Context Podcast Digital Collection

Doug Exton: Thank you so much for joining us for today's connected conversation. The program conducted by the IHC. If you're not familiar with our organization or the work that we do, I do encourage you to check out our website, idahohumanities.org. I would like to remind you all that you may submit questions using the Q&A feature located at the bottom of the screen.

Use many questions using the chat. I can't guarantee that we'll be able to get to them today. With me is Trevor Bond and Nakia Williamson-Cloud. Today they're going to present on the collection formerly known as the Spalding Island Collection. Turn over to you.

Trevor Bond: Great. I'm just going to go ahead and share my screen real quick.

Can everyone see that? Okay.

Okay. Thanks. So I just want to, start by welcoming everybody and thanking you all for joining us. I'm here with my good friend, Nakia Williamson-Cloud. We're broadcasting from my office studio on the, WSU Pullman campus. And Pullman is located within, the range of the 1855 treaty negotiated between Isaac Stevens and the Nez Perce tribe.

And I want to acknowledge this place that we're on. It's deep, connection to the Niimiipuu people. And I also want to just state that, I think this work and, the work that our university and Nakia and I have been doing together is important. And moving beyond, just that basic acknowledgment of the land to doing concrete, collaborations together.

So I'm going to start off, I've got a few slides to show to give you a sense of the Wetxuuwíitin’ collection and also, the archives that under, pinned, a book that I wrote in collaboration with, Nakia and his department. And then, Nakia will present, after me. So I'll just go ahead and get started here.

This is a poster that was created for the renaming. There's 21 pieces in the collection. This is the the oldest, largest, best documented, documented. Sorry, collection of, plateau material culture that survives anywhere in the world. The collection for, more than a century was named the Spalding Allen Collection. And I'll just mention a little bit about Spalding.

And then Allen, and then we'll talk about the renaming process a bit later. So here's a picture of, Henry Spalding. You know, an energetic guy, quarrelsome among his fellow missionaries, did things like bring the potato to Idaho, printing press. He also brought a stern version of Presbyterianism that really called for his followers to renounce their traditional ways, clothing, language and become a product like himself.

Presbyterian, settled farmer who wore, Euro-American clothes and spoke English and practiced that stern form of, Presbyterianism. As a missionary, in the 1840s, the the board that funded his mission really never provided enough resources for him to, be self-sufficient and to, engage in his proselytizing activities. So along the way, Spalding, like many missionaries, in other areas, took to different means to support his missionary and, what one Niimiipuu historian really described him more as a traitor at the end than a missionary because so much of his efforts went into, generating revenue and goods and, and, labor that, supported the

missionary activity. And one of the things that he did was to collect materials to send to a friend and benefactor, Doctor Dudley Allen. The two men had gone to college together. Allen lived in Ohio and, according, to the agreement that they struck, Spalding gathered up geological samples and also the material culture in the collection is those 21 pieces that I, showed you--pack them in barrels.

The barrels went down the Columbia River out to the Sandwich Islands, later Hawaii, down around, South America to Boston, and then were shipped overland by wagon to Ohio. Along with the items Spalding sent this letter. And it's a fairly detailed letter. It goes on for thousands of words. I don't expect anybody to read it. I just wanted to give you a sense of his handwriting and how he use every bit of the space, but this this area that's highlighted in yellow.

And here's a transcription of the piece. It's what Spalding estimated the value of the items were. He said that the collection as a whole. Was were somewhere between, you know, about $57.90. Now, you can see in the bottom paragraph there that Spalding really did not want, Allen to send cash. Cash was not part of the economy.

This was an economy based on trade and exchange. And so what, Spalding wanted from Allen was for Allen to send these barrels and to send tools, clothing, fine hair, silk of these goods that Spalding would use in his mission. So this exchange took place. It seemed a bit underhanded. Allen said to Spalding, let's keep our our private affairs in this barter secret, because the women read all these letters.

And Allen wanted this, collection, to adorn a cabinet, maybe in his home. And, so this is this is what happened. The the big question comes up and is, how did Spalding get these items from the Niimiipuu people? And he doesn't mention that directly in the letter. He does say where the items come from, but, there are other, parts in his correspondence where he does talk about how he, traded with the Niimiipuu for items.

