The Art of Ceremony: Voices of Renewal from Indigenous Oregon

by Rebecca J. Dobkins

Overview

Celebrates Indigenous renewal through ceremony, understanding the impact of the past and the possibilities for the future

The practice of ceremony offers ways to build relationships between the land and its beings, reflecting change while drawing upon deep relationships going back millennia. Ceremony may involve intricate and spectacular regalia but may also involve simple tools, such as a plastic bucket for harvesting huckleberries or a river rock that holds heat for sweat. The Art of Ceremony provides a contemporary and historical overview of the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon, through rich conversations with tribal representatives who convey their commitments to ceremonial practices and the inseparable need to renew language, art, ecological systems, kinship relations, and political and legal sovereignty.

Vivid photographs illuminate the ties between land and people at the heart of such practice, and each chapter features specific ceremonies chosen by tribal co-collaborators, such as the Siletz Nee Dosh (Feather Dance), the huckleberry gathering of the Cow Creek Umpqua, and the Klamath Return of C'waam (sucker fish) Ceremony. Part of a larger global story of Indigenous rights and cultural resurgence in the twenty-first century, The Art of Ceremony celebrates the power of Indigenous renewal, sustainable connection to the land, and the ethics of responsibility and reciprocity between the earth and all its inhabitants.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295750309
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	12/06/2022
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	7.25(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Rebecca J. Dobkins is curator and professor of anthropology at Willamette University and coauthor of Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts at 25.

Table of Contents

Foreword Alfred "Bud" Lane III xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Note to Reader xix

Introduction 1

1 The People Are the Land and the Land Is the People

The Burns Paiute Tribe 21

2 Restoring Connections with the Land

The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians 41

3 Potlatch as a Way of Life

The Coquille Indian Tribe 66

4 The Huckleberry Patch as Spiritual Gathering Place

The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians 87

5 Canoe Family, Dig Deep

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde 106

6 The Return of C'waam Ceremony

The Klamath Tribes 125

7 World Renewal-The Nee Dosh

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians 146

8 Making Sweat, Chasing Smoke

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation 169

9 Tule Is Everywhere, from Birth to Death

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs 191

Conclusion 213

Afterword Roberta "Bobbie" Conner 223

Reflection April Campbell Ramona Halcomb Trinity Minahan Deleana Otherbull 226

Appendix:The Nine Federally Recognized Tribes in Oregon 228

Notes 231

Bibliography 245

Index 253

What People are Saying About This

Jennifer Kramer

"This unique book weaves a strong argument about the historical and contemporary effects of unequal power relations on Oregonian tribes and the resulting push for Indigenous resurgence and self-governance."

April Campbell

"The Art of Ceremony honors the sovereignty of Tribes in Oregon and embodies a sense of healing, renewal, and beauty, connecting land to people, people to land, and the relationships between."

Brook Colley

"A beautifully facilitated gathering of Tribes of Oregon in a book that is itself a kind of ceremony, honoring the regalia alongside many responsibilities, relationships, and rights that Tribes renew each year."