Event Details

When: October 21, 2020

Where: Zoom, (registration information coming soon).

Cost: Free. Suggested donation of $10 can be made here.

Lecture Description:

News sources have reported on the disproportionate ways that COVID-19 has affected populations of Indigenous descent. Join Emily Washines and Chuck Sams to hear first-hand stories of the different ways local Tribes have responded to the pandemic. Emily and Chuck will also discuss the unique Tribal history of pandemic response and how culture has driven grass-roots action. This conversation will go beyond statistics and headlines to consider the daily lives of Native people as they confront this most recent pandemic.

Emily Washines is an enrolled Yakama Nation tribal member with Cree and Skokomish lineage. She speaks Ichiskiin (Yakama language) and other Native languages. A scholar, with a Master’s in Public Administration, her research and work in film, writing, speaking, and exhibits focuses on the Yakama War, Native women, traditional knowledge, resource management, fishing rights, and food sovereignty. Yakima Herald-Republic lists her as Top 39 under 39. She is a board member of the Museum of Culture and Environment, Artist Trust, and Columbia Riverkeeper. Emily lives on the Yakama reservation with her husband and three children.

Chuck Sams is Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah, and Yankton Sioux. He grew up on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. He is the Deputy Executive Director for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). Prior positions include Environmental Health and Safety Officer/Planner in the Tribal Planning Office for the CTUIR, Executive Director for the Umatilla Tribal Community Foundation, and National Director of the Tribal & Native Lands Program for the Trust for Public Land. He serves as Chairman to the Oregon Cultural Trust, Gray Family Foundation, and Columbia Land Trust. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy where he served as an intelligence specialist.

Sense of Place is partnering with the Confluence Project for this special presentation. Confluence is a non-profit that seeks to connect people to the history, living culture, and ecology of the Columbia River system through Indigenous voices.

Event Details

When: November 18, 2020

Where: Zoom, (registration information coming soon).

Cost: Free. Suggested donation of $10 can be made here.

Lecture Description:

In 1980, Seth Tibbott founded Turtle Island Foods, now the “Tofurky Company”, on $2,500 savings from his 8-year career as a teacher/naturalist. The company’s first product was a tasty fermented Indonesian soy product called Tempeh. Many people, including his midwestern Aunt and fellow elementary school teachers, thought selling moldy soybeans to the meat-centric American public was a very bad idea. For 15 years it appeared the naysayers were right as Seth pursued his dream while losing his shirt as a pioneer of the early plant-based foods movement. With an income of only $300/month, Seth built a 3-story treehouse that he called home for 7 years.

In 1995, also against the advice of his partners, Seth introduced the first nationally marketed vegan holiday roast named “Tofurky”.  The Tofurky brand now includes 43 different vegan products which are sold in 27,000 stores worldwide. Seth has chronicled his  “40-year overnight success story” in a new book, In Search of the Wild Tofurky-How a Business Misfit Pioneered Plant-Based Foods Before They Were Cool.

Event Details

When: December 16, 2020

Where: Zoom (Registration information coming soon.)

Cost: Free. Suggested donation of $10 can be made here.

Lecture Description:

What’s it like to grow up in the Gorge? Gladys Rivera considers herself fortunate to have been born and raised in Hood River and over the course of her life here, she’s experienced firsthand the region’s growth and changes. As a bi-racial, bi-cultural, and bi-lingual member of the Gorge, Gladys brings a unique perspective on this place we call home and will share some of her history and experiences in a conversation with Sense of Place host, Sarah Fox. Join us for the conversation and Q & A that follows. 

Gladys Rivera was born and raised in Hood River and was appointed to the Hood River City council in 2019. She has served as a board member for Gorge Grown, a council member for United Way, is a member of Latinos en Acción, and works locally as a preventative health manager focused on underserved communities. Gladys brings a unique perspective on this region and the changes she’s experienced firsthand while serving this community.

Event Details

When: January 13, 2021 (specific time tbd.)

Where: Zoom (Registration information coming soon.)

Cost: Free. Suggested donation of $10 can be made here.

Lecture Description:

The Columbia River is home to some incredible wildlife species; some are unknown to many, while others may be common species, with surprisingly fascinating stories. Who are these creatures that share our home? Why are some considered magnificent, and others are feared or even misunderstood? Wildlife biologist and longtime Gorge resident, Bill Weiler, will highlight some of our local fauna and share some hopeful scenarios about how we can keep wildlife thriving throughout the Gorge, especially if we all contribute.

