This content was published: May 29, 2008. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Gold to cover first environmentally-friendly market in North America
Photos and story by James Hill
International commerce, diplomatic relations, cultural exchanges and tourism are hot topics today in the Pacific Northwest, just as they were nearly 12,000 years ago among the indigenous peoples who lived along the Columbia River. These civilized, prosperous nations developed an international marketplace that, by the 1700s, included trade with Russia, Spain, England, China, and America, yet their story is often untold in histories of the region.
Pat Courtney Gold will discuss how the first environmentally friendly model of commerce in Oregon was created, and why it affects the way we live today in “Innovators and Traders: The Indigenous People of the Columbia River.” The Washington County Museum is pleased to host this Oregon Chautauqua from the Oregon Council for the Humanities. This free, public program will take place on Wednesday, June 18, at 3:30 at the Washington County Museum at the Rock Creek Campus. Admission is free for children under 6, members, employees of corporate members, and PCC faculty, students and staff.
Gold, a Wasco native enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, will discuss the rich heritage of cultural and financial commerce conducted up and down the Columbia River. From technological innovations such as salmon processing, to dating, gambling, and other social interactions, the Columbia River provided a conduit to the wider world. Just as questions of sustainability impact modern commerce, Gold will show how native peoples’ relationship to the land provided our first environmentally friendly model of commerce.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »