“…. They didn’t sign away their rainy Eden or sell it, die in warfare, or move
Columbia River Gorge – view of Robin’s Island, Hamilton Mt. (left), Aldrich Butte (center), Table Mountain (right). (source: Oregon State Archives)
to reservations, not until twenty-five years after the catastrophes that swept most of them away. It wasn’t smallpox that laid them low. Suddenly most of them were simply gone. The Wapato Lowlands in particular were empty and silent. Did God call them home? The few survivors walked away dazed. Took to speaking other languages. Were replaced by strangers. After a few decades hardly anyone remembered that they had ever been there.”
Read more of “She Who Watches — Tsagaglalal By Rick Rubin” here
Poem: “A Single Tear: for Tsagaglalal