It could be that followers gave these items to Spalding, and Spalding preached that wearing buckskin, wearing the regalia, was unchristian, that his followers needed to give these things up. So we don't know exactly. It could be that things were given, by his followers. Could be that things were coerced or just not sure. There's, silence in the record, but the items did survive.

So the collection, passed from, Doctor Allen to his son, also Doctor Allen and that, doctor Allen passed the collection on to the Overland College archives. And you can see this very, minimal exception list of the collection as it came to Overland College. You can also see the kind of, minimizing, dehumanizing language there that the collections described as one lot of, Indian clothing and trinkets.

There's also, racist language around the label. Just buckskin dress for Indian squaw and language such as that. It still is part of many museum and archival collection records. And, and, there's been a movement in recent years to update and, change that language. And we made these changes here in the archives, just within the last week, going through all the collections.

For exhibition purposes, as far as we can tell, only one piece in the collection was ever exhibited in Ohio, and that was a cradleboard.

The other thing that we know from looking at the records, the accession records, these are much more detailed, is that, several of the pieces that are mentioned in Spalding's letter, namely bags, additional moccasins and a pair of women's leggings. They don't survive in the contemporary collection. So that's part of the ongoing work to now go back in partnership with the Ohio Historical Connection.

They changed their name. To investigate the whereabouts of these items. And Vicky has been working, with their curators there and will likely go back to Ohio as they, look for these pieces. But going back to the 1970s, Bill Holm, he was a longtime curator at the Park Museum in Seattle. He hears about the collection while he's in England.

But the Ohio Historical Society is not interested in that. They want to stick to one year loans, and every five years or so to have an appraisal date of the collection to ascertain value for insurance and other reasons. So when the collection was loaned, not including the Cradleboard, it was initially valued at 52,000. In 1985, Paul Rask, Northwest appraiser based in Idaho, recognized the significance that provenance of the collection and set that evaluation to $104,000 in 1993.

The price, the valuation jumps up again. And the, evaluation for insurance costs continues to climb. Given the, the age of this collection, the condition, the documentation, and also, I think a reflection of, the cultural interpretation and all the work that's been done to to interpret the collection.

Allen Pinkham was the board member at the time. Yeah, Allen Pinkham was a board member. That would not be a feasible strategy in this case. And Nakia can speak more to that later on. But after a great deal of, back and forth, it's uncertain what's going to happen. The National Park Service ordered crates to send the collection back.

They made arrangements for, carrier to do it. And they also brought in, yes, experts to document the collection, elders to come in and discuss it. And, one of those individuals working on the collection is, is, my fellow and friend Nakia. And this was his first museum job. He was an intern at the time, an artist.

Of the collection plus $25,000, and agreed to a six month deadline to pay this price in full. And I just wanted to read you a little section. You know, on the one hand, if everyone thought that the collection was going and would never, come back, Allen had told reporters after this agreement reached, we were very elated, very happy, continued.

And then he also made this point. Personally, I guess we all feel sorry we have to pay for it, reflected Allen Wood. It's like paying for our own Christmas presents, but we are relieved the collection is going to remain here. So this fundraising campaign starts, and here's a detail of the cradle board and donations start coming from around the country.

This got me kind of intrigue. A number of bands, including my personal favorite, Pearl jam, got involved. There were, public announcement ads on MTV about the campaign and PR, Kevin Peters, who was recently retired from the Nez Perce National Historic Park, and Nez Perce artists as well, designed this poster. You could receive a copy of the poster if you contributed to the campaign.

I mentioned the price, but it's really not the price we're talking about. It's it's it's, all sorts of different, cultural values and meaning within the community about, regalia, material culture such as this.

Nakia Williamson-Cloud: I am glad to be here enjoying everybody here that has, participated virtually. This, event and this, talk to me. And Trevor has had the, good fortune of presenting on several different occasions to a variety of audience audiences. And, so it's been a it's been a really good, way to kind of recap and to try to, you know, think back of this history and as, as Trevor was given this, very good, chronological, kind of interpretation of the events that kind of happened going back from 95 to 96 and even prior to up until current day.

