ETHNOPOETICS.ORG : a collaboration to extend the valuing and study of global poetries

“Two Prophecies”

two-prophecies-pages_from_alcheringa_1-1_fall-1970-8.pdf

Overview

The two poems comprising “Two Prophecies,” Flathead Prophecy Based on an Eruption of Mt. St. Helens, and A Kalapuya Prophecy, are translated by Jerold Ramsey (circa 1970). Both texts deal with colonization issues and the forthcoming of the white man's invasion of the land of both the Flathead and the Kalapuyan Native American tribes. This invasion brought change and destruction to the lands of these two tribes. The first poem, the Flathead Prophecy from C. Wilke's 19th century, is told from the perspective of Flatheads' Chief Cornelius. He is reminiscing about his childhood memories before the arrival of white men who made the Native American “world fall to pieces.” The second piece, A Kalapuya Prophecy, is about the dream of a Kalapuyan man who predicted the arrival of the white man. In this dream, he saw that the white men would change the Native American's methods of living, alluding to the farming techniques the colonizers would later teach the Native Americans.

Commentary

A Kalapuya Prophecy: There have been various translations of the Kalapuya prophecy. However, in his translation, Jerold Ramsey offers a unique reading of the Kalapuya prophecy, using ethnopoetics (developed by Dell Hymes) to draw out context and emotion in the original story. The subsequent poem has been published in numerous books and magazines over the years. This is the version which attracted attention to Kalapuya oral histories. Yet Ramsey, using his artistic license, added elements to the story that were not part of the original. Ramsey may not have changed the original meaning, but he did change the details of the story, which alters the way that we envision the context of the traditional poem. The Ramsey version is highly impactful and provides a native perspective of American Indians. It can be found here: https://ndnhistoryresearch.com/2015/04/17/darkening-and-enlightening-santiam-kalapuya-prophesy/

The Flathead Prophecy: The following is an excerpt from Cornelius, or Bighead, whose native name is Silimxnotylmilakabok. He is chief of the Spokane tribe - not by birth, but by having gained the station by his shrewdness. With the title, however, he has acquired little real authority, even though he is the most influential of the Flathead nation. His commands are often opposed with impunity by the lowest vagabond, and he is sometimes personally insulted by his followers without them fearing danger or punishment. The dignity of rank, therefore, it can be seen, is not looked upon with much respect among these tribes. Cornelius is about sixty years of age, tall and slender, with a dignified carriage; he has a thin, wrinkled face and a far-retreating forehead. He has an expression of intelligence and self-possession, which impresses a visitor very favorably. He is represented as being very pious and, as far as outward appearances and loud praying go, is certainly entitled to be so considered. Cornelius gives an account of a singular prophecy that was made by one of their medicine-men, some fifty years ago, before their tribe knew anything at all of white people. Cornelius, when about ten years of age, was sleeping in a lodge with a great many people and was suddenly awakened by his mother, who called out to him that the world was falling to pieces. He then heard a great noise of thunder overhead, and all the people around him cried out in great terror. Something was falling very thick, which they at first mistook for snow, but on closer inspection realized it was dirt of some kind. The falling particles proved to be ashes which fell to a depth of six inches and increased their fears by causing them to suppose that the end of the world was actually at hand. The medicine-man arose and told the people to stop their fear and crying for the world was not about to fall to pieces. “Soon,” said he, “there will come from the rising sun a different kind of men from any you have yet seen, who will bring with them a book, and will teach you every thing, and after that the world will fall to pieces.” Although there is not much reliance placed on the entire truth of this story, it shows the desire the Indians had to perpetuate the truth. Now that the story's actual fulfillment, as they say, has come to pass, it has acquired greater force and is employed by white men when arguing for why the tribes should embrace the Christian religion. There is little doubt that the fall of ashes took place, for many traces of such phenomena are to be seen in all parts of the middle section of Oregon, presumably stemming from an eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1842. However, the Native Americans had knowledge of the whites long before the epoch designated. A proof that the white race was then known to them may be cited in the person of a half-breed Canadian, who is now living at Colville, who had served under Burgoyne, and been fifty years in this country. Besides, the appearance of the Spaniards, and English under Cook, on the coast, the existence of white men must have become known through the intercommunication of the different nations. [From Charles Wilkes, Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition].

Context

Edit to acknowledge direct quotes.

The Kalapuyans are a Native American ethnic group. Many of their contemporary descendants are members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. The Kalapuyan traditional homelands were in the Willamette, Elk Creek, and Calapooya Creek watersheds of Western Oregon. They hunted and gathered as far east and west as the Cascades and Coast ranges and traded with the Chinookans to the north and Coos peoples on the coast. Prior to contact with white explorers, traders, and missionaries, the Kalapuyan population is believed to have numbered as many as 15,000 people. Robert Boyd estimates the total Kalapuyan population to be between 8,780 and 9,200 for the period between 1805-1830. The Kalapuyans married extensively with all neighboring bands and counted the Chinookans as especially important wealthy kinship relations. Catastrophic epidemics of malaria, smallpox, and other diseases accompanied the entry of Euro-Americans into their midst. Some accounts record tales of entire villages empty of people. By 1849 the population had dropped to around 600 people. All of the bands and tribes of the Kalapuyans were terminated at the Grand Ronde Reservation when their treaties were terminated in 1954 along with all other Western Oregon tribes, a consequence of the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act. Final termination occurred when most lands of the reservation sold and all services were removed, with final rolls published in the Congressional record in 1956. The Kalapuya treaties were restored through the restoration bills of the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz (1977) and Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (1983). The descendants of the Kalapuyan tribes and bands married extensively into other tribes throughout the Northwest and within the reservation and most now have multiple native ancestries. The majority of Kalapuyan descendants are enrolled at The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community. There are an estimated 4,000 Kalapuyan descendants. More information can be found here: https://libraryguides.lanecc.edu/kalapuya

The Flathead, North American Indian tribe of what is now western Montana, U.S., had an original territory extending from the crest of the Bitterroot Range to the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains and centered on the upper reaches of the Clark Fork of the Columbia River. Although early accounts referred to all Salish-speaking tribes as “Flathead,” the people now known by this name never engaged in head flattening. To further complicate the name issue, in the 21st century, most individuals belonging to this tribe refer to themselves simply as Salish, though from a linguistic perspective, “Salish” refers to a much larger grouping of peoples. The Flathead were the easternmost of the Plateau Indians. Like other tribes that regularly traversed the Rocky Mountains, they shared many traits with nomadic Plains Indians. The Flathead acquired horses in great numbers and mounted annual fall expeditions to hunt bison on the Plains, often warring with tribes that were permanent residents of the area. Traditional Flathead culture also emphasized Plains-type warfare and its honors, including staging war dances, killing enemies, counting coups (touching enemies to shame or insult them), kidnapping women and children, and stealing horses. Early 21st-century population estimates indicated more than 4,000 Flathead descendants. Most lived on the Flathead Reservation (formally the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation) in western Montana, the fourth largest reservation within the United States. More information can be found here: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Flathead-people