A Sound Never Forgotten

“We find places...to remember the sounds. That’s a sound I’ll never forget.”

— Wilbur Slockish, Yakama/Klickitat

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For thousands of years, Celilo Falls crashed into the Columbia River, over forty feet high and with three times the amount of water flow than Niagara Falls. Overflowing with salmon, eel, steelhead and sturgeon, it was a home, a spiritual gathering place, and a fishing and trading place for Tribes from Warm Springs, Nez Perce, Yakama, Walla Walla, and Umatilla. 

66 years ago, that all changed. 

In the first half of the 19th Century, federal dams were erected along the Columbia to harness its waters for hydro-electric power. On March 10, 1957, the doors of The Dalles Dam were closed, and within five hours the falls were flooded and disappeared under the surface of the water. 

In one day, the homes, and livelihoods of thousands of Native people were taken away. In a video series, Stories from the River: Celilo, Virginia Beavert of the Yakama Tribe remembers the offers of compensation to the Tribes, many of which were refused, and were nothing in comparison to what they lost.

Today, we listen for the echoes of Celilo Falls—because, as Elder Aurelia Stacona of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs says, "We continue on to allow that water to be a part of us." 

The many families that are connected to this place continue their lifeways, traditions, and ceremonial fishing and will never forget that they are part of Celilo, and that Celilo is a part of them, as it will be for future generations.