I think it's, it gives a time for, for myself to, to reflect as being kind of part of, you know, some of those small part in those early days of, when all this, kind of came to be and I guess, you know, for, for us, I think a lot of people outside of our community, a lot of people that don't understand the importance of these sorts of, items and collections and what they mean.

I think it's a little bit difficult to people, for people outside the culture, to really understand and grasp what these items truly mean to our people. And I think for a lot of people, the clothing that we wear, they might have some value to it, some sentimental value of something that was passed on. I think you know, even today, most of our clothing is, is doesn't have that kind of intergenerational, you know, sort of component or aspect to it.

But for us, when we dress in that clothing, the buckskin clothing, the, the items that are made for the ceremonies, and for art that help promote the lifeways of the Nez Perce people that we still carry for today. It's it represents and it's a reminder to us of our fundamental values that we have that ties us to our kinship, to our family and to our community, but even more importantly, to the land and to what we now call resources, which is a part of our life and so when we dress in this regalia, it's a reminder to what we call our tomorrow and our lore, our lore that we live by.

And those same laws is what kept us here from the time when the first treaties were signed. And we reserve certain rights, as they're known today, in terms of that federally determined identity that we've established. And the relationship that we establish would be with the US federal government. But really, what they were trying to our leaders at that time that ultimately signed that document, we're trying to preserve the same values that are represented in this collection.

And so when we view this collection, we don't view it as, just purely an X in an esthetic, you know, sort of manner, or we don't just, look at it as an art piece, even though there is a lot of artistic value, obviously, and there's a lot of esthetic value and I think anybody can appreciate, but it's a reminder to us of those fundamental laws and those values that make us who we are in terms of the the way that we're tied to everything and our elders.

We often you've heard in the past many people I've heard that our people have made these these appeals to how we are connected to the land, how we're part of the land. And I think a lot of people outside the community really kind of find that hard to grasp. Although I think there are many, many people that have connections to a place or maybe have some value or have a certain sense of feeling when they're out in the outdoors or in the wilderness area or what have you.

But for us, it takes a deeper, you know, feeling in because it's that interaction, you know? So, for instance, you know, we fish, we hunt, and and in the West, obviously there's a value of fishing and hunting. But for us it's an act of renewing that relationship, going back to the time of creation, when our people were placed on this land and the the animals and the resources, as we now understand, in today's world, are are really a significant part of our life.

But, moreover, do our ceremonial and ties to these, this life that I'm speaking of, that, that we have responsibilities to the salmon, to the deer, to all these things that we share a life with to the very land itself. And it's that responsibility that makes us who we are, makes us navy blue. And so and so really, these are the things that are brought out in terms of when we view this collection.

And I think that's really hard to grasp because I can't really find a way to explain to people outside of our culture of of how these items function and still function in our community today. So when these items were taken out of our community, it was it was not only a, kind of act of, undermining that value system that I'm speaking of, but also it was, you know, it was part of the the same kind of colonialism that our people were undergoing at that time where, where our, our value system systems were being undermined by, by every institution that we as modern people rely upon today.

Alan Slick .. Ricky Ellen Wood..., would you know, many of the horse accidents that you seen in the polls there? Many of those people are no longer among us. And at that time, they I especially I remember Alan Slick, who was a mentor of mine and, traditional leader and, basically that all encompassing, resource for our community.

I remember him talking about that. We need to rename we need to rename this. We don't want to call it a Spalding-Allen collection, because a lot of these collections, they, in, in the, the western modern world are named after who collective. Not not the people who they come from, which is what's important to us, which family those items are come from.

And so when we did it, we did it in a way, because renaming is an act of reasserting that connection that we have, reasserting our identity and reasserting that connection to this place that we live, which which defines who we are. And so that was a very important, day for us. And we did things the best we could in, in, in the spirit of how our life that have carried us to the time prior to even when these items were collected, even to now that we, struggled to maintain to our language, their language, culture, identity, spirituality.

And I think it had, even those that because you could explain these things to people, you could even right now I, you know, trying to struggle to find the words you can explain. I could I could talk, you know, for hours. But until you experience it and feel there and I think that's what people felt on that day is then you get a glimpse of what we're talking about.

You get a glimpse of what that importance is. You know, you can't explain these sorts of things. You have to live it and feel it and understand it until your own self and open your own heart. And I think that's what happened on that day. And so we had, you know, the, members of the presbytery that came and gave an apology and they actually did one, several years ago at our general council in Camp Idaho.

