After reading the chapters this week I had to take a few minutes, several actually and reflect on both the reading and my personal "field trip" experiences.
For the past week and a half I have visited several sites and like in the chapters, they share how one group was taken over by another. A part of me felt sad to hear and read that to get a piece of good land there had to be wars and many lives lost. We all seek prosperity and a piece of the pie of the "good" life but I wonder if it can happen without hindering others or even nature for that matter.
These past weeks I visited Snoqualmie Falls in Washington, took a tour of the underground of Seattle and lastly, visited Point Reyes where I learned about the Kule Loklo People.
At Snoqualmie Falls I was expecting to learn about the formation of the falls, the origin of the name and through which means was the fall being kept up. I have often enjoyed being surrounded by nature and was very much looking forward to going there. As we drove out of Seattle to the falls, nature embraced us. There were trees all around us, I lowered the window and got a great big gulp of fresh air. As we arrived to the falls I notice an over path and some kind of resort which I later learn it's the Salish Lodge. We parked, got out the car and I took a few moments to take the scenery in. I noticed a few big signs and I headed over to see what they were about.
In those signs I learn about the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, whom are native to the land. I learn that it was such a lushes and desirable land that when Samuel Hancock canoed up the river in 1851 he shares that the land would be great for agriculture and timber. In seeing the benefits of the land, the "war" in this area begins. There were people in this area but then another group comes along who wants a piece of the pie and sees an opportunity in this area. Not much is said about the struggles between them expect that in 1855 a treaty is agreed upon with 82 chiefs and headmen of tribes agree to relocate as long as certain rights were respected. The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe was never given any land and the money guaranteed to them was used for the war instead. Since the tribe was never given given any land, in the 1950's they were dropped from the list of US tribes in Washington for lack of land base. They remained landless until October 6, 1999 when the Snoqualmie Tribe finally became recognized.
I continued to read and find out that the fall is part of the tribe's creation story, that they cultivated the land as they saw need for it but not in excess. That since they had given up the land surrounding the waterfall but had not been given any land to relocate to, that they then turned to farmers to help them out. This breaks my heart. To think that the tribe had their land taken away and now have to turn to these people who took their land and ask them for help to feed their families. The farmers helped them by giving them work, the poster states that they made a dollar a day as they filled baskets with the crops. Some have gained, some have lost as they each seek a piece of the pie of the good life.
My history journey then takes me to Pioneer Square for Bill Speidel's Underground Tour. In this "field trip" I wanted to know who Bill Speidel was, how the underground tour came to be and whether we were really going to go underground Seattle. For this field trip my expectations were low and I was hoping things would be a bit more up beat since I had recently learned about the Snoqualmie Tribe and what they went through.
As the the tour began we quickly learn that Bill Speidel worked as a reported and then opened his public relations business in the Pioneer District. I learn that he is one of the key people who helped save Pioneer Square by convincing the city to make Pioneer Square a historic site. As part of that the project to save the square, he then stared his business of the Underground Tour because of the interest he creates.
As we were given the run down of the tour, I was happy to hear that we were going to be heading underground (creepy yet exciting). As the tour begins they share a little bit about the history of Seattle, how they had build a city using sawdust, how the tides would come in and flood the city. That then there was the Great Seattle fire and that with this, new plans for the city came about. The plan was to rebuild the city up by one story so that when the tides came it wouldn't flood them. As they slowly build the new city, some business in the lower part were still operating. Some businesses moved up and others decided to remain where they were and in return the city was build above them through various passage ways. These passage ways now create the Underground Tour. It was a bit spooky as we walked through the passage ways, I saw an old lounge chair, some Windows, doors, what is trough to be a bath house, some skylights, several signs, mattresses, and the separation between the old wall and the new wall.
It was an interesting experience. At the end of the tour we arrive to the Souvenir Store. In the store besides various nick-knacks, they also have some historical information. They show pictures of what the area used to look like, pictures of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 and how it begun with some glue left unattended, pictures and information on the timber work that happened there and some pictures and information on type writers. It was a fun and interesting experience.
Lastly, I travelled back to the Bay Area to Point Reyes. There I went to the visitor center to get some information on the history of the area. I had gone there several years ago and remember hearing about a native tribe living there. I walked through the visitor center looking at the various exhibits until I reached the one I was looking for. The Native people of the area were the Kule Loklo poeple. They were the people that the conquistadors saw and met with. The center shares that not much was recorded of them except people's perception and that much is left unknow about them. What they do know has been from some of their decentants and the few writings. The center shares that with the help of volunteers, they have recontructed part of their village. I talked to a volunteer there, got direcftions and then headed to the village.
At the entrance of the village I saw the special cave looking structure. There was a note saying that photography was not acceted because spiritual ceremonies still happen there and that it's a sacred place. I walked in, took a few minutes to look around and noticed the building was made of rocks and had a distinks smell. I;m guessing it's some kind of herbs but couldn't pin point what the smell was. I continued on the path where there was, for lack of a better word, a small teepee looking structure. The sign said that this structure was used for storing grains and fruit. I continued on the path to see a few homes and then a garden. Lastly, I walked in to a sweat lodge. The place was cool and provided a relief from the sun that was now in full swing. This building was made of rocks and seemed to be underground. You could easily pass it by had it not been by the sign or the door being open. This place seemed very peaceful to me. I walked around, observed the area and thought what it might of looked like back in the days with the families living in the area.
Over all these experiences were educational and a bit emotional. To think that so much movement happened, that people and their stories were lost to some extend and that some have survived is ... amazing. Strayer writes on page 617,"We cannot be sure what will prove of lasting significance and what will later seem of only passing importance" I thought of this as I learned about the various locations I went through.
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