It is very unusual to see the HASHIBUTO GARASU [Corvus macrorhynchos]; she is very sensitive and cautious and flies away if you try to get close. This time, however, she stood still for my photo – which is a rare occurrence. Alone, she was eating the fruit of the YAMAGUWA tree, and paused, as if she were waiting for me to leave so she could continue with her feast. Her expression was so innocent and charming – it’s difficult to imagine that she will attack humans.
photo by Eiji Nishiya
The YAMAGUWA [Morus bombycis] or wild mountain mulberry has a prehistoric connection to humans. The use of mulberrieshas a long history in Japan, traceable to Jomon times. The fruit can be eaten or made into wine. The tree flowers in April to June with leaves; false fruits ripen from red to black in June to July. This mulberry is one of the most-common trees in Japan and is cultivated for feeding silkworms. The wood, hard and heavy, is used for furniture, cabinet work, inlaid works, and sculptures.
Our people’s position at the mouth of the Columbia River and nearby Willapa Bay afforded us access to some of the richest arrays of resources on this continent. Waterways provided a network of trade routes that spread, like a spider web, hundreds of miles along the coast, and inland to Puget Sound, Hood Canal, the Chehalis River, and even onto the plains. The combination of these two factors culminated in a trading society unrivaled in the western half of the continent.
Semi-subterranean longhouses provided refuge from the endless rain and wind of winter, some large enough to house over a hundred people. Larger villages contained twenty or more longhouses of varying sizes. Inside these comfortable houses, the winter dances, songs and stories were told as the fires cracked and cast their long shadows. Some longhouses were temporarily abandoned for the summer fishing camps; others were occupied year round.
Five types of salmon returned to the Columbia River and Willapa Bay in numbers unimaginable today. Indeed, they were the heaviest runs of salmon on earth. Smelt, sturgeon, suckers, several species of trout, whitefish, eels and other fish rounded out the wealth. The beaches offered an abundance of clams, mussels, oysters and the occasional stranded whale. Offshore were sea lions, harbor seals (olxayu), sea otters, and waterfowl by the millions. The forests were rich in elk, deer (Nawich), bear, beaver, river otter (nanANuks) and small game. Wapato (wapatu) abounded upriver, and the local plains turned purple with the flowering of the Camas (lakaNAs). Cattails, Rush, Sweet Grass Sedge, Nettle, Salmon Berry, Salal, Lilly bulbs and ferns were just a sprinkling of the plant resources. What was unavailable locally was obtained through our extensive trade network.
We were highly acclaimed canoeists, skillfully navigating the treacherous Columbia River and bar to the amazement of the traders and explorers. We plied the coastal waters from California to Alaska in canoes (kaniN) twenty-one to forty-two feet long and larger, carved from a single Red Cedar log and propelled by our distinctly notched, crescent-shaped paddles (isik) of Oregon Ash. It was this skill of travel, which transformed us into a tribe of tremendous wealth and power.
Chinook life has always been dictated by a strict and complex system of taboos and ritual. Failure to follow ritual procedure might doom the individual, and/or the tribe, to bad luck, sickness or death. The rules and ritual formula could vary not only according to species, such as salmon, but might also vary according to location. For example, stranded whales (ikoli) are to be processed with extreme care, with strict accordance to guidelines, lest future whales drift away.
The myths and stories are steeped in the regiment of rules, and quintic references. The number five (qwinfN) is integral to Chinuk culture and appears repeatedly in the old stories and legends (ikanuN). From the five cold wind brothers, to the five salmon brothers, qwinfN is undoubtedly the most important Chinook number. The origins of its significance are obscure, although theories exist. One theory refers to the five directions. My personal, and totally unsubstantiated, theory is that it relates to the five salmon (qwAnat) species that run on the Columbia. Regardless of its origin, its power continues today. If you wish something to happen, repeat it five times. If you don’t want something to happen, well, repeating it five times would be a bad idea.
Trade goods were diverse, with slaves (ilaytix) and Dentalium (alIkHochick) being two of the most important items. Though most slaves were acquired through other tribes, the Chinook occasionally conducted slave raids of their own. Dentalium was the hard, claw-shaped shell harvested off the shores of Vancouver Island, usually by the Nootkan people. Dentalium was the money of its day, and many items were valued in comparison to fathom length strings (iLana) of the valuable shell. Other important trade items included powdered salmon from upriver, canoes, the double elk-skin clamons (armor), cakes of dried Salal berries, Mountain Goat horn and even dried Buffalo (duyha) from the plains. Obviously, with the exposure to such a diverse pool of skill and materials, the Chinook people were able to capitalize on a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise.
