning of time.
Their traditional stories mirror what is known in modern science. The Gmukumps creation
story tells of two bones laid down for each of the separate peoples ‐ the Modocs, the Paiutes,
and the Klamath ‐ and violent impacts to the land as part of that story, correlating so perfectly
with and incorporating the ancient eruption of Mt. Mazama. We learned the name for the
birthplace of the Creator, the Gomeski or “Cave Place.”
He told of more recent times, including the establishment of the Klamath Reservation by treaty
in 1864, when two of his direct ancestors were primary motivators among the treaty signers.
He described times when the government interfered, when many things did not go well for the
tribes, such as in 1886 when traditional ceremonies were banned. However, with families such
as the Browns, the Davids, and the Chocktoots, the Tribes have maintained their cultural heri‐
tage against such formidable odds. Sadly, the last fluent speaker died in the late 1990s, and yet
the oral traditions are still being passed on.
May/June l 2010 Midden 3