Growing up in Celilo Falls, Ore., Ed Edmo heard many legends and stories of the Columbia River Gorge’s Native American tribes. Wednesday evening, he will share those stories at the Many Nations Longhouse.
The stories of Edmo – a Shoshone-Bannock poet, playwright, storyteller and tour guide – will be the first of a two-part event.
On Nov. 3, Edmo will lead a hike to see some of the Columbia River Gorge’s pictographs and petroglyphs, images carved and engraved into rocks, in Dallesport, Wash., just across the river from The Dalles, Ore.
“You have to have a Native American guide,” said Outdoor Program Assistant Director Suzanne Hanlon. “It’s a rare opportunity to get to see some petroglyphs that aren’t normally available.”

Hanlon said the two-part event – sponsored by the Outdoor Program, in conjunction with the Museum of Natural and Cultural History, the Multicultural Center, the Native American Student Union and Nearby Nature – is the Outdoor Program in a nutshell.
“I think what the Outdoor Program is about is learning as you go,” she said. “What better way to put these stories in perspective than to see where a lot of these stories have been born and the culture still lives?”
Of the museum’s involvement Administrative Program Assistant Judi Pruittsaid, “Our offer is to have people to come to the museum before the storytelling and watch the Celilo Falls film.”
“Echo of Water Against Rocks: Remembering Celilo Falls” is a 15-minute film about the 1957 flooding of Celilo Falls, caused by the newly constructed Dalles Dam.
The Museum of Natural and Cultural History is located next to the Longhouse, which often hosts tribal council meetings and ceremonies, such as weddings, funerals and rights of passage.
Edmo’s folklore comes from the Warm Springs, Klickitat and Wishram tribes, among others. His stories include why the Columbia River sparkles and the tale of Dash’Ka’yah, a giant monster woman with long hair, scraggly teeth and claws.
University graduate student Sasha Rae can’t make the storytelling because she has class, but she’s excited for her first Outdoor Program trip next weekend.
“This year, I decided I wanted to see more of Oregon since it’s my last year,” she said.
Hanlon, on the other hand, will definitely be attending the storytelling with her children. She’s not sure if she’ll be able to attend the hike, though she hopes she can.
“To me, the cultural stuff is really, really fascinating,” Hanlon said. “When you can blend it with the outdoors, I’m in heaven.”
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