[I consider cultural education to be of the utmost importance. Share what you learn with your children and relations. Learn the stories and songs, pass the legacy on, and the circle will continue. The rumors of our extinction have been greatly exaggerated. Hayu masi, “many thanks.”]
~~~ Greg Robinson, Volume I, 1st Edition
http://www.chinooknation.org
Posted in Gates Ajar, Home | Comments Off on Chinook Life Articles by Greg A. Robinson
Pure white Wild Carrot (torilis japonicus) and bright orange Ezo-kanzou [Day Lily] grow in colonies in the meadows along the coast. The natural colors of the flowers always warm our hearts.
Friends of MacDonald extends its congratulations to Fred Schodt ~~~~~
FOM extends its congratulations to Fred Schodt, whom we agreed most deservedly received a prestigious award from the Japanese government in 2009. The presentation of the “Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Ray Rosette” was held in San Francisco at the Official Residence of the Japanese Consul General, Mr. Yasumasa Nagamine, and was awarded to Fred for his contribution “to the introduction and promotion of Japanese contemporary popular culture in the United States of America. The award is given on behalf of the Japanese government, and signed by the Prime Minister and emperor.
Schodt was befriended by the Japanese “God of Manga”, Osamu Tezuka, in the late 1970s and maintained a close relationship with him until his death in 1989. Schodt frequently served as Tezuka’s interpreter and is the translator of several of Tezuka’s manga, including the 23-volume Astro Boy series. He has also translated numerous other manga into English, including Tezuka’s Phoenix and Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen. Schodt received an award at the Manga Oscar Awards in 1983 for his groundbreaking book, Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics (Kodansha). The now classic book includes an introduction by Tezuka and has been reprinted several times. In 2000, Schodt received a Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize from the Asahi Shumbun for his work in popularizing manga overseas.
More of Fred’s books –>
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Mihama Delegation Visits Makah Nation
Mr. Koichi Saito and his wife, Yuriko, led a “Goodwill” Friendship delegation of 28 Otokichi-no-kai members to the annual Makah Day Festival in Neah Bay, WA on August 29, 2009. Mr. Saito is the former Mayor of Mihama (Aichi Prefecture).
The day began with a brief visit to the MakahCulturalResearchCenter in Neah Bay – which is recognized as the nation’s finest tribal museum – and the group was able to enjoy the replica of the Hojun-maru, donated by Hyogo Scout Council, Boy Scout of Nippon in 2006. It was the Makah ancestors who saved the lives of three sailors from Mihama who were washed ashore on Cape Alava in the disabled ship named Hojun-maru in the winter of 1834. The delegation from Mihama came to express their appreciation to the present day people of the Makah Nation for saving the three sailors from their hometown and to exchange goodwill with them by not only observing the parade, canoe racing, dancing, etc., but also actively participating in their day-long “Makah Day” festivities – the biggest annual event for the people of the Makah Indian Nation.
The delegation was first treated to a traditional Baked Salmon lunch near the center stage of the festivities before Mayor Saito and Michael Lawrence, Chairman of the Makah Tribal Council, exchanged gifts. Some of the Mihama delegation members could not help but envy the scene where more than one hundred little boys and girls under the age of 12 dressed in their traditional costumes and danced proudly on the outdoor center stage. It was a beautiful sight that sent a message to everyone that the Makah Nation will continue for many more generations to come.
The next day the entire group from Mihama hiked through the Olympic National Forest for few miles to reach the shores of Cape Alava where the ancestors of the present-day Makah saved the three shipwrecked sailors, Otokichi, Iwakichi and Kyukichi in 1834. Mayor Saito talked about how hard it must have been for the three sailors in the frigid weather, surrounded by strangers who wore ‘odd’ clothing and spoke an unfamiliar language. It was noted and stressed by Mayor Saito that the three sailors were able to regain their health under the care of Makah people and eventually they were able to sail to England.
What the Sankichi experienced with the Makah people then was what we call these days a true “home stay”. “We must not forget that!” former Mayor Saito stated – and everyone heartily agreed.
FROM STICKS TO STONE: Monuments Tell MacDonald Story
He doth raise his country’s fame
with his own And in the mouths of nations yet
unborn
His praises shall be sung; Death
comes to all
But great achievements raise a
monument
Which shall endure until the sun
grows cold….