And I think a lot of people felt felt good about that. And, and also we had Alex, we saw a representative for the I have a connection that that, you know, that originally at the time that we acquired these items were a were the, you know, the legal owners, quote unquote, owners of this collection. He was there to represent the Ohio connection.

And I think, you know, when the when they observed and were able to see this, you know, they were they were very surprised. And, there was a lot of very good and beautiful words of reconciliation on that day, which I think, the people are always interested in and doing and making these connections and reconcile the past so we can move forward as well as everybody else.

And, just that recognition and understanding that this happened, not to say that to to make anybody feel bad, but in order for you, you are as an individual, as a society to move forward. You have to recognize that this was done, you know, in the past, not not as a penalty, but as, as a way of recognition.

So you can take that step forward. And that's really what that day was about. And so there was a lot of beautiful words that were presented. And, you know, I think, you know, Alex, he was a he's a tribal person. He's a part of what to be. And so I think even the institution, the I connection has, has come a long ways.

Like a lot of institutions, a lot of society. We have a long ways to go, obviously, you know, but but they have made that transformation unto themselves. And so there was a lot of really beautiful words and talking about that. And at the time I was, I was kind of serving as the M.C. of that particular portion as we did the renaming.

And I was sitting back to listen to this, all these good words. But, I couldn't help I couldn't I couldn't, I couldn't I couldn't help but say that how much we appreciated these words, but, I had to throw it out there and say that there's one thing that we could happen, that could happen, that could help kind of minimize, maybe the pain of the past and all the things that have happened.

And so, you know, it was a beautiful day. It was a very it was the the hottest day of the summer. I think it was like 105 that day with the heat wave we were experiencing. And so that really comment we thought that was that, that we thought that was the book into the story. But it was in October, I received a call from Brian Friend, who was on the Ohio Historical, connection board, and he, told me personally on the phone that that the Ohio connection intended on returning the money and that they were going to come, prior to Thanksgiving so that a month later and so we had

informed NPTEC and that's when you see the event happen. And I think from that, I think we had a night where, we hosted them, the desperate tribal executive committee, as well as myself. And we just shared information, with the with the, delegation that came out from our connection. Now, I think, you know, we we have a relationship with them.

It's not just this, kind of paternal relationship that often exists within institutions and tribal communities. It's a true relationship. And now we're sharing information. They've come here, and I. And I feel that, we actually, like their name implies we actually do have a connection to them. It's a true connection to them. And so, you know, we've been conversing with them.

I just got an email from Alex this morning, and, there's many more to come. And the story continues to unfold. And I think that's the beauty of, of the, of this story and what it represents to the people and also parallels the Nez Perce tribe's effort to to get back some of the land, even though we were never owners of anything, we were never owners of the land.

And so I think that I think a lot of this has to be credited to, the vision of many of our leadership. Now they really see the importance of doing these things in a proper way. Again, I mentioned a key individual we acquired who are Shannon Miller, who who's a chairman has really been a pivotal force in in creating this change and doing these things in a way that we can we can open up the hearts and minds of people to see some of these values and to see us and to recognize our basic humanity and and what and how we relate to the world around us, which is different than the broader

world. So I think it's been a very much a beautiful, relationship. And then, moreover, the work that we've done here at the Washington State University, via the Plateau People's Portal. And I think now we're starting to see the, the, the fruits of that work and those seeds that were planted long ago, in the instead of just the the base level consultation we receive, you know, from some institutions, we actually have a working relationship.

And that's what me and Trevor have been doing. And we have more work to do. And, so, you know, I think, you know, now the institutions are understanding that, that native people have have a connection and have a voice. And so now try to elevate that voice and to, to create those connections in those working relationships.

So we can we can work collaboratively and move these things forward. And, you know, I think, moreover, we have a lot to offer to institutions. And I think of institutions such as the Washington State University, recognize that and have reached out in a variety of ways to work with us. And so I think that's really where the path forward is for all institutions.

And so, you know, that's what I have today. And I'm glad for this opportunity to share, you know, some of the stories that we have, today and, you know, we've done a lot of these kind of presentations talking to these screens, which is not the most natural, you know, position, but, you know, hopefully, you know, some of this resonates with those that are joining us virtually today.

