"The Indians took their own names from the hills and rivers and creatures they held sacred. They explained their universe with legends and fables. Lewis and Clark came to categorize the plants and animals, to map the land and give new names to the rivers and mountains.

Most of all, they came to prepare the way for the onslaught of a new civilization built on concepts of progress, change and exploitation of resources that were utterly alien to the native people.

On the day I talked with Allen Slickpoo, the chairman of the Nez Perce General Council, he said an old Indian prophecy predicted that many strangers would enter this land; that an age of machines would be ushered in and the old way of life would end. Apparently, the arrival of hundreds of thousands of settlers was not totally unforeseen.

Bobbie Conner spoke of the prophecy, as well, and acknowledged that the relentless march of the modern world made the passing of the ancient hunter/gatherer society of the Indians inevitable.

'That others would come was certain,' Conner said. 'That they would be so unjust and cavalier was not.'"

Get the Story:
David Horsey: Children of both emigrants and Indians are heirs of a sacred land (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 10/16)

Relevant Links:
Into the Northwest, Lewis and Clark Bicentennial - http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/lewisandclark

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