Day 5 - Continued Plant Invasion and to the Beach!

Day 5 - Continued Plant Invasion and to the Beach!

Our day began with a trek down to Tribal Hall for a delicious breakfast constructed from the remnants of Margaret's delicious fry bread dough. Over coffee and fresh biscuits, we broke bread with a handful of tribal members before heading out for another day of taking back the land from invasive plant species.

Before we faced the brush, the tribe's enthnobotanist John led us to various spots around the city of Coos Bay to harvest cranberries and leaves for labrador tea. He introduced us to the distinguishing features of the leaves used for labrador tea, and how to choose ripe cranberries. His breadth of knowledge is quite impressive.

 Upon return to the Tribal Hall, we split into two groups: half of us gathered arms against Armenian Blackberry bushes, and the rest of us began preparing burgers for our lunch with local archeologist, Reg Pullmen. He has worked in cooperation with the Confederated Tribes for decades, working to unearth lost stories of their history without disrupting the cultural and spiritual significance of the tribes today. He presented pictures of the local Baldich site, where we will be heading tomorrow to go clamming, on an old school photo projector. The chief and a few elders joined us for the presentation and for lunch in the Tribal Hall.

After lunch and Reg's presentation, we once again braved the thorns and vines of the land behind the plank house and sweat lodge. Vines were slashed, blackberry roots were snapped, and even a tree was sawed to oblivion. The pile of removed non-native plants grew and grew; it was a successful day of work.

Rather than having dinner with tribal members as we had done the rest of the week, we departed from the reservation to spend the remainder of the evening at Sunset Bay, a beautiful rocky inlet peppered with tide pools. Starfish, tiny fish, and vibrant sea anemones all made appearances. Waves crashed down upon the rocks as the sky became streaked with oranges and pinks. It was a glorious end of the day.

Returning to our temporary residence of the OIMB, we prepared dinner together in the little kitchen. The menu was inspired by shepard's pie: a combination of chile and mash potatoes, followed by brownies hot out of the oven. We concluded the day with conversation and music before heading to bed early in preparation for our early morning clamming adventure.

Much love,
Indigenous Coast Alternative Spring Break Clan

Day 4 - Fry Bread and Invasive Plant Rage

 Today was a good day to eat frybread.

We met at the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Tribal Hall in Coos Bay, Oregon at the 9th hour of the morning on Wednesday, March 27th, 2013.

We were appreciative to our cores for Jesse and Margaret who had gathered a series of presentations for us which commenced at approximately 11AM which included the concepts of Peacegiving Court, Tribal Court, Tribal Police, and First Foods. Afterwards we took a walk around the Tribal Hall grounds and were educated on the various invasive plants encroaching Oregon coastal lands.

We were then armed to the teeth with tools -- including shovels, a single destroyer, and saws -- and aimed to release our rage on the insistent, encroaching English Ivy, Holly, and Armenian Blackberries.

After some intense hours in the brush alongside the CLUS plank house we then branched off and joined Margaret in the kitchen to make NDN tacos -- which consisted of lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, red peppers (a surprisingly tasty alternative for those who don't prefer tomatoes), and an incredulous fry bread recipe that satisfied all and many.

T'was a great time as we all watched each other's fry bread dough take on unique shapes particular to each individual.

We were joined for dinner by Tribal Elder Carolyn Slyter and Chief Warren Brainard who shared historical, Tribal history.



Afterwards the plankhouse was opened for us and a fire lit inside. We were given a Native Flute demonstration by Doc where we were encouraged to use the drum and rattle along with Doc to create some awesome jams on the three oldest instruments in the world.

Day 3 - Salmon

"These hands have seen nature." 

Today the ever-sparkling and spirited UO students cleared a site where a proposed plank house for the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw will be built in the oncoming future. The day was filled with canoe adventures, new friends, hefty tools, persistent salmonberry bushes, tasty foods, and good company.

