Stewards of the Land

It seems these days we can not escape hearing about the sad state of the environment. Here at Bonnie Kahn's Wild West Gallery we'd prefer to do something about it! So here it is, our new ambition, "Six Months to Save the Planet" a series of lectures, workshops and shows inspired by how we can learn from Native Traditions to become stewards of the Earth.

First Thursday on August 6th two tribal elders will discuss how to save our Earth using Native ways. Darlene Foster/Warm Springs will discuss her inherited role as a food gatherer for the Warm Springs Tribe. Linda Meanus/Warm Springs is the great granddaughter of Chief Tommy Thompson and his wife Flora from Celilo Falls. Raised in a traditional manner, she will share her knowledge of how to be a care-taker of the Earth.

The lecture is from 5-7PM and is FREE! Please RSVP so we can be sure to have enough chairs!

Also on view will be a collection of Native American Basketry, Photography, and the collection of Brad Torson.

See you there!

Currently Looking for Items to Consign and or Purchase!

At Bonnie Kahn's Wild West Gallery we are always looking for unique items of quality to purchase and consign. Here is a list of some of the things we are looking for:

-Native American baskets
-Old Pawn Natural Turquoise Jewelry
-Old Pawn Native American Silver Jewelry
-Native American Beadwork
-Navajo Rugs
-Northwest Coast Masks and Sculpture
-Native American Photographs and Negatives
-Rodeo Photography pre-1930
-Native American Dolls
-Native American Pottery
-Western Horse regalia, bits. etc.
-Noted Northwest and Southwest Artist's paintings.

If you have any of these items that you are looking to sell please call us! 503.293.9414

Spotlight on Native American Basketry

Through May the gallery is featuring several quality historical baskets from a private collection. One basket we are very excited about is this Chehalis Basket depicting Chinese Railroad workers from the 1880s.

We found this cross-cultural documentation of history very intriguing, and did some research into the relationship of the Chinese Rail Workers to Native Americans. We came across a very informative article by Kerry Brinkerhoff, Forest Ranger at Golden Spike. He outlines how dramatically the railroads affected the lives of Native Americans.

On July 1, 1862, The Pacific Railway Act was passed. In order to give the Union Pacific Railroad Company rights to build the railway it stated that "The United States shall extinguish as rapidly as may be the Indian titles to all lands falling under the operation of this act..." Col. Connor and 700 Volunteers were sent from California to Utah to clear the way. Col. Connor and his volunteers killed many Native Americans. On Jan. 29, 1863, the same month that the Central Pacific would break ground, The Bear River massacre took place, where Col. Connor and his California Volunteers surrounded a Shoshone tribe and massacred over 450 men, women and children.

Needing cheap labor, in many cases The Union Pacific would hire Native Americans to work alongside the Chinese. Many of the workers they hired were Native American women who were drastically underpaid at 15 cents per hour in comparison to the men who were paid $1 an hour. The railroad formed a close alliance with the Pawnee tribe, even paying them to stage battles and war dances along the railway for tourists.

The Northern Pacific Railway cuts directly through Chehalis. No doubt, the creation of this railroad dramatically impacted the lives of the Chehalis, as outsiders were brought in and cities sprung up. This basket is an important artifact in the documentation of this history.

You can read Kerry Brinkerhoff's complete article here: http://www.nps.gov/archive/gosp/history/Native_American_RR.html


On a side note, Bonnie is also very interested in the relationship between Native American culture and The Freemasons. If you have any information or art work exploring this relationship give us a call!