15th Talking Stone to be placed on June 8

From ODOT-

By: Frannie

In two weeks, the Citizen Planning Committee for the Whilamut Natural Area of Alton Baker Park will celebrate the placement of the fifteenth Kalapuya Talking Stone. Attend the special dedication ceremony at 1 p.m. on June 8, just north of the Knickerbocker Bridge.

Kalapuya Elder Esther Stutzman of the Kommema Cultural Protection Association will welcome the newest and largest stone to the Whilamut Natural Area.

What is a Talking Stone?

Before the arrival of Euro-Americans, Kalapuyans were the largest Native American group in western Oregon. The Talking Stones commemorate Kalapuya heritage and preserve some of the 140 words still known from the tribe’s language.

Fourteen large Talking Stones inscribed with Kalapuya words already stand along paths in the Whilamut Natural Area. Quarried from a basalt deposit in historic Kalapuya territory, 11 Talking Stones were installed in 2003.

As part of restoration work for the I-5 Willamette River Bridge Project, ODOT is contributing four additional Talking Stones to the park. Four stones were installed ­— CAMAFEEMA (“ferns on the ground”), DUUCU-BA (“powerful place”) and HAL-BA (“downstream”).

The newest stone — GUDU-KUT (“frog”) — stands on the edge of a seasonal pond used by the Pacific Tree Frog, whose chorus is an early sign of the coming of spring.