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Star Lore: Canoe Race
Orion, Milky Way, Sirius
Chinook Tribe
Columbia River, Washington, Oregon
Other than fur traders, the first white people to come in contact with the Chinook tribes were the men in the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 - 1806. The Chinook peoples of the Pacific Northwest consisted of several tribes, spread along the banks of the Columbia River. They lived in permanent villages of cedar houses. Their villages stretched along the river and tributaries for about 175 miles, from British Columbia to Northern Oregon and Eastern Washington, then over to the Pacific Ocean shores.
They are a peaceful people whose livelihood came from fishing and trading. The Columbia River provided them with an abundance of fish, mostly salmon. Their trading, mostly furs and fish, stretched over a wide range from the mouth of the Columbia to the Cascade Mountains. In the summer months they moved around a little more to take advantage of the food supplies, such as berries, plants, and roots.
They chose to settle differences and wrongs by holding ritual challenges rather than violent retaliation. They preferred pleasure and happiness as a way of life. Each tribe was comprised of mostly their own relatives.
Their houses were quite large and three or four families, up to twenty or so people, lived in each home. The houses were very unique at the time, being built over excavated pits, so that the floors were below ground level. The ceilings stretched up to about ten feet above ground level. They used cedar trees in the construction of these homes. Edward S. Curtis described their homes in his The North American Indian, (V 8, page 91), in great detail. With thatching of matting and cedar bark on the walls, rush matting and dried grasses on the floors, the homes provided good shelter and warmth.
The Chinook were extremely skillful in navigating the rivers and handling their canoes. They carved their very large canoes by hollowing out single logs. They loved entertainment and leisure. During the winter months, with longer periods spent indoors, stories told by the Elders were a favorite time of the evening hours for both children and adults. One favorite story was of star lore, about the big canoe and a small canoe. Loving entertainment and challenging rituals, relying on canoes to navigate the rivers and fishing for salmon thus tied in with their star lore:
Tamlaitk - Namnit, photgravure by Edward S. Curtis, 1910.
Canoe Race
Two teams decided to have a race to the Big River (Milky Way) to see who could catch the Salmon first. The Big Canoe is Orion's belt, and the Small Canoe is Orion's dagger. The little canoe seems to be winning the race. Where is the Salmon? It is the very bright fish (Sirius) in the middle of the Big River.
It is possible that each time the Elder told the story, new enhancement was added to it. Spinning in a new twist to the story here and there probably kept the little children entertained as they sat around cuddled up in their blankets. Not knowing what to expect is more exciting. All kinds of mishaps or funny tales during the story adds adventure and excitement.
On the Columbia - Wisham, photogravure by Edward S. Curtis, 1910
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