EUGENE–An ancient culture still thrives along the rivers, foothills and valleys of the Columbia Plateau, just a few hours away from 21st-century Portland and Seattle. Here, the distant past is recorded on Columbia River rocks, and traditional arts are passed on to young hands and voices in places like Warm Springs, Umatilla, Colville and Kalispel.

This spring and summer, the University of Oregon Museum of Natural History will celebrate the traditional arts of Native people of the Columbia Plateau with a new traveling exhibit, lectures and special events.

The exhibition, "Song to the Creator," opens Saturday, April 4, at the museum, 1680 E. 15th Ave. It will continue, from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, through Sept. 10.

The exhibit uses interviews with living Native American artists, as well as photographs and stories of the past, to highlight the women who have kept the cultural traditions of their people alive. The 35 objects on display from the UO museum’s collections commemorate 100 years of Plateau weaving, hidework, basketry and beadwork–work of surpassing beauty and spiritual purpose.

U.S. Forest Service archaeologist Jim Keyser, an internationally known rock art expert, will give a free grand opening lecture at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 14, in Room 110 of the neighboring Knight Law Center, 1515 Agate St. on the UO campus. A reception at the museum will follow.

His talk, "A Window into the Supernatural," will examine some examples of Columbia Plateau art not in the museum exhibit–petroglyphs, or rock art, from the Columbia River. These include the familiar mythical creatures, "skeletal" animals and stick figures used in graphic designs throughout the Pacific Northwest.

"Big-game hunting was very important for the (ancient) Columbia Plateau tribes," Keyser says. "It’s a chancy pursuit, and hunters had strong religious rituals designed to ensure its success. We may easily suppose the magic of rock art played a part–herds of game are commonly shown. Most spectacular, though, are the scenes showing communal hunts; they bring the culture and its rituals to life."

Keyser, head archaeologist for the Northwest Region of the U.S. Forest Service, has written more than 50 publications and books on the rock art of the Columbia Plateau and the Great Plains. Internationally recognized for his expertise, he recently was named to the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Study of Chauvet Cave, site of the 1994 discovery of 30,000-year-old cave paintings and carvings in south central France.

Objects featured in the UO exhibit include painted parfleches (rawhide saddlebags) and other hidework; cornhusk baskets, sally bags and cradle baskets; and brightly-colored beaded bags, gauntlets and moccasins.

The older beadwork features geometric designs, while the newer style uses elaborate designs of flowers, butterflies, horses and deer. Most of the objects were made in the early 1900s by women of the Umatilla, Warm Springs, Nez Perce, Wasco, Kootenai, Klickitat, Lillooet, Fraser River, Wishram and Cayuse peoples.

"This is incredible work," exhibit designer Cindi Gabai says. "We have outstanding examples of traditional Plateau art in our collections, and many of the pieces have never been shown before."

The makers of these works of art had distinct roles, but equal status with men in their traditional societies, Gabai explains.

"From the day of her birth, a Plateau girl was carefully trained to develop her skills and spiritual strength and to learn the arts of music, storytelling, food preparation, basketry, hidework and embroidery," Gabai says. "When she became a grandmother, she, in turn, passed on these traditions to the next generation.

"Despite 200 years of pressure against their culture, modern Plateau women have kept many of these traditions–including their religion and their equal status with men."

In a 1992 interview for the exhibit, Geraldine Jim, a Warm Springs/Wasco artist and singer, said, "I learned traditional arts at a young age…my grandmothers taught me. The teaching went on right up until they died. I didn’t let any of it die away. I’m still doing it, teaching the young. We need art creation stories, prayers to the Creator to be good artists."

A project 10 years in the making, the exhibit was first shown in 1996 at the Museum of Art at Washington State University in Pullman. Now, it is distributed through Exhibit Touring Services (ETS) at Eastern Washington University.

The UO Museum of Natural History is open six days a week, from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Suggested admission is $2. Current UO students and museum members are admitted free. The Museum Store features Northwest and exhibit-related books, gifts and jewelry.

For information, browse http://natural-history.uoregon.edu, send e-mail to mnh@oregon.uoregon.edu or call (541) 346-3024.

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