So ... thank you.

Doug Exton: Know, thank you, both of you, for all the insight and all the knowledge that you both contain that you shared today. Nakia I was wondering if you could talk about some of the individual items in the collection a little bit more, specifically some of the design motifs in the, you know, the cultural artwork that's part of the objects.

Nakia Williamson-Cloud: Yeah. So, the, the probably more larger, fair, they're all significant in their own way, but the items such as the buckskin clothing, the two dresses, those are similar dresses that are that still are currently passed down in our families, like, even our own family. My own family has some of those types of dresses that are actually very similar.

And so some of the values of esthetics, you see, you see that kind of undulating sort of form in the, the dress. That's not just a design and element. And so many of our elders, as it was explained to me that that part of our lore, in terms of the recognition of the animals that we relied upon and when they stepped forward and provided not only their flesh, some of them, like the deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, elk, they provided their their skin.

How we paid the maximum respect and honor to the animals was when we get a skin of an animal, we don't just cut it into square panels to make a leg in our square panels to fit into some sort of pattern that that we retain the natural elements of that of that animal. So where you see that undulating form on the woman's dress or on the bottom of that man's shirt, that's the natural outline and skin, of of the hindquarters.

And that that centerpiece is the tail with even the fur intact down to the fore legs. And and even now, I think it's, it takes as, as so many of these tan hides and work and and hunter that to skin all the way down to that point. Most people don't do that. They cut it further up above the knee.

But in order to get that shape, they had to skin all the way, basically to the dewclaw of the animal, basically to the wrist. The ankles of the deer use, utilize and and maximize and every, every square inch as much as possible of that of that animal. And so that, that fold back is the tail and behind quarters.

And then they beaded along that to create that kind of undulating, beautiful design. So in it, so in essence, the animal's creating its own design. It's not us creating this design. It's telling us that we're interpreting, you know, based on, on the actual shape of the animal that creates the design. And so that's the sort of thing you see kind of, you know, kind of represented over and over again, a lot of the different items, you know, the, the woven items, the those, cat those hats are very, associated with, not only the Nez Perce, but the Columbia River plateau.

Those are only from here, the Columbia River plateau to the east. They don't have those sorts of items, but that's what they represent. And they're passed down generation at the generation. I have to that to my family. That was passed down from my great great grandparents, that is, kept in our family and brought out in ceremonial on time.

So, you know, there's you could I could probably speak all day on, on the collections, but that's just kind of be inside of, of, of of, some of the design elements. And I, you know, some of the esthetics and values and I think, you know, some people, may I think people see now when they see our modern, past, our powwows, ceremonies, they see the incorporation of modern, you know, sorts of, materials and things like that.

I think, you know, some of our people, when they had to adapt to the from buckskin, you know, because there was a time in the 1950s when our people were being cited for hunting, and they were being imprisoned, even my great grandfather, my grandfather, they were in prison, one time. And so, so it was sometimes difficult to get those materials.

And even now it's maybe sometimes easier because that period of time when our people were being subjugated by state laws, federal laws, and, and and so access to those sorts of things just wasn't there. And so our people, you know, tried to substitute the best that they could, given what they had at the time. But so, so, yeah, you, you see the some of that being reflected in people sometimes don't understand that.

They understand our people being like, were suspended in some idealized time in, you know, 1800s or 1700s. But we've had to adapt to changes that were forced upon us and utter, utter transformation of the landscape and and so, again, those impacts to the land and resources are impacts to us and our culture and how that gets, you know, turned around and represented, and that's I think that's just something that a lot of people don't quite, can't quite grasp.

And that's the things are why we advocate for the things that we do. Even today.

Doug Exton: Yeah, definitely kind of a reflection on how, you know, the changes in the materials are a reflection of the time that the people are going through.

And then can you also talk about the technical drawings in that preservation process that you were part of? You know, before the collection was repurchased? Unfortunately, it had to be repurchased at the time. But, you know, when there is that kind of fear that the collection was going to disappear forever and the preservation attempts there.

