Oregon Origins Project

Meet the 𝗢𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗩𝗜𝗜𝗜: 𝗘𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 creative team!

Wilson Wewa (Northern Paiute/Palouse) has been involved with tribal language, culture, and lifeways throughout his life. He was raised on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Central Oregon. As a child he spent countless hours hearing the stories of his family, tribe, and past lifeways as they pertained to his life. Later, Wilson traveled extensively with his family and especially his grandmother to other parts of the Great Basin where he met many other Northern Paiute elders that added to his knowledge of his people. He continues to be called upon by his people as an orator, storyteller, and funerary officiate. Wilson works for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs as the Senior Wellness Coordinator, a position he has held since 1980, and is consulted by other tribes and organizations in the United States on elders’ issues. More recently, he was invited as a guest lecturer to the prestigious College of William & Mary in Virginia to speak on Native American issues that related to health, spirituality, environment, and treaty rights as they pertain to water and land. He also works with the University of Oregon and Oregon State University as a consultant on Northern Paiute history and ethnobotany. He is author of the book 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘵𝘦 (Oregon State University Press, 2017). Wilson was the first presenter for our very first program 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 and continues to be called to lecture at museums and venues around the Northwest.

Don't miss Wilson's wide-ranging multimedia presentation Oregon Origins Project VIII: Echoes of Eruption - Stories of the Northern Paiute on June 25 in Bend! His talk will range widely across the central Oregon landscape, including Wayahoo Panoona (Newberry Volcano), as he shares oral histories, legends, accounts of war, and recent events related to the Northern Paiute presence in the lands that have been their homeland since time immemorial. A Q&A will follow Wewa’s presentation.

Join us! Tickets start at $10 and are available now at oregonorigins.org.

Thank you KTVZ News for spreading the word! Reserve your tickets now at oregonorigins.org.

The Oregon Origins Project will present "Echoes of Eruption," a multifaceted program exploring the Newberry Volcano through arts, sciences, and Indigenous living traditions.