A public talk by Tony Johnson
Cathlapotle Plankhouse in Ridgefield, Washington
September 25, 2010
Tony Johnson is chair of the Chinook Indian Nation Culture Committee and a cultural resources manager for the Shoalwater Indian Tribe. He currently worked with the Chinook Wawa Language Program on the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation. This talk was presented as part of a teacher workshop, “Northwest Native Revolutions: The View from Cathlapotle” on September 25, 2010 at the Cathlapotle Plankhouse in Ridgefield, Washington.
- Part I: Chinook Culture and Educational Philosophy | Time: 9:17
- Tony Johnson introduces himself and reviews his family background. He discusses his work in the early education language immersion school specializing in Chinook Wawa for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Reservation.
- Part II: Chinook Culture at Shoalwater Bay | Time: 9:21
- Tony Johnson discusses the history of the Chinook at Shoalwater Bay and in the Willapa Bay/Bay Center area, returning to a discussion of educational philosophies grounded in community practices, protocols, and taboos.
- Part III: Traditional Teachings | Time: 9:22
- Tony Johnson discusses the myriad ways that life is governed by laws and taboos learned through stories and language. He discusses Chinook cultural practices and the ways in which teaching these a cohesive set of philosophies through stories and place-based understanding helps to shape community morality.
- Part IV: Knowledge Through Language | Time: 8:29
- Tony Johnson discusses how language serves to transmit knowledge and place-based understanding.
- Part V: Today’s Stories | Time: 7:37
- Tony Johnson discusses how stories are used in the classroom for both cultural and language literacy. He also shares contemporary stories of Chinook people in the twenty-first century.