~Georgius Fabricius (1516-1571)
1894 Ranald MacDonald, 70, suffering from some “pains in the joints”, had gone up the Kettle River to Toroda. His newly-widowed niece, Jennie Nelson, wanted his company. He died there, August 5, 1894, whispering the Japanese word for Farewell: “Sayonara, my dear, sayonara …”
He was buried in a desolate old Indian cemetery near Toroda, his grave unmarked and soon almost forgotten. However, a 1917 photograph shows a wooden cross, apparently the first of three markers mounted over the old traveler’s final resting place.
1938 FOM MEMBER Richard M. (Dick) Slagle of Republic, WA, was in the party which placed a cast concrete marker on the grave in 1938. He took photos of the ceremony with his “little $1 box camera”.
“I was a recent high school graduate,” he writes, “and in June of that year was approached by our local scoutmaster … He had been asked to have the Boy Scout troop participate in a ceremony at a grave and to make a marker. Not having any other information and only several days’ time, we set about the task of making a cement cross. When the cement was poured we scratched in the name as neatly as we could: Ranald MacDonald.
“On the day of the ceremony we loaded the cross into a school bus and rode to the Kettle River location, about 30 miles north of Republic. It was a warm summer day and about a dozen or so people assembled in the little Indian cemetery on the edge of a bench. It overlooks the Kettle River, the mouth of Toroda Creek and the ranch where Ranald MacDonald was visiting at the time of his death.
“Among the people gathered were Judge William C. Brown of Okanogan, a man with a lifelong interest in regional history and especially the history of the native people. Judge Brown had organized the vent and as he spoke I first heard the story of Ranald MacDonald.
“However, the high point of the program was to hear Mrs. Jennie Lynch (the former Jennie Nelson). At that time she was probably in her 70’s, an active Indian lady and a favorite of her uncle Ranald. As our group stood on this spot and looked over the scenic Kettle River valley she told the story of her memories of her uncle and his fondness to visit their ranch and of his last trip and final illness … ”
1951 The British Columbia Historical Quarterly reported on an event on October 27, 1951: The Committee on Historical Sites of the State Parks and Recreation of Washington held ” … a dedication service at the Indian Cemetery at Toroda, on the Kettle River, to mark the grave and honor the memory of Ranald MacDonald, one of the most colorful figures of the early fur-trade days, whose varied experiences took him as far afield as Japan.” Fifty-seven years after his death, the stone, which is still in place, told the story:
MacDonald’s grave with rocks from Rishiri Island. Photo by Frederik L. Schodt
Another 30 years passed. Then, as the Oregon-Japan connection gained strength, the story of Ranald MacDonald was rediscovered. In Japan, Prof. Torao Tomita published a translation of MacDonald’s memoir. The story was featured in a novel, “Ocean Festival“, by Akira Yoshimura. Other publications followed in Japan.
1987 On July 2, 1848, Ranald MacDonald made his official landing in Japan at Notsuka Cape on Rishiri island, just off the Hokkaido coast. Some 143 years later, on July 4, 1987, the Rishiri Rotary Club unveiled an historical monument erected on the rocky, black lava cape. The memorial was made from a rough log of Ezo-matsu (spruce) native to the small island. It was 3 meters (almost 10 feet) high and 35 centimeters (about 14 inches) in diameter. Vertical Japanese writing described Ranald MacDonald’s landing on this island. Next to the log was a large explanatory sign:
“The memorial stands facing the Pacific Ocean, looking out toward Oregon in North America,” says Masaki Takahashi. As a member of Rishiri Rotary, he first urged construction of the monument and four years later saw it unveiled. Funds were provided by Rotary and supervision by Prof. Jukichi Suzuki, a Rishiri native who strongly supported the concept of a commemorative marker for “the first spontaneous cultural exchange between Japan and North America.”
“Large numbers of tour buses stop every day,” says Dr. Takahashi. Tourists ” … admire and are excited by the brave deeds of MacDonald of Oregon, who was dedicated to mutual understanding between Japan and North America in a time long gone, and who took his life in his hands to achieve it, 140 years ago.” (The writer notes that, at the time Ranald MacDonald entered Japan, “it was a closed country, and entry by an outsider was usually punished by death …”
1988 A two-sided monument, Japanese text on one side , English on the other, was erected on the site of Fort Astoria, Ranald MacDonald’s birthplace. It was dedicated to his memory in sunlit ceremonies at Astoria, Oregon on May 21, 1988. [See Vol. 1 No. 1 of this newsletter for details.]
