Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum Village
Oxbow Salmon Festival
October 8 & 9, 2005 · Oxbow Regional Park
 Wy·Kan·Ush·Pum
means "Salmon People," and the Wy·Kan·Ush·Pum
Village at the Oxbow Salmon Festival was established to teach
people that we are all Salmon People.
Support from the tribes, Spirit of the Salmon Fund, and individual donations
enabled CRITFC to put on this two-day event. Playing
off the theme that "We are all salmon people," the village highlights
the importance of salmon and their role in tribal salmon culture. The
tepee village is set up in the forest along the Sandy River, where tribal
elders help visitors tie fish nets, teach them about making bows and arrows,
tell stories and tribal language, and demonstrate salmon cooking techniques.
Nez Perce Appaloosa horses in past festivals added to the feeling of a
traditional tribal village. Drumming workshops allow visitors to sit in
a drum circle and participate in singing traditional tribal songs.
Visitors to the festival get the opportunity to actually participate
in tribal activities rather than be mere spectators. Tribal elders get
the opportunity to share their knowledge with the general public in a
traditional setting that helps educate guests. This glimpse into the traditional
salmon culture of the Columbia basin tribes encourages people to see salmon
in a different light and to realize the importance of protecting them,
not only because it is important to the tribes, but because it is important
to every resident of the Pacific Northwest.
For its first 20 years, the Oxbow Salmon Festival at Oxbow regional park
brought together a host of federal, state, and tribal agencies, environmental
groups, and other interested parties that played a role in salmon protection
and restoration. Visitors were able to see spawning salmon in the Sandy
River which runs through the park. There was always a tribal presence,
mainly in the form of dancing and salmon cooking demonstrations.
Click here for a map of the village site,
which includes a complete list of presentations and presenters. (Adobe
Acrobat format, 928 kb)
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