Tribal Member Linda Meanus Writes About Our Connection to Water

In her first book, My Name is LaMoosh, Linda Meanus, a Warm Springs Tribal Elder, chronicles memories of growing up near Celilo Falls before they were flooded by the construction of The Dalles Dam.

“My grandfather would pray to the river, and to the creator for the salmon to feed the people… He used to get a cup and dip it into the Columbia River and drink it, that’s how clean our water was in those days. He taught us that if we take care of the river, it takes care of us. We have a relationship with the river. A connection. It’s a connection between us and water and Mother Earth. Water has its own intelligence. It flows wherever it wants. It does what it wants. It’s like they say: water is life.”

She grew up with her grandma Flora Thompson and grandpa Chief Tommy Thompson near Celilo Falls, a mighty fishery on the Columbia that was flooded in 1957 by the construction of The Dalles Dam. Linda persevered through this historic trauma and life’s challenges to teach young people about the Indigenous ways of the Columbia River. Intended for young readers to learn more about Native American history through a first-hand account, the book is also a reminder that Indigenous people continue to maintain a cultural connection to the land and river that gave them their identity.