Sam Robinson Tells the Story of the Chinook People

In mid July I went out to Chinook Point on the Washington side of the Columbia River near its mouth, to talk with Sam Robinson, a longtime Lower Chinook Tribal Council member. He told about the history of his people and the land they know better than any of us whose ancestors are from elsewhere.

On this episode of Locus Focus we listen to that conversation, in which Sam tells stories of his people, from pre-contact time to their encounters with Lewis & Clark, their unsuccessful efforts to sign a treaty with the United States government that did not rob them of their land and their amazing ability to survive and begin to thrive, despite losing their land and nearly losing their heritage.