Historic Hood River
Smile!
3-14-2014
Notes
Here’s a great image to end our week with Native American images from the Samuel Blythe collection.
The History Museum of Hood River County
Bringing the Rich History of Hood River County to Life
The History Museum of Hood River County
Bringing the Rich History of Hood River County to Life
Here’s a great image to end our week with Native American images from the Samuel Blythe collection.
charlott
I wonder if this is mother and children, or an older sister? They seem in quite a festive mood. Appears that the oldest has may some sort of gift, as the little boy is certainly interested in what she has in the package. It looks like a spool of thread on top of that package, or maybe it is some sort of sewing?
I know it was their way of life, but look how dirty the little ones clothing is. Interesting pig tail the little one has. Have never seen this one before on a child.
The older one has beautiful shiny hair. Wonder if it is slicked with bear grease or some other greasy stuff to make it look like it does?
l.e.
I have been anticipating Fun Friday’s Native American photo. I thought you might have a good one in store for us.
They aren’t at river level, so I wonder if they are in the mountains or are they just up on the Heights.
Is she a local Native or from a different tribe? She appears to have some status.
Neat photo!
Buzz
Without making a big issue of the cleanliness thing, when we first moved to the reservation right after the war, we didn’t live in the big city of Siletz–population approx. 200. Once a week my mom would heat water on the wood stove and wash clothes and give me and my sister a bath in a washtub. She only filled the washtub once and my sister always went first. After we moved into the big city where Siletz had running heated water and regular bathroom facilities, "our" way of life changed so far as cleanliness was concerned. As I remember it "their" and "our" way of life moved pretty much in unison as circumstances allowed.
DeAnna
I would guess it’s a birthday celebration maybe?
LOVE her smile!!! Can’t help but smile and feel good looking at her!
(and then you look at little girl and wow..what a unhappy sneer she has!) Wonder if she’s too young to understand why SHE doesn’t get a present too.
nels
Lovely photo and a relief from yesterday’s sad photo. Fascinating. And obviously better fed. What a difficult life they must have had. But then, we do not see photos of whites who also lived in difficult situations. Looks like maybe a gift of a shawl in her lap.
l.e.
Buzz….your comment about the washtub made me chuckle.
My mother-in-law, even at 80 years old would get angry when she talked about their weekly bath in the washtub. She was the oldest so first her little brother took a bath and he always peed in the bath water. Then she had to take her bath. Her mother would get mad at her because she didn’t want to get in the washtub.
Arthur
My observation after looking at several thousand images from this era: kids were dirty then. They played in the dirt, they didn’t have lots of changes of clothing, and they didn’t take baths daily. I think the more interesting question is how did the women stay so clean, even though their clothing was loose and reached right down to the ground?
Jill
Rings on her fingers, and yes, a shawl that was perhaps a gift in her lap (with a spool of thread), her braids and ornaments like Heishi necklaces and the collar around her neck – really, she could be the Pendleton Round Up Indian Princess today. She is beautiful with a beautiful smile.I think the children are just being children – I do not think *I* was very clean at that age, free as a pup in the rain forest of Puget Sound. Perhaps the rain kept me cleaner? I have certainly enjoyed this look into Hood River’s "other" people. Thank you.