The monument is gray granite. A pentagonal bar across the top suggests the gate to a Japanese shrine. The text tells MacDonald’s story and also incorporates the names of organizations and individuals in Oregon and Japan whose gifts made the monument possible. The monument reflects a suggestion made almost 80 years ago by Eva Emery Dye, an early Northwest author who corresponded with MacDonald and published a book based on his life:
“Of all Oregonians,” she wrote, “Ranald MacDonald deserves a statue pointing to Japan.”
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REPORT FROM ASTORIA – by Bruce Berney
From our perspective, many people have been involved in the promotion of knowledge about Ranald MacDonald. Probably the most valuable contribution has been the “living history” project at Ft. Astoria. Sponsored by the Clatsop County Historical Society with a grant from the Committee to Promote Astoria (which distributes income from motel tax), two young men, Brian Johnson and Troy Baker, dressed in the garb of fur traders of 1822, were on duty seven days a week to talk with visitors about important events at Ft. Astoria. Although the main topic is the founding of Ft. Astoria in 1811 as the first American business enterprise on the Pacific Coast, the presence of the Ranald MacDonald birthplace monument makes MacDonald’s life story an inescapable subject for discussion. It is estimated that 2,000 people heard the “trappers” during the past summer.
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Mt Rishiri photograph by Eiji Nishiya
WHY ON RISHIRI? MacDonald’s Landing Place in Japan
(Some interesting points to ponder in connection with Ranald MacDonald’s initial landing in Japan are raised in the following material, provided by Masaki Takahashi and Yuji Ushiro of the Friends of MacDonald in Rishiri.)
RANALD MacDONALD BOARDED the whaler Plymouth for Japan in December 1845. About five miles southwest of Teuri and Yagashiri islands (off the west coast of Hokkaido) in June of 1848, Ranald left the Plymouth in a small boat. His efforts to land on Teuri were unsuccessful and he landed instead on the southwest beach of Yagishiri, where he spent two days. Early on July 1st he headed for Rishiri Island.
Why did he choose Rishiri Island after leaving Yagishiri? These may be the reasons:
1 – It’s likely that Ranald assumed Yagashiri was an inhabited island. To attain his purpose, he had to meet Japanese people. When he realized that Yagishiri was, in fact, uninhabited, he knew he had to find another place to land, hopefully a place with people. Ranald may have surmised that the mainland – Hokkaido – was too large to permit locating inhabitants easily. An island, on the other hand, would be small enough to find people. Rishiri has a high, snow-capped mountain peak and it is clearly visible on a clear day. Ranald may have assumed that, with such a large mountain, the people who lived there would have been forced to live along the beaches and thus be easier for him to find.
2 – Japan’s cruel treatment of foreigners was notorious. Ranald wanted to avoid danger. He may have reasoned that casting away on an island – rather than on the mainland – would afford him the best possible chance of meeting commoners rather than government officials (who would likely immediately capture him). He may have also thought that if there were fewer people, “commoners” rather than officials, they might be more sympathetic to his plight as a castaway and would be kind to him.
3 – If there were still no inhabitants (on Rishiri) he could move on to the mainland; to leave the mainland for one of the islands would have been more difficult.
4 – Douglas Williams – a reporter for Hokkaido Broadcasting Co., and a member of the film crew which visited Astoria for the monument dedication – thought that, because there is a high mountain in Oregon (Mt. Hood, which is quite visible from the Ft. Vancouver area where Ranald grew up) MacDonald may have unconsciously (or unconsciously?) have been drawn to Mt. Rishiri.
5 – From mid-June to July the shores of the Sea of Japan along the northern part of Hokkaido are often blanketed with thick fog. Mt. Rishiri may have been the only visible landmark. About 50 miles separate Yagishiri from Cape Notsuka, Rishiri; it is impossible to row all of the way from one island to the other. According to MacDonald’s own story, he sometimes hoisted a sail or simply allowed his small boat to be carried by the ocean currents. (Presumably the time he had spent in the Sea of Japan on the whaler Plymouth would have given him some knowledge of the currents thereabouts.) An experienced sea captain familiar with the area explains that tidal action alone could have carried MacDonald from Yagishiri to Rishiri.
