Page 3 - March 2009

3 Honoring our Elders: Katherine Davis-Barr “...enjoys watching her great- grand children play in sports” Katherine Davis-Barr was born in 1920 to Marion and Bertha Petoie-Davis. Her grandparents on her mother’s side are Charley Petoie and Emma Heck. On her father’s side her grandfather is Elizah Davis. Katherine has six siblings: Christine, Dan, Evelyn, Elsie, Eleanor, Cindy. She has been married twice. Her second marriage to Jim Barr lasted for over 20 years. There were six children between the two Katherine with her sister Cindy, her marriages: Josephine Aldrich, Ray Jones, Annie Jones, Jimmie Jones, Maynard Jones son Wayne Barr and his wife Maria at and Wayne Barr. Thare are many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great- the NNABA Conference. Katherine and Cindy are well-known Master grandchildren. Katherine is a die-hard Chehalis Tribe sports fan, and went to every game Basket Weavers. Oakville High School played this season. She is very proud to see our youth playing in sports and working hard to stay in school. Katherine was born on the Chehalis strapped onto “Brownie” the horse, and bags. Fires were often caused by logging where the blueberry farm is now. It, Reservation to Marion and Bertha (Petioe) hearing her auntie tell her dad, “Strap her slash burns on a nearby hill. At the time, the too, was prairie, and camas would grow Davis. They lived on Pearson Road which real good, so she won’t fall off.” There reservation was all prairie. The slash burns in abundance. The soil was really good they referred to as the Ol’ Ranch. Their was one spot that was real narrow and the would sometimes send embers to the prairie for growing strawberries and the farmers family raised chickens, cows, horses and horse stumbled, but she wasn’t too worried and ignite it. would let the Indians come and harvest the a big vegetable garden. They traveled because she trusted the horse. Her dad Katherine doesn’t have many memories camas plants. The farmers thought of them around in a horse and buggy. Life wasn’t had to help by pushing Brownie past that of her older siblings, as they passed away as weeds. It was nothing to get a hundred easy. During lean times, her mom cooked narrow part of the trail. At the berry area, during a fu epidemic during a harsh winter. pound burlap bag full of camas. “Lockemeen”, which is water with four, there were a lot of Native people from other She does have memories of being sent Katherine remembers Pioneer Days held sugar, and dumplings. tribes. “When we arrived at the camp, the with her sister, Elsie, to the Indian Hospital at Borst Park in Centralia. Everyone would Her dad worked in the woods as a logger view of Mt. Rainier was so beautiful, it in Tacoma that treated Native children who dress up for the parade. Silas Heck’s wife in his earlier days. He was also a fsherman, seemed like you could just reach out and had tuberculosis. They were housed in helped Katherine dress up with a shawl fshing in the area that is presently called, touch it,” recalls Katherine. buildings big enough to hold 12 children and beads. They all loaded up in an old “The Swings.” They made a camp at the After a house fre destroyed the home per room. Katherine was place in “Ward truck, and hung blankets on the sides for river to process, smoke and can the fsh. on Pearson Road, they needed a place to D” and her Elsie was placed in “Ward E.” decoration. This was the “Chehalis Tribal When it was harvesting time for live. The Old Boarding House, located Katherine remembers sneaking out of her Float” entry in the parade. huckleberries, their family, along with her at the Stanley Petoie property, was being room to visit with her sister. Katherine is an accomplished basket aunt, would pack up their wagon and head torn down. Her father was given one of Katherine remembers staff lining up the weaver, quilt maker, doll maker and loves to up to Mt. Rainier. They would go as far as the out buildings. With the help of other children and marching them in step to the crotchet. She learned how to weave baskets they could and leave the wagon at the falls. families, they built a sled out of two by cafeteria. All the children did chores like from her mother, Bertha. Her frst basket Then they would pack what they needed sixes and pulled the house with a few mopping and laundry. Some of the children was a raffa and cattail coil basket. When and continue on up the steep, winding trail horses. Katherine was in the house when passed away there from TB. Katherine she fnished, it was really rough, but Bob to get to the berries. She remembers being it was moved. She remembers thinking it befriended a boy from Alaska named Choke came over and told her, “That’s a was really neat as the building Tommy. Unfortunately he died from TB at nice basket. I want that basket.” He bought Women Learn to Make Cedar shook as it was pulled along by the hospital. it for fve cents. the horses. When the house was School offcials determined that Elsie Katherine worked hard learning the situated, and as time went on, Roses, Prevent Breast Cancer her father added more rooms. would not recover from TB and sent her weaving style her mother taught her. She home. Katherine and Elsie stayed in contact is a member of NNABA. Says Katherine, by writing letters. When Elsie was too weak “It’s really nice to see all the young people It was sad day when it had to be condemned due to termite to write, her mother wrote for her. After getting interested in basket weaving.” damage. Elsie passed away from TB, her dad came to Katherine is the Chehalis Tribe’s The driveway that circled the hospital to bring Katherine home. language teacher. There currently are the house was built because her But school offcials resisted. He told them, no fuent speakers,exept Katherine. She mother was learning to drive an “I am her father, and I’m taking her home!” says she is happy to help Dan Penn, the old Ford. The driveway also He then loaded her up and returned home. Language Coordinator, teach the class. served as a fre break to protect The Indians back then had to travel to Even though Katherine knows many of the the house. In those days, fnd work to help support their families. different Coastal Salish dialects, she says, there were no fre departments Some worked in the hop felds in Chehalis. