Historic Hood River
“HRN.Nonames.0”
Notes
When I first encountered a box of images from the Hood River News with no IDs on the photos I was scratching my head, but it turns out this was their box for wayward images which needed identification. This 1957 image was taken by Archie McKeown, known for his amazing photos of the Wyam (Celilo). Someone had identified the woman to the right as Martha McKeown, and added the caption “Friend of American Indians.” Fortunately Morganne has been studying the photos of Archie McKeown and was able to quickly identify the man in white a Chief Tommy Thompson. This was late in his life when he was living in a care center. Next to him is his son Henry Thompson. Morganne believes the woman in the rear may be Henry’s wife Black Braids.
Chief Thompson fought for Native treaty fishing rights and against the construction of the Dalles Dam. Though he lived two years beyond the construction of the dam, it is said he never laid eyes on the site of the drowned Celilo Falls.
You can read a brief biography of Chief Thompson in the Oregon Encyclopedia. I especially like the description of him as ““a cross between Jim Thorpe and the Pope…”
L. E.
Before fighting the construction of The Dalles Dam, Chief Thompson was fighting for the right of his people to be in control of the fishing at Celilo.
The Wyam people at Celilo were not part of a reservation, but reservation Indians, especially the Yakama were coming in and taking over the fishing without permission from Thompson.
It is an interesting history, and even the Indians don’t tell the true story of fishing rights at Wyam.
L. E.
Tangled Nets Treaty Rights and Tribal Identities at Celilo Falls
https://historycooperative.org/journal/tangled-nets-treaty-rights-and-tribal-identities-at-celilo-falls/
Buck Parker
The woman could be Flora Thompson, Chief Thompson’s wife, who I believe was some years younger than he was. The angle of her head makes it hard to compare this picture to other pictures of her.