Why Cape Notsuka? Wind. It likely carried Ranald’s small boat to Cape Notsuka on northern Rishiri rather than to Minamihama or another sandy beach on the southern coast.
“Friends of MacDonald” has been organized as a Clatsop County Historical Society chartered committee. It honors Ranald MacDonald, a native Astorian who, in 1848, risked his life on a mission of friendship to forbidden Japanese shores.
The Charter was presented May 20 by Heather Reynolds, president of the Historical Society.
The organization will seek to find and preserve MacDonald memorabilia, to promote publication of newsletters, books, articles and other materials about MacDonald, to hold seminars and other educational programs, and to encourage museum exhibits and visits.
WEST OF THE SUN ~ A Tokyo Branch of Friends of MacDonald has been organized with Hiromichi Shibata as Manager. Extensive press coverage in Japanese language publications includes Oregon Trail Magazine, The North American Post, Kaigai Chuzai, Japan Economic Journal and others.
Charter members of Friends of MacDonald include Hugh Ackroyd, Aihara Agency Inc., Yuji Aisaka, Clifford B. Alterman, Wayne Atteberry, Mr. & Mrs. George Azumano, Frank Bauman, Borden Beck, Jr., Floyd Bennett, Bruce Berney, J.E. “Bud” Clark, Joan Choi, Marilyn Cochrane Davis, Brian Doherty, Epson America Inc., Ted & Carrie Etzel, Nancie Fadeley, Bill Feuchtwanger, Michael Foster, Vera Gault; Evelyn Hankel, Edith Henningsgaard, Gene Hogan, Itogumi USA Corp., Japan-American Society of Oregon, Toshiyuki Kasai, Eizo Kaneyasu, Shigeru Kimura, Isamu Kobayashi, Stephen Kohl, Kiyoshi Komatsu, Hiroyuki Kurumizawa, Lahaina Restoration Foundation, Betty Leu, Allan Mann, Stephen McConnel, Randal & Ross McEvers, Jerry McMurry, Barbara Minard, Shirley Minard, Hope Moberg, Jim Mockford, Dr. & Mrs. R.P. Moore, Kenneth Munford, Eiji Nishiya, Hiroaki Nishitani, Ryuji Noda, Mamoru Ofuku, Pacific Power & Light Co., Peat Marwick Mann & Co., Barbara C. Peeples, Phyllis Reuter, Yasuo Skaniwa, Shoichi Sakanushi; Herbert & Barbara Schwab, Arnold Seeborg, Hiroaki Sekizawa, Katsuhiko Shimodaira, Shokookai of Portland, Standard Insurance Co., Richard & Helen Slagle, Donald Sterling, Hisao Sugi, Sam & Kitzie Stern, Yuji Takahashi abd the Rishiri Rotary Club, Isaac Tevet, Mr. & Mrs. Dick Thompson, Masakatsu Tomita, Frank Tomori, Morio Toyoshima, Paul Van der Veldt, Susanna Von Reibold, Ronald L. Walquist, Akira Watanabe, Betty Williams, William Winn, Katsu Yamazaki, Ichiro Yokoyama.
OFFICERS ELECTED – Mas Tomita, president of Epson Portland, Inc., chairman; Bruce Berney, City of Astoria librarian; and Stephen Kohl, PhD. of the University of Oregon, both vice chairmen; and Barbara Peeples, Portland public relations counselor, secretary; Hiromichi Shibata, Tokyo Branch Manager.
* * * * *
Monument Dedicated to Honor Astorian Ranald MacDonald,
Japan’s First Teacher of English
ASTORIA, May 21 ~~ A monument of American granite was dedicated this day on the site of the old Fort Astoria [Ft. George] in honor of Ranald MacDonald, born here in 1824 to a father descended from Highland Scots and his wife, a Chinook princess.
The jubilant cry of bagpipes recalled the Scottish heritage as dignitaries representing four nations joined 200 other guests for an outdoor ceremony beneath clear, blue skies and a hot sun. Ranald MacDonald, dead for almost a century, was being honored by his hometown.
The ceremony recognized MacDonald’s 1848 visit to Japan, during the period in which Japan shut its doors to foreigners and threatened Christian intruders with death. MacDonald, carrying a bible and armed only with native ingenuity and goodwill, made a plan which landed him on Japan’s Rishiri island and permitted him, even though imprisoned, to learn Japanese and to become Japan’s first teacher of English.
