THE KOMEMMA CULTURAL PROTECTION ASSOCIATION:

A  HISTORY

During the early 1970s, a group of Indigenous people began working with various school districts on the Oregon coast to bring Indian Education programs to the schools. Many of these people were old friends and some were individuals who shared cultural activities such as pow wows and ceremonies. We were not officially incorporated at the time but extremely dedicated to cultural preservation and learning. It was during this time that this group of perhaps fifteen people began establishing committees to explore applications for non-profit status. Komemma Cultural Protection Association was the chosen name since many members of the group shared the same Komemma Kalapuya heritage.

In the late 1970’s six members and supporters of KCPA helped to bring an Indian Manpower Program to the Oregon Coast. Our bookkeepers managed the nearly quarter-million dollar program and we worked job placement issues with Manpower programs statewide and were the primary auditors. 

The Indian Education Act of 1972 allowed for educational and cultural teachings in schools. In 1974, members of KCPA’s Education committee initiated the first Title IV Indian Education Program in Coos Bay and North Bend, followed shortly by programs in Coquille, Myrtle Point and Bandon being put in place. KCPA members became program directors and curriculum staff.   In conjunction with the Coos County ESD KCPA curriculum writers developed a series of four American Indian curriculum guides that were distributed to all local schools for teaching purposes. Within a few short years, six school districts in the area had Indian Education programs in place, with our current Chair, Esther Stutzman, as the cultural advisor.

Growing interest in Indian Education cultural activities led to the formation of Native youth summer camps that ultimately have existed for the past 47 years. A conservative estimate is that the Native camps have served over 2,300 youth grades 3-12.

In the mid-1970s, KCPA members in conjunction with the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw tribes, founded the first Native museum and research center in Empire, on the Oregon coast. The center hosted school groups and offered local history lectures. Growing out of this museum was an interest in protection of Indigenous sacred grounds and burials. This led to many of our members to lobby for legislation to protect burial sites which culminated in several Oregon burial laws  being enacted during this time.

Growing interest in the field of archaeology led to a solid relationship with Oregon archaeologists. Several KCPA members founded the first coalition of archaeologists and tribal people, ensuring a respectful dialog around protection of Native sites. It was KCPA members who worked with Oregon State University to discover an ancient village site on the Oregon coast, dating to 1010 B.C.

From 1977 to the present, the primary focus of KCPA has been to educate youth, research the culture and bring public awareness of Kalapuya lifeways.

The same group of people formed a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 1996, the Komemma Cultural Protection Association (KCPA), for the education of Native people and specifically, the youth. It was then that Native youth requested access to Native language learning and specifically, the local Kalapuya language. 

After extensive research it was found that the Kalapuya language was considered extinct and there were no living speakers. This began a years-long quest to find language sources to try to reconstruct Kalapuya. In 2015 we became acquainted with Paul McCartney who had been studying the Kalapuya language for several years. The following years consisted of joint research and documentation and ultimately,  KCPA sponsored the publishing of the first and only dictionary of the Kalapuya language. With the help of a GoFundMe campaign, KCPA members raised over $10,000 for publishing fees. The four-volume dictionary has been distributed to university libraries, public libraries, schools and interested individuals and received a Library of Congress Call Number: PM1421.25 K352021.

Because KCPA has always worked to make Native history as accurate as possible, we consulted over the years with several public projects. Of note, we consulted on the design and naming of the ODOT bridge replacement projects spanning the Willamette River over I-5 in Springfield in 2011. As a result, the bridge was named Whilamut Passage. 

Because many of the KCPA supporters and Board of Directors are Kalapuya, we have always campaigned to bring Kalapuya words and names to the public. In an open hearing of the Eugene Parks and Recreation department, KCPA members lobbied to place Kalapuya names in various public spaces. As a result, a portion of Alton Baker Park was renamed “Whilamut Natural Area” and soon after, 11 large “Talking Stones” were installed in the park, each bearing a Kalapuya word. Another four stones were also installed a few years later.

As we began to bring Kalapuya culture to the Willamette Valley, we found that because of removal of Indigenous people in the mid-1800s, little cultural evidence remained. Through extensive research and generous grants from Spirit Mountain Foundation and McKenzie River Gathering Foundation, we initiated the construction of a Kalapuya long canoe. We used the talents of a local canoe builder to ultimately construct a 22-ft Kalapuya long canoe, the first to be built in over 150 years. This canoe has been taken to various public events for educational purposes throughout the years.

Many of our members have strong ties to environmental education and consequently, KCPA began to emphasize Indigenous conservation of land resources. The possibility of acquiring a large tract of ancestral homeland inspired KCPA to begin an in-depth inquiry into working closely with local public schools’ natural resource programs. As a result, it was discovered that most of the small local schools offered no outdoor or environmental programs. We began working with the schools to initiate summer camps, day camps and TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge) events in an ongoing basis. The local Yoncalla school district is in the process of planning an Outdoor School for the middle school in the Spring.

Since our incorporation, KCPA has attracted over $70,000 in grassroots grants for various projects but primarily for the Native Summer Youth Camps. In addition, our group has had a Fry Bread business selling Fry Bread and Indian Tacos since 1996. This enterprise has raised approximately $25,000 for youth cultural education.

It has been over fifty years since the idea of KCPA was discussed. Unfortunately during the ensuing years, several original members passed on or moved away. We have been active enough to attract replacements over the years who have fully supported our original goals of cultural preservation.

Currently, we have a small, workable Board and will continue pursuing cultural preservation, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and education of our youth.