Time Immemorial

I’ve been thinking a lot about the differences in the places we have been seeing on this road trip. We alternate a lot between national forests or parks and places that have been devastated by human impact. We have gotten to explore landscapes that have had the privilege to be dubbed worth protecting by people; and those that have been exploited for resources. This contrast has become one of the main themes of the expedition in my mind and I wonder why it has begun to hold so much significance.

Walking through the Wenatchee national forrest on a beautiful and overgrown trail I am nearly mindless. Nothing is crossing my mind except the beauty of the forrest we are in and how wet my pants are getting. It has been raining for the two days before the hike so the shrubbery leaning over into the trail was very wet, and equally green. Every now and then the rain would pick up and the moisture would soak through my shirt onto my shoulders. I didn’t shy away from the cold, the crisp tingle felt good. I breathed in the smell of a very damp forrest and kept walking at a brisk pace, trying to get back before dinner.

Before attempting this trail Lilli, Lexa, and myself did not do any research on this it besides learning that the trail was 9 miles and rated moderate. On the way to the lake, we encountered three unexpected waterfalls, two snakes, a myriad of fungi and two bald eagles that performed a stunning exhibit of flight over the Douglas fir pines. The trail we were on was through a very forested area, most of the hike there were trees towering over our heads. But every now and then, there would be a small clearing where we would get a peak of the Cascade mountain range. Every time we were blessed with a small window into the greater wilderness we would all stop, and marvel at the fall colors that were just beginning to appear on the mountainside; vibrant yellows of the aspens and every now and then a splash of bright rusty orange from the oaks.

Throughout this entire hike I was overwhelmed with wonder and gratitude for the stunning wild landscape that I walking through. Every moment seemed to bring some new and stunning aspect. On the decent, Lilli stopped us in a dense forrest of lodge pole pines and said “wait hold on, listen to the trees”. There was a light breeze that was causing the lodgepole’s to sway and with that movement they were making a faint but noticeable creaking sound as they all danced in unison. It was beautiful, and though I’ve done several hikes through forests of Lodgepole pines, I never noticed this.

After finishing the hike, I was in the best mood I’d been all week. Being in the wilderness and feeling so embraced and welcomed by nature I came back to our lodge in Holden Village feeling entirely rejuvenated. This feeling was not duplicated when we visited Sacagawea state park.

Driving into the Sacagawea state park we came in through a bleak and industrialized landscape. On a paved road that led us into a vast parking lot. Fees to enter the area and receive a parking pass were mandatory. This state park was deeply landscaped, grass had been planted on the grounds of the park, there were cement blocks with picnic tables bolted into them about every 30 feet. As well as a designated artificial beach with a sign that read “kids do not float”, with life jackets available. Nothing about this place, would tell a visitor that this had formerly been a sacred site; the confluence of two of the most prominent rivers in North America, the Snake and the Columbia. The only clue to the significance of this place was an art piece by famed artist Mya Lynn. It was installed in this state park to commemorate the indigenous tribes that used to hold holy ceremonies here. The art piece itself was simple and powerful, explaining the significance of the confluence to indigenous tribes and native species of the river. However, the surrounding landscape had clearly not been kept as it should have been. The grass that had been planted was dried up and brown, weeds were growing and to be honest, it was somewhat of a dismal sight. This place stolen from indigenous people’s and turned into nothing but an industrial wasteland. Maybe some sort of respectful recognition of past unjust actions was the inspiration for installation of the art piece. But clearly the respect paid to indigenous tribes was not a priority now. Other areas of the park were well kept, clearly watered liberally and very green. But the art that was meant to commemorate Indigenous lives and cultures was not. If you are going to remove native species to plant non native grass, at least water it.

Nearly the exact same landscape was seen when we went to Celilo State park. Planted grass and sycamores. Picnic tables and a big parking lot for the general public to access this place. Siting on the bank of the river you would never be able to tell that it used to be a cultural gathering place and an economic hub. You also would never know that is was the site of one of the most significant cultural genocides to the indigenous tribes that relied on the Columbia river. The falls that is now drowned under the force of the Columbia river due to the construction of the Dalles dam was also one of the most significant fisheries for wild salmon that used to be abundant in this river. Because of the falls salmon would have to stop briefly to be able to jump the up stream and through the falls causing a continuous backup of salmon. Making the fishing here incredibly abundant. Now a nearly impassible obstacle stands in the way of the salmon. The dam was constructed on March 10th, 1957 and since then the sound of a vibrant culture and a wild space has been replaced with an industrial drawl. Sitting on the bank all I can hear is the highway and the railroad.

I felt so different walking in the national forest than I do in these places. Why is it that humans allow some places to remain wild and others turned into places like these two state parks. Especially the confluence and the falls, places which hold SO much cultural significance and yet, you would hardly be able to tell. I wish that humans did not have the power to alter nature so dramatically. How different our world would be if when we tried to build dams the river would swell and fight back. If when we tried to dig into mountains there was a mud slide that halted the process. Because since it is our choice, and we have the power to alter landscapes, we do. The difference in the way colonizers alter landscapes versus how indigenous people alter landscapes is significant.

A trend I have noticed from the readings, podcasts, and the speakers we have met with Is many of them have used the phrase time immemorial. This term comes up very frequently in discussions about indigenous rights and history and well as conservation of wild habitats and keystone species. I can’t help but wonder why this term is being used so often. The definition of it is “used to refer to a point of time in the past that was so long ago that people have no knowledge or memory of it”. It is most often used to describe a landscape or a species that  has great significance to the greater area. I feel like this usage of “time immemorial” is a shift we are seeing in environmentalism. People are starting to focus on the past rather than the future. What I mean by this is no longer are conversations around conservation being centered around the development of new technology that will, as people have claimed, solve all our problems. This idea of thinking about landscapes since time immemorial is a call back to past ways of knowing. To return to times when people did live more sustainably. To shift the focus from profit to prosperity.

White settler colonialism has never learned to live with an ecosystem in harmony. All we know how to do is take advantage, because profit is our cultures top priority. I can not exclude myself from this culture. It is how I was raised, the only thing I know. But at this point in my life and especially through the experiences I have had on this trip the best thing I know how to do is actively try to work against these harmful cycles. It is a daunting task though. Watching a railroad go by, on a former sacred site, knowing that it is most likely transporting goods that play into our harmful capitalist system. I am not sure exactly where to start. I guess this is where I start. Hopefully sparking thoughts and ideas in peoples minds that maybe they had not thought about before; and if they have, reminding them.