Plankhouse talk looks at NW oral histories

RIDGEFIELD — The colonization of native history will be the topic of Sunday’s program at the Cathlapotle Plankhouse.

The plankhouse, 28908 N.W. Main Ave., will be open from noon to 4 p.m., with tours and family activities.

At 1 p.m., anthropologist and ethno-historian David Lewis will discuss Northwest oral histories such as the Bridge of the Gods and the stories of Wy’east and Chief Multnomah. The Chemeketa Community College professor will examine why these stories have been so popular among non-native people in the Pacific Northwest, and whether they actually have Indian origins.

He will discuss how their acceptance as common knowledge history is a factor in erasing the region’s true indigenous history.

At 2 p.m., a wildlife refuge naturalist will lead an ethno-botany hike, exploring the relationship that the Chinookan people of Cathlapotle had with their landscape. Participants will meet in front of the plankhouse; it will be a 1-mile hike on moderately uneven terrain.

The plankhouse is in the Carty Unit on the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. There is a $3 parking fee per vehicle.