2019 FILE PHOTO — Faculty and students of WSU Vancouver’s English 341 meet for a water safety orientation in the Cathlapotle Plankhouse at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
One class of WSU Vancouver English students is hitting the water this summer, spending time in a tribal canoe on the Columbia River while learning some of their lessons.
Students taking the college’s Native American Literature course are taking a significant part of their lessons in a 15-person tribal canoe on the Columbia River this summer, a release from the college stated. The course, themed “Mni Wiconi, Water is Life,” is taught by Chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation Tony Johnson and will focus on “Solar Storms” by Linda Hogan, a novel set in the boundary waters between Minnesota and Ontario that focuses on the impact of the fur trade and massive hydropower projects, “and the healing power of an all-woman canoe journey,” the release stated.
While on the water Johnson will relate the themes of the book to similar impacts on the Chinook and other Columbia River tribal nations, the release stated. Students will get an introduction to the Columbia River ecosystems as well as cultural traditions and oral narratives of the Chinook and other local tribes.
The course is intended to give students some understanding of the annual Pacific Northwest canoe journeys a part of the cultural revitalization work among the Chinook and other lower Columbia tribal nations.
On shore, associate English professor Desiree Hellegers will teach the non-canoe parts of the course. Hellegers received a fellowship that provided startup funds for the course.
Hellegers developed the course with support from Roben White, a WSU Vancouver Native American Community Advisory Board member and local activist of the Lakota and Cheyenne tribes, according to the release.
