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Vera Sonneck, Director of the Cultural Resource Program. (Interviewed by Josiah Pinkham February 2002)

The mission of the Cultural Resource Program is to protect, preserve and perpetuate the cultural resources of the Nimíipuu. With its staff, which includes elders, archaeologists, ethnographers, linguists and a director, the program provides recommendations to the other tribal programs concerning effective cultural preservation, and monitors federal compliance of regulations concerning preservation and protection of ancient historic sites and cultural properties on and off tribal lands. The Circle of Elders, made up of tribal elders well informed on cultural and historical knowledge, provides indispensable advice and direction for the program. The cultural property rights agreement established for the Lewis and Clark Rediscovery Project is but one example of the type of protection and perpetuation sought with cultural resources of the Nimíipuu.

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Josiah Pinkham, Ethnographer for the Cultural Resource Program, discusses the importance of protecting the material culture for the Nimíipuu. (Interviewed by Rodney Frey, March 2002)

Among its many on-going endeavors, the Cultural Resource Program assists the Leepwey Arts Council which sponsors workshops and hosts artists throughout the year, helps coordinate the Nimíipuu Language Program which offers language instruction for high school, college and community members, in close consultation with elders, provides research and direction on a myriad of oral history, archaeological and ethnographic projects, and finally monitors the archaeological and ethnographic preservation of the Hanford Reservation in Washington.

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Josiah Pinkham, discusses the NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) and ARPA(Archaeological Resource Protection Act Laws associated with protecting the cultural materials of the Nimíipuu. (Interviewed by Rodney Frey, March 2002)

It is only through an aggressive and vigilant program of protection, preservation and perpetuation that the rich heritage of the ancestors can be carried forth for the future generations of Nimíipuu, as well as to provide to the non-Indian communities an understanding and appreciation of the Nimíipuu way of life.

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Nakia Williamson, of the Cultural Resource Program, discusses his drawing of archaeological artifacts for scientific recording. (Interviewed by Ann McCormack February 2002)

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