Explore the Plant, the Person, and the Place on August 23
The public is invited to participate in a unique event – the first annual Tarweed Awakening Corvallis, led by the OSU Indigenous Studies Program. The event is scheduled for Saturday, August 23, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Participants are encouraged to come toWild Yeast Bakery, located at 648 SW 2nd Street & B Avenue, to pick up a program that describes where and when various activities will take place. Parking for this free event is available in the City parking lot at Western Avenue and 2nd Street.
Tarweed Awakening activities will focus on an indigenous perspective of a plant, a person and a place – all related to a Kalapuya word and culture. Sawal (Tarweed) is a plant that produces a tasty and highly nutritious seed when roasted. Sawala was a significant Kalapuya person named after the plant. Sawala Point is an important place in Champinefu (Corvallis), named for the person.
For its first year, Tarweed Awakening Corvallis has four venues:
- SHAWALA POINT – A tour of Shawala Point from an indigenous perspective by faculty and students of the OSU Indigenous Studies Program. Tours at 1:15 pm and 2:15 pm.
- TARWEED FOLK SCHOOL AT WADE HARDWARE – An interactive program on practices related to Tarweed by Chris Rempel, Cultural Resources Specialist for the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. Demonstrations at 1:15 pm and 2:15 pm.
- CORVALLIS MUSEUM – An activity about the mystery of a Kalapuya man, Sawala (aka William Hartless) and a Corvallis settler with the same name, Willam Hartless. This interactive program will be staffed by OSU Indigenous Studies students and museum staff. At the museum’s outdoor courtyard from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.
- WILD YEAST BAKERY – Three brief presentations (10 minutes each), starting at 3:00 pm and followed by audience Q & A.
- Molly Carney – OSU Assistant Professor of Anthropology with an emphasis on ethnobotany. Molly will present about Tarweed from a cultural history perspective.
- David Harrelson – Ampinefu Kalapuya member and Cultural Resources Manager of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. David will present a Grand Ronde perspective of Shawala, the person.
- Luhui Whitebear – OSU Assistant Professor and coordinator of the OSU Indigenous Studies Program. Luhui will present an indigenous perspective of Shawala Point, the place, and how it relates to the reality of the current land uses and conditions.
Tarweed Awakening Corvallis joins a collective of other Willamette Valley communities in the Kalapuya homeland, each of which celebrates a specific Kalapuya first food at the time in the seasonal round when it is most significant as a food source. The concept originated with David Harrelson to honor and support a diversity of traditional Kalapuya food sources. McMinnville now has a Camas Festival in May and Salem has an Oakfest in October.
Event co-sponsors include OSU Indigenous Studies Program, Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, Tarweed Folk School, Wild Yeast Bakery and Corvallis Museum. For further details, contact Dave Eckert at deckert@willamettewatershed.com.