We met with our most generous hosts Margaret and Jesse at the Florence Outreach Office where we were also introduced to the Tribe's beautiful traditional canoe which we later pulled across Munsel Lake to reach the plank house site. Many grunts and laughs were had as we worked on the trail leading up to the forested area with shovels, hoes, hedge clippers, and saws. After some time of satisfying hard work of chopping down errant tree branches, uprooting rhododendrons, snipping salmon berries and ferns, we had a glorious feast! With dirtied hands and hungry hearts, we sat around the fire to a traditional salmon bake, roasted potatoes and vegetables.

While we sat around the fire salmon grease dripped from the fillets propped on cedar stakes and discussions ranged from canoe journeys to salmon-brain eating wolves. Anticipation built as stomachs rumbled and the smell of salmon wafted throughout our small camp. A prayer was shared to bless the salmon about to enter our welcoming bellies and we lined up eagerly to savor the tasty fish. After our delicious meal, so painstakingly prepared by Jesse and Margaret, we  sat around the fire a bit before packing up and canoeing home.

The moon was full and just starting to emerge behind the trees as we glided across the lake to traditional native songs sang by two of our very own womyn students. We set a new CLUS canoe record by packing in a total of 14 people! A second trip was made back as some of our most resilient fellow UO students volunteered to pull the canoe across and back to rescue a forgotten pack.


We are looking forward to spending the rest of the trip in and Coos Bay, the formal home of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw tribes!


Much Love,
Indigenous Coast Crew

Day 2 - The Amanda Trail

We rose with the sun and feasted as true royalty upon English Muffins and Quaker Instant Oats.

Many consensual sparkles were had and we were out the door by 8:30AM, because the CLUS awaited us in Florence for what could only be a glorious day of hiking.

Leaving our coastal castle in the distance, our clan faced the rugged roads winding to a peak of the rocks and tribal history.

At the head of the Amanda Trail we met Joanne Kittel and were told the story of Amanda, the namesake of the trail -- a blind Native woman who was taken from her young daughter at the time of Relocation. She was forced to march up and down a rough terrain, often falling. Historical documents state that Amanda left behind a trail of blood from the wounds she got from her falls that one could have followed through the steep, coastal hills.
Descending into the forest, once journeyed by the indigenous people of Oregon, we fancied our taste pallets with an array of native plant species, guided by traditional tribal knowledge of our gracious hosts Margaret and Jesse --  and feasted our souls on fresh coastal air.

The ending destination of our grand journey revealed itself as a spiritual oasis where we paid our respects to Amanda, whose image was recreated into a statue.  

Once proper respects were paid in full, a second breakfast/lunch was then eaten. Once this meal was eaten we proceeded to return to our original point of departure.

Upon returning, everyone split off to take care of miscellaneous business. We bonded over singing songs. John brought along playing cards through which we responded to various deep questions.

We ended the night with a wish and a sparkle, blowing out the sacred flame in our center and lighting new ones in our hearts.. Tomorrow shall be glorious.


Much love,
Indigenous Coast Alternative Spring Break Clan

Day 1

8:30 AM - Left Eugene for a beautiful drive through the hills to magical Oregon Coast. Played some ultimate frisbee on the beach, attempted to rescue a "distressed" beaver (he looked mostly tired), and got a nice little tour of Florence / got lost.

12:30 - Super Dank Lunch Hour. Met up with Jesse and Margaret from the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Tribal Confederacy and our guides for the week. Made a trip to Bi-Mart for some workgloves and clamming licenses.

4:00 - Stickgame! (Round 1) Learned how to play the traditional native game and had a blast - It was the unicorn version no less!

5:00 - Dinner!! This day couldn't possibly get any better. Delicious local/organic buffalo meatballs with spaghetti and tomato sauce. Yum!

7:00 - Head South towards our lodging in Coos Bay. Somehow end up near California. Hmm... Turn around near Bandon and head North. Epic vocal jam in Van number 2.

9:45: Check-in to Oregon Institute of Marine Biology where we will be staying. WHAT? We each get our own room?? Get out of here!!

11:37: Site-leader Sheehy getting tired of blogging. Gonna head to bed. Check-back in tomorrow night for more updates!

Much love,

ASB Indigenous Coast