Nakia Williamson-Cloud: Yeah. I was, interning at the Nez Perce National Historical Park, and I think it was 19 years old when that had happened. And, you know, I think at the time, I guess, did it really quite, you know, when you're young, you don't understand about the implications of things, don't fully, quite understand, I guess. So I just, you know, it was just work that I was doing, and I had always had a connection and a knack for doing that type of work.

And. Yeah, that was we there were, there were fully documented photographs. But the curator at that time, Bob Chenowith, felt that technical drawings would have a, a more diagnostic way to represent the collection as well as an opportunity for, young people and people in a community to, to stay connected to those items. And so I spent a lot of time with, I think I did the saddle leggings and moccasins, I believe, and then a couple other piece of this in pink, did some of the women's items that Kevin Peters did, a few of the items as well.

So it was kind of a team effort. But yeah, it was with the idea that we wanted to get the ultimate documentation, thinking that we we might not ever have these items, you know, in, in our community. And I think that's so important. I think it's take home message for us. Even today, there are still other collections that continue to move out of our community and even have and important things because for for Nez Perce people, we're where one of the few parts of the country that still have these kind of items, most of them in other tribes and culture areas, all their stuff's all in museums, it's all in institutions.

It's all in collections. We still have these things, and unfortunately they have a market value. There's a monetary value in there. So there's tremendous pressures, upon tribal people to, you know, that maybe not have the economic means to sell those items. And there's, you know, that that's a whole thing unto itself. But, but yeah. So, I mean, there's a lot of these collections that are out there and, and, you know, so there's there's still a lot of, work to be done and to try and to keep a connection with our communities.

There's a shirt there that sold just a couple of years ago. That's very significant in a private collection that, you know, we've been talking about. There's other collections that were taken in 1877 that, most of our community have never seen. Some of people like myself, maybe have seen some of these items because they're back, back east or in private collections or whatever.

But I'm in a fairly unique position, but most of our community will never see these, you know, unless they're brought back. And so trying to reestablish these connections with these, these collections because of what they represent and how they're, still important to the community is really important. And and to reestablish those connections with the community is is very important because these items are, are not just, you know, like I said, art pieces are clothing.

They're a living part of our culture, and they're to to our ongoing culture and identity.

Trevor Bond: I just like to add that, Kevin Peters in, Nakia just mentioned, he talked about that, that value of really slowing down and examining the pieces he worked on. One of the men shirts and, and, did drawings of how this, you know, the sewing was done and then also counted every single fringe along the arms of the shirts, and there was a couple hundred fringes on each sleeve, but they were perfectly in balance.

And that gets at that design esthetic, too, because it's the natural form. But then there's this, this, you know, value of balance too as well. So, you know, I think that these drawings are still amazing to look at. If you go to the portal, you can see them today, but you I think an artist sees things differently than a photograph captures them.

And that sort of.

Doug Exton: And I was wondering if you could talk a little bit more about the naming process as well. Especially with the new name and kind of how like and what does the name mean? And you know, how that was decided.

individuals we name places we interpret the name based on what the land is telling us. And so in essence, the land or in the case with the individual or an object in this case is naming itself based on its own attributes or characteristics. And so that name what we can mean, something that has been like taken away and return and after a long journey.

So that's where that name was felt to be appropriate. And and again, shedding the idea that, of the people that collected it and, disconnected it from the community and the land that it came from and, and, and as a way to formally welcome things back into our community, you know, we felt that that was important.

And we state the name, we, announce the name three times, and then the name is repeated or repeated, and then things are being given out. And and in the process of naming people what my elders and my teachers have told me is you give to the people the furthest away that are there to, be give testimony and to, to observe and to say the name because in that way they have to repeat it.

And that name gets spread out over the land when those people return back to wherever they came from. That's how you make the name, you know, real and, and valid. And so that that kind of holds true with how our naming process unfolds. And so that's where why that name was, why and how that name was chosen.

Doug Exton: You know, and I think that's such a beautiful process and all the, you know, the importance behind it, certainly in terms of, you know, healing and cultural identity. Unfortunately, we are out of time for the Q&A. So thank you to everyone who attended and thank you both Trevor and Nakia, for, again, all that information and insight that you were able to share today.

Trevor Bond: Thanks for hosting. It was really fun.

Nakia Williamson-Cloud: Yeah.

Trevor Bond: Thank you.