Bill Weiler has lived on 20 acres northeast of Lyle, WA for 30 years. He worked as a wildlife biologist with both the Washington and Oregon Departments of Fish & Wildlife. Bill created the environmental education non-profit Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute in Hood River 25 years ago, and he currently works as the Education Coordinator for the Sandy River Watershed Council. As a wildlife enthusiast, Bill regularly serves as a consultant for Gorge residents needing wildlife surveys or advice regarding animals showing up – sometimes unexpectedly.

Event Details

When: February 17, 2021 (specific time tbd.)

Where: Zoom (Registration information coming soon.)

Cost: Free. Suggested donation of $10 can be made here.

Lecture Description:

Written records, journals, and oral histories have given us an incredibly detailed understanding of the individuals and families who headed west on the Oregon Trail; what they ate, how they survived, even what they did to make butter while on the trail! But there is one group of pioneers who we still know very little about – the African Americans who traveled the trail. What might it have been like to come to Oregon, the only state in the union to paradoxically declare itself a free state, while also having black exclusion laws on the books? And who are some of the black pioneers that came to the Pacific Northwest and forever changed this place, its people, and history? Join the Oregon Black Pioneers as they share stories of African Americans on the trail and in the Gorge, and find out why there’s still so much of this history yet to be uncovered. 

Oregon Black Pioneers is Oregon’s only historical society dedicated to preserving and presenting the experiences of African Americans statewide. Since 1993, the organization has illuminated the seldom-told history of people of African descent in Oregon – inspired by the tenacity of Black Oregonians who have faced discrimination and hardship to make a life for themselves here over the past 400 years. In order to honor the sacrifices made by those individuals, Oregon Black Pioneers seeks to remember their stories and share them with the public.

Event Details

When: March 10, 2021 (specific time tbd.)

Where: Zoom (Registration information coming soon.)

Cost: Free. Suggested donation of $10 can be made here.

Lecture Description:

After more than a century in existence, what have we learned from local Extension Services? When Ann Harris interviewed for her position at OSU Extension, she had no idea what a “land grant” university was. She also didn’t know how the Extension service connected to the university, but that’s no longer the case. From the complex history that established land-grant universities to the present day programs that provide research-based support for our economy, what impact have Extension services had on local communities like the Gorge and how have they affected our region as a whole? Join Ann Harris from OSU Extension, as she shares pictures and stories of the local Gorge Extension. From Master Gardener classes to 4-H and food preservation.

Ann Harris is the Open Campus Education Coordinator for OSU Extension in the Gorge. She grew up in Southern California and moved with her family here 23 years ago. “My husband Mike and I came to the Gorge because we were looking for a home where we could envision raising our kids with a true sense of place and belonging in nature and in the community”. Ann has worked in social services and in education and is an active community and church volunteer.

Event Details

When: April 14, 2021 (specific time tbd.)

Where: Zoom (Registration information coming soon.)

Cost: Free. Suggested donation of $10 can be made here.

Lecture Description:

Climate change is forcing many alpine species to higher elevations, including American pikas (Ochotona princeps), small rabbit-relatives that typically inhabit high-elevation mountain ranges of western North America. However, despite dramatic elevational shifts and local extinctions in some parts of their range, these animals persist in several surprising habitats in the Pacific Northwest, including the low-elevation rainforests of the Columbia River Gorge and areas severely burned by wildfire. In this talk, Dr. Johanna Varner will describe some of her research on the distribution and behaviors of pikas living in the Gorge and on Mt. Hood, including how the populations have rebounded after recent wildfires. This research helps to advance our knowledge of the true habitat requirements and climate sensitivity of pikas and may inform their conservation and management.

Biologist Johanna Varner studies mountain mammals called pikas, a potato-sized rabbit relative that lives in alpine rockslides. These adorable animals were the inspiration for Pikachu, but their habitat may be threatened by climate change. Dr. Varner studies how some pikas are able to persist in unusual places like the Columbia River Gorge – research she hopes will inform their conservation. Although she is currently located in Grand Junction, CO, Dr. Varner has been working with pikas in the Gorge for over ten years. Dr. Varner holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from MIT and a PhD from University of Utah. In her spare time, she loves to ski and run on trails with her dogs.