First in This Land

This collection of readings attests to the unique relationship the indigenous Snake River-Palouse and Umatilla peoples have long had with their traditional homelands in the Inland Pacific Northwest. These accounts by tribal elders and consultants reflect a vibrant existence across a majestic landscape of rivers, prairies, and mountains that formed the basis of rich material and spiritual experience amidst the challenges of Euro-American cultural contact. Selections include important oral and ethnographic accounts gathered by historians Clifford Trafzer and Richard Scheuerman through many years of collaboration with Malissa Minthorn and other members of the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Pendleton, Oregon. The result is a remarkable assembly of readings that encourages efforts to safeguard crucial cultural and environmental perspectives.