Museum at Warm Springs celebrates huckleberry harvest with 2 Portland events

WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Museum at Warm Springs’ annual Huckleberry Harvest will be celebrated with two events in Portland. 

The Huckleberry Harvest Honor Dinner will take place from on Friday, August 27 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Kridel Ballroom at the Portland Art Museum.

The Huckleberry Harvest Honor Dinner, which includes a silent auction, raises funds for The Museum at Warm Springs. Proceeds from the event make it possible for the Museum to continue to share The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs’ culture, history and art; to educate in the traditional arts of the people; and to preserve the Museum’s objects and archival collections.

This year’s honorees are: Joy Harjo (Mvskoke/Creek Nation), U.S. Poet Laureate; George W. Aguilar, Sr. (Wasco), elder and life-long resident of the Warm Springs Reservation who won the 2006 Oregon Book Award for Creative Nonfiction for his book, “When the River Ran Wild! Indian Traditions on the Mid-Columbia and the Warm Springs Reservation”; and Siletz Tribal Arts and Heritage Society (Huu-cha~ n — A good way of life, the good life). The Society's mission is to support and promote the practice, conservation, and restoration of the tribal cultures of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.

The single price of event tickets is $225. Four levels of table benefits are available: $15,000 (Eagle and Condor Level); $10,000 (Black Bear Level); $5,000 (Cougar Level) and $2,500 (Sea Otter Level).

“Guests are given an opportunity to be immersed in the beauty and culture of the Warm Springs Tribes,” says Museum Director Elizabeth A. Woody (Warm Springs, Yakama and Navajo). “Traditional foods, music and art make this a unique and truly memorable event.”

“Morning with the Laureates — Living the Power of the Word: Four Indigenous Poet-Storytellers!” will take place on Saturday, August 28 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Oregon Historical Society.

The Indigenous poet-storytellers will include: Joy Harjo (Mvskoke/Creek Nation), U.S. Poet Laureate; Rena Priest, (Lhaq’temish — Lummi Nation), Washington State Poet Laureate; Anis Mojgani, Oregon Poet Laureate (African American and Iranian descent); Elizabeth Woody (Warm Springs, Yakama Nation/Navajo Nation), former Oregon Poet Laureate.

“With the power of the word, and the ability to carry it across generations through song, prayer, utterance and the Ancestors' determination, we have our present-day Indigenous Literatures,” says Woody. “Everyone has a song or a story — but more important is the challenge to pass on these songs and stories to the next generations.”

“This exciting and timely program brings together four award-winning poet-storytellers with a focus on Native literature — past, present and future,” says Woody. “We envision this as an inspiring, once-in-a-lifetime event; and we are also extending a special invitation to youth who are interested in Indigenous literature to attend.”

Individual event tickets are $25. There are two levels of sponsorship: $5,000 (Laureate Level) and $2,500 (Storyteller Level).

To register for the Honor dinner, visit: https://bit.ly/3yu9jNT. To register for “Morning with the Laureates,” visit: https://bit.ly/2TXoJLm. For more information about both events and table and sponsor benefits: maws@museumatwarmsprings.org; (541) 553-3331.

About the Annual Huckleberry Harvest

The Warm Springs people have harvested huckleberries in the Mount Hood area since time immemorial. In the 1855 Middle Oregon Treaty that established the Warm Springs Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs ceded 10 million acres of land to the United States on which Mount Hood stands. In the treaty, the Tribes reserved the right to pick berries and fish, hunt, graze livestock, and gather plants and medicines.

Sponsors — Honor Dinner and Morning with the Laureates

Dan Wieden and Priscilla Bernard Wieden (Honor Dinner)

Ronni Lacroute (Morning with the Laureates)

Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (Honor Dinner and Morning with the Laureates)

Oregon Historical Society (Morning with the Laureates)

About The Museum At Warm Springs

The Museum At Warm Springs opened its doors to the public on March 14, 1993. Built to Smithsonian Institution professional standards, The Museum’s mission is to preserve, advance and share the traditions, cultural and artistic heritage of The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon. Regular Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission: Museum Members (free), Adults ($7), Senior Citizens over 60 ($6), Students 13-18 with student body card ($4.50), Children 5-12 ($3.50) and Children 4 and younger (free). For more information about the Museum, visit https://www.museumatwarmsprings.org/. To become a Museum Member, visit https://museumatwarmsprings.org/membership-2/. Phone: (541) 553-3331.