p>The logo for the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center is the petroglyph, "Tsagaglalal" or "She Who Watches." Tsagaglalal is located on a cliff overlooking the Columbia River at Columbia Hills State Park (formerly known as Horse Thief State Park) in Washington. It is one of the best examples of the aboriginal art in the United States.
There are several versions of this legend, but the one told to the Museum by the Wishram people is as follows:
A woman was chief of all who lived this region. That was a long time before Coyote came up the river and changed things, and the people were not yet real people. After a time Coyote, in his travels came to this place and asked the inhabitants if they were living well or ill. They sent him to their chief who lived up in the rocks, where she could look down on the village and know what was going on.
Coyote climbed up to the house on the rocks and asked, "What kind of living do you give these people? Do you treat them well or are you one of those evil women?"
"I am teaching them to live well and build good houses," she said.
When she expressed her desire to be able to do this forever, he said, "Soon the world will change and women will no longer be chiefs."
Being the trickster that he was, Coyote changed her into a rock with the command, "You shall stay here and watch over the people and the river forever."
People know that "Tsagaglalal" sees all things for whenever they are looking at her, those large eyes are watching them.
On June 14, 1987, Nelson Moses, a spokesman for the Wishram band of the Yakama Nation, dedicated "Tsagaglalal's" spirit to the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Musuem project. The brief, but solemn ceremony was held on site in front of "Tsagaglalal." It was performed in the Indian language based on the ancient bell ritual of the Washat religion granting permission for "Her" stylized image to be use as a logo.
This legend applies to the mission of the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum, in that "She is watching over the people and the river," as we will strive to carefully "watch over" and be good stewards of the history of Skamania County and the Gorge.
Carved in stone and observing the Gorge for centuries from a basalt cliff on the Gorge's Washington State side, "Tsagaglalal" has inspired the many citizens who persisted in making their dream of the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum a reality.
According to American Indian Quarterly, Smohalla was also ordered by the Creator to "teach the Wanapums and others to be good, do good, and live like Indians. Give them this song and show them this dance." The washat, or dance, was an intricate ritual involving seven kookoolots, or drums, which symbolized life. The dancers, both men and women, held eagle and swan feathers which represented flight from the earth to the spirit world. Smohalla conducted the ceremonial dance holding a triangular