Today, MacDonald is widely known in Japan as a pioneer ambassador of international friendship. A monument on Rishiri tells of his arrival; books and magazine articles have been published, including a Japanese translation of his own story. Guests at the dedication included a crew from Hokkaido Broadcasting Film Company, which has produced a documentary about his life. Speakers during the monument dedication included Akira Watanabe, Consul-General of Japan; Andrew Hay, British Consul; State Senator Joan Dukes; Oregon Clan Donald Commissioner Marilyn Davis; Astoria Mayor Edith Henningsgaard; descendants of Chinook Chief Com’Comly, MacDonald’s maternal grandfather, and of Archibald McDonald, his father.
Bruce Berney, who is vice president of the Clatsop County Historical Society, was master of ceremonies. Dr. Stephen Kohl presented an historical vignette; John Cooper, CCHS executive director, unveiled the monument and Kenichi Tomita, 10, son of Mas Tomita, chairman of Friends of MacDonald, read the Japanese text.
Moriyama and Tokojiro, two of MacDonald’s students,became chief interpreters to Commodore Perry
* * * * *
GREETINGS FROM ABROAD TO OREGON FRIENDS
HOKKAIDO, JAPAN ” … We are deeply impressed that the starting point of relations [between Oregonians and Hokkaido-ans to further mutual friendships] was marked before the Civil War or the opening of Japan’s ports with the visit of an American named Ranald MacDonald. Mr. MacDonald knocked on Japan’s stubbornly closed doors and taught his native tongue to the Samurai. Indeed, his visit of some 140 years ago was an historic scheme of grandeur … We hope that the dedication of the MacDonald Monument will serve to remind us of this brave man who cut a road of friendship based upon trust and understanding … ” ~ Takahiro Yokomichi, Governor of Hokkaido
” … MR. EINOSUKE MORIYAMA, who was taught by Mr. MacDonald, had contributed to the civilization and enlightenment of Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture. I sincerely expect that Friends of MacDonald will also carry out brilliant achievements for friendly relations between the United States and Japan …” ~ Kazuji Nagasu, Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture
” … HE IS UNDOUBTEDLY of special interest to us because of his presence in Lahaina at the height of the whaling period and his unique tie to Japan … We look forward to being a member of the Friends of MacDonald.” ~ Lynn McCrory, Lahaina Restoration Foundation, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
” … I REGRET THAT I cannot come to Astoria to take part in the ceremony. On the same day I have a prior commitment to give a lecture about Ranald MacDonald to a group of high school English teachers in Toyohashi City. Ranald MacDonald deserves special recognition as a memorable contributor to Japanese history.” ~ Akira Yoshimura, author of Festival of the Sea, a book about MacDonald and E. Moriyama
” … HE GREATLY IMPRESSED the Japanese with his intelligence, politeness and integrity and succeeded in communicating friendship and trust … Such a wonderful story should be handed down to Japanese generations to come. I believe that this monument will … promote the friendship that he began between Japan and the United States.” ~ Masaki Takahashi, of the Rishiri island Rotary Club, which last year erected a monument at the place where Ranald landed in 1848.
” … EVEN AFTER 140 YEARS MacDonald’s great courage and action have left a deep impression to not only Rishiri Citizens but also to all of the Japanese … Although Rishiri, Nagasaki and Astoria are a great distance apart, they share the same spirit of friendship which crosses the Pacific Ocean.” ~ Toshi Adachi, Town Mayor of Higashi Rishiri
* * * * *
RANALD’S NAMESAKE ATTENDS FESTIVITIES
Ranald MacDonald, a descendant of Ranald MacDonald’s father (Archibald McDonald) was a guest at the first MacDonald seminar May 20. Young Ranald is a student at Montana State University in Bozeman, where he is studying political science and public administration. He and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Ranald McDonald* of Niarada, MT, made the long trip here to participate.
Other special guests at the ceremony included descendants of Chief Com’Comly and the Stanton families, who are descendants of Jenny Lynch, MacDonald’s niece. It was at Mrs. Lynch’s home that Ranald MacDonald died in 1894 whispering the Japanese words of farewell: “Sayonara, sayonara.”
[* Ranald MacDonald, who restored the “a” in MacDonald that his father and some other relatives abandoned, never married. There are many collateral descendants, related through his step-brothers and sister, Com’Comly’s cousins and his parents’ siblings.]
