The Kalapuya Talking Stones*

 

 

 

About the Kalapuya Talking Stones*

Eleven Talking Stones engraved with words from the Kalapuya language were
installed in December, 2002 in the Whilamut Natural Area of Alton Baker
Park, in Springfield and Eugene, Oregon. The 237-acre park is located
within a greenway on the north bank of the Willamette River. Quarried from
a basalt deposit in historic Kalapuya territory, the Talking Stones are
"designed to serve as educational and cultural reference points, as well as
beautiful art objects."

As a concept, the Talking Stones were born of discussions between Kalapuya
Elder Esther Stutzman of the Kommema Cultural Protection Association and
members of the Citizen Planning Committee (CPC) for the Whilamut Natural
Area of Alton Baker Park, who are appointed to terms of office by elected
public officials. The CPC engaged stone carver Lisa Ponder to engrave each
stone with a Kalapuya word and its English translation, in cooperation with
Springfield's Willamalane Park and Recreation District and the city of
Eugene Parks and Open Space division. Please refer to the map included in
this website to identify each stone, and to hear the pronounciation of its
name.

Kalapuya people say, "We have always been here." Prior to the arrival of
Euro-Americans, Kalapuyans were the largest Indian group in what is now
called western Oregon. As many as 15,000 Kalapuya lived in their
traditional territory, which extended from near present-day Roseburg to
present-day Oregon City. There were 13 distinct groups of Kalapuya, who
spoke three dialects of their language.

The Kalapuya were hunters of large and small game, such as deer and elk,
supplemented by a variety of fish. Bulbs of the camas lily were also a
vital food source. In the early 1850s the United States government began a
treaty process with the Kalapuya people. The unratified treaty of November
29, 1854 led to the removal of most of the Kalapuya to reservations at
Grande Ronde and Siletz; this opened the Willamette Valley to settlers.
Diseases carried by Euro-Americans quickly decimated the Kalapuya
population. Many died of smallpox, malaria and scrofula, an illness related
to tuberculosis. However, Kalapuya people have not vanished. In 2003, an
estimated 300 to 400 Kalapuyans remain, many of whom uphold their age-old
indigenous culture.

Return to Kalapuya Talking Stones Map