We Have Always Lived Here

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We Have Always Lived Here
We Have Always Been Here, Portland Oregon, 2020.jpg
One of the basalt carvings and the bronze medallion installed on the east end of the bridge (2020)
We Have Always Lived Here
ArtistGreg A. Robinson
Year2015 (2015)
Medium
  • Basalt
  • bronze
Location Portland, Oregon, United States
Coordinates 45°30′18″N122°40′01″W / 45.5049°N 122.6670°W / 45.5049; -122.6670 Coordinates: 45°30′18″N122°40′01″W / 45.5049°N 122.6670°W / 45.5049; -122.6670

We Have Always Lived Here is a 2015 public art installation by Greg A. Robinson, installed at Tilikum Crossing in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The work consists of two traditional Chinook basalt carvings sited at both ends of the bridge, plus a bronze medallion on the northeast side of the bridge.

Contents

Description

Basalt carving on the west end of the bridge, 2015 Tilikum Bridge, November 2015.jpg
Basalt carving on the west end of the bridge, 2015

We Have Always Lived Here is the collective title of Greg A. Robinson's three-part public art installation, displayed at both ends of Tilikum Crossing, which connects the city's South Portland and Hosford-Abernethy neighborhoods on the west and east sides of the Willamette River, respectively. Robinson is a Chinook artist of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. The work consists of two 6-foot (1.8 m) basalt carvings (one on each end of the bridge) and a bronze medallion with a 5-foot (1.5 m) diameter, installed on the northeast side of the bridge. [1]

The carvings depict a "tayi", or headman, and faces "representing the Chinookan people of the past and future". [2] [3] The medallion depicts coyotes, humans, and Morning Star with her children. [2] According to KOIN, basalt carvings are a tradition among the Chinookan peoples. Robinson has said that the installation is "meant to be a testament to the survival of Chinukian people along the Columbia and Willamette rivers and the ongoing cultural activities that happen here constantly. I'm very happy it's going to be here and be visible by the Portland people as well." [1]

History

The public artwork is installed at both ends of Tilikum Crossing (2015) Tilikum Crossing Jan 2015.jpg
The public artwork is installed at both ends of Tilikum Crossing (2015)

The public art was presented to TriMet on April 17, 2015, at ceremony held near the bridge's juncture of the Eastside Greenway. [3] It was attended by mayor Charlie Hales and other local dignitaries, council members from the Grand Ronde, and TriMet's general manager Neil McFarlane. [1] [3] Tribal member Cheryle Kennedy said at the event, "Today we honor our ancestors with this gift. Today this opportunity provides what we hope is the beginning of the recognition of the traditional art form of our ancestors." [3] Robinson also spoke at the ceremony. He said the medallion "was an effort to pay tribute to both this world, the world of Earth, and the parallel world of the sky above." Furthermore, he closed his speech by saying, "It's much less about me having my art here as it is about having a permanent testament to the survival and ongoing culture of the Chinookan people that still live here in the Portland Vancouver area." [3]

Tilikum Crossing opened to the public as part of the MAX Orange Line in September 2015. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Willamette River River in northwest Oregon

The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is 187 miles (301 km) long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward between the Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Range, the river and its tributaries form the Willamette Valley, a basin that contains two-thirds of Oregon's population, including the state capital, Salem, and the state's largest city, Portland, which surrounds the Willamette's mouth at the Columbia.

MAX Light Rail Light rail system serving Portland, Oregon

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Chinook Jargon is a language originating as a pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest, and spreading during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and parts of Alaska, Northern California, Idaho and Montana while sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language. It is partly descended from the Chinook language, upon which much of its vocabulary is based. Approximately 15 percent of its lexicon is French, and it also makes use of English loanwords and those of other language systems. Its entire written form is in the Duployan shorthand developed by French priest Émile Duployé.

Chinookan peoples Group of indigenous people in the Pacific Northwest.

Peoples of the Lower Columbia include several groups of indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest in the United States who speak the Chinookan languages. Peoples of the Lower Columbia reside along the Lower and Middle Columbia River (Wimahl) from the river's gorge downstream (west) to the river's mouth, and along adjacent portions of the coasts, from Tillamook Head of present-day Oregon in the south, north to Willapa Bay in southwest Washington. In 1805 the Lewis and Clark Expedition encountered the Chinook Tribe on the lower Columbia. However, it is not appropriate to use the term "Chinookan." This term is a misnomer invented by white people to describe a wide variety of peoples who have inhabited the Lower Columbia but aren't connected as a single group of people. "Peoples of the Lower Columbia" is preferable as an inclusive name. There are several theories about where the name ″Chinook″ came from. Some say it is a Chehalis word Tsinúk for the inhabitants of and a particular village site on Baker Bay, or "Fish Eaters". It may also be a word meaning "strong fighters".

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Klickitat people

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Chinuk sculptures installed at Tilikum Crossing". Portland, Oregon: KOIN. April 17, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Public Art on MAX Orange Line". TriMet . Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Wentz-Graff, Kristyna (April 17, 2015). "Dedication ceremony for artwork at Tilikum Crossing". The Oregonian . Portland, Oregon: Advance Publications. ISSN   8750-1317 . Retrieved November 30, 2015.