* * * * *
PROGRAMS, PUBLICATIONS AND SPECIAL EVENTS
MACDONALD SEMINAR – Prof. Torao Tomita of Rikkyo University, Tokyo, a leading Japanese authority on American Indians and also the Japanese translator of Ranald MacDonald’s memoir, was a key speaker on May 20 when Friends of MacDonald sponsored a seminar about MacDonald in Astoria. More than 100 guests attended.
Dr. Tomita suggested two reasons for MacDonald’s decision to visit Japan: one, he said, was the prejudice he faced because of his Indian heritage; the other, his theory about the ancestral kinship of the Indian and Japanese people.
Prof. Stephen Kohl of the Department of Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Oregon, and long a student of MacDonald, spoke of the peril MacDonald risked by visiting Japan. Kohl credited MacDonald’s “enduring belief in human nature – if you act like a human being, people will treat you like one” – for his success.
* * * * *
MACDONALD BOOKLET AVAILABLE
A concise story of Ranald MacDonald’s adventure, taken from the book Five Foreigners in Japan by Herbert H, Gowen, has been re-printed by Friends of MacDonald. Publication was made possible through a grant from Epson Portland Inc. and with the permission of Fleming H. Revell Co. The booklet includes photos of MacDonald, members of his family and Japanese students and a map of his voyage from Rishiri to Matsumae. It is available for $2.50 plus 50 cents postage from the Clatsop County Historical Society.
* * * * *
THANK YOU, CLAN DONALD: Marilyn David, Oregon commissioner of Scottish Clan Donald, to which Ranald MacDonald belonged, presented a clan memento to Bruce Berney of the Friends of MacDonald during her talk at monument dedication ceremonies. MacDonald was proud of his Scottish ancestors, who came from Glencoe in the Scottish highlands. Oregon members of Clan Donald have themselves dedicated a monument, at the Old Scotch Church in North Plains, Oregon, in memory of the Massacre of Glencoe.
* * * * *
MACDONALD EXHIBIT ON DISPLAY AT CCHS: A Ranald MacDonald exhibit is now on display as the Heritage Museum of the Clatsop County historical Society, located at 1618 Exchange St., just a block east of the MacDonald monument. Visitors will find maps, books and photographs about Ranald MacDonald and his voyage across what he called “this placid sea”.
* * * * *
LIBRARIAN WITH A CAUSE REALIZES A DREAM: Ranald MacDonald’s rebirth in Astoria, Oregon can be traced back to 1972. Bruce Berney, director of the Astoria Public Library, was culling seldom-read books from library shelves. One of those books was Ranald MacDonald’s story of his visit to Japan in 1848 and his experience as Japan’s first teacher of English. Berney’s interest was piqued; the librarian had been an English teacher in Japan in 1961-63. Berney set the book aside for his own reading and this met Ranald.
On February 3, 1974, the 150th anniversary of MacDonald’s birth (also Berney’s birthday, coincidentally) Astoria Friends of the Library celebrated. Slowly, interest in the incredible story grew. Dr. Torao Tomita came to Astoria to learn more about MacDonald, and eventually translated his book into Japanese.
Berney wanted a MacDonald monument erected. He felt it would interest Japanese seamen visiting Astoria and other tourists, but money was needed. The State’s growing Japanese business community was approached. A talk to the Board of Shokookai of Portland stimulated the interest of Board Member Mas Tomita, president of Epson Portland, inc., who had read the MacDonald story in a Japanese magazine but had not realized that “Fort George” was better known as Fort Astoria.
Steve Kohl of the University of Oregon and other became involved. The result: our international organization, FRIENDS of MACDONALD, is in existence because Bruce Berney found a book no one had read for five years.
Berney told guests at the dedication ceremony: “My dream has been realized.”
photo by Eiji Nishiya
the endless rain and wind of winter, some large enough to house over a hundred people. Larger villages contained twenty or more longhouses of varying sizes. Inside these comfortable houses, the winter dances, songs and stories were told as the fires cracked and cast their long shadows. Some longhouses were temporarily abandoned for the summer fishing camps; others were occupied year round.
We were highly acclaimed canoeists, skillfully navigating the treacherous Columbia River and bar to the amazement of the traders and explorers. We plied the coastal waters from California to Alaska in canoes (kaniN) twenty-one to forty-two feet long and larger, carved from a single Red Cedar log and propelled by our distinctly notched, crescent-shaped paddles (isik) of Oregon Ash. It was this skill of travel, which transformed us into a tribe of tremendous wealth and power.