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember some of on the reservations, so most There were temporarily housed in the words. It can be diffcult because there Katherine Davis-Barr (in her late 20s) houses that caught fre could segregated shacks while working in the isn’t anyone left who speaks it fuently. But pauses for a photo (for just a second) on not be saved. Everyone had felds. At night they would sit around a with practice and Dr. Kinkade’s Chehalis Mt. Adams, then gets right back to pick to be prepared to fght grass campfre and play bone games until late in Dictionary, we can all learn. It makes me more berries. and prairie fres with shovels, the evening. happy to see all the young people learning pitch forks and wet burlap Katherine remembers picking strawberries the Chehalis language together.” Tribal Staff Profles: Assistant General Manager and Fisheries Biologist Hello everyone! My name is in Business Management (his Hi, my name is Andy I moved back to Ena Myers and I am the Assistant was in IT) and then I transferred Olson. I was born in Astoria, Washington in the summer of General Manager at the Chehalis to a private college for a BA in Oregon in 1973, to Janice and 1997 and received a Bachelor Tribe. Organizational Leadership. Randall Olson. My father is of Science in Fisheries in I’m a country girl at heart. I When the kids started school, a Lutheran pastor, and my 2000. I’ll soon have a Masters was born and raised in Northern I was ready for something California. My parents divorced different than corporate America, mother is an admissions clerk of Environmental Studies. when I was pretty young. Ena Myers, so I changed jobs. I worked at the Lakewood Health In 2001, I found my My mom is a nurse so she in social services, excited Center. Andy Olson, wonderful wife, Chris, had some horrible hours. My Assistant General to be able to help people. Growing up, I lived Fisheries Biologist on the Internet. We met grandparents took me in and Manager Unfortunately, obstacles and in Seaside and Salem, and fell for each other. raised me—what a blessing! managers who didn’t really Oregon, and Kent, Washington. When I She was living in Eureka, California With only my Mom’s income, we didn’t care meant that we were not really able to was 14, we moved to Montana, where I and planning to move to Tacoma. I have much, but I am really grateful for the help the people who needed it most. was really able to embrace the outdoors, intercepted her and we were married in resourcefulness that taught me. I had started a Masters program in hunting and fshing. 2003 in Leavenworth. After I graduated from high school, I psychology when a job came up with the With my trusty ‘68 Jeep Waggoner, After my graduation from college, joined the Navy. I was able to travel and local casino, and the general manager asked I explored the wilderness surrounding I began working for the Washington spent time in Florida, Illinois, and Iceland. me to apply. He assured me that I would I wouldn’t change those experiences for fnd the work environment much more Helena. I bagged my frst buck when Department of Fis and Wildlife as an anything! I met my husband in Iceland rewarding, and that I would actually see I was 15, and have been hooked on Atlantic salmon surveyor looking for (he was in the Marine Corps and guarded positive impact from my efforts. I trusted hunting and fshing ever since. escaped farm-raised Atlantic salmon. me). We married and he got transferred him on that and I’m so glad I did. I changed Cancer in my left knee slowed me We found hundreds of escaped Atlantics back to the States. About fve months later, my Masters to Business Administration and down a little when I was a teenager. outside the largest Atlantic salmon farm I found out we were pregnant. I couldn’t spent the next portion of my career growing I was treated with chemotherapy, on Scatter Creek. I got to know the go to sea, but the military wouldn’t station with my Redding Rancheria family. These radiation, and surgery to remove the Chehalis basin during my work because us together either. I resigned and moved were some of the most rewarding and tumor and a great deal of my muscles we surveyed most of the Chehalis River to North Carolina with him. Our daughter fulflling years of my life. and tendons. Even though I lost my hair tributaries and the Chehalis River itself. was born, and it wasn’t too long before we A job opportunity for my husband here three different times, the worst part was I began working for the Chehalis were pregnant again. My husband got out in Washington led us to some serious soul not being able to go on a fshing trip to Tribe in 2005. It’s exciting to continue of the Marine Corps, and we moved back to searching. It was really diffcult for me to Saskatchewan with my uncle due to not Northern California where our son was born. leave a job and people I loved, but making my work here building the Fisheries Finding jobs turned out to be a lot this move has been an incredible plus for having enough white blood cells. Department and the tribe’s fsh hatchery harder than we ever anticipated. To ensure our family. I’m so grateful to the Rancheria Aside from the outdoors and fshing, and commercial fsheries. My future that we would always have options in and now to you for inviting me into your my other passion is cooking. I love to goals are to build a fsh processing the future, we both started college. Being community and allowing me to be part of cook and make people happy with tasty facility and fsheries compound and young parents, working, and going to the great work that we are blessed to do meals. I’ve had jobs such as a dietary more community involvement. school was a challenge. We attended every day. manager, and nursing home kitchen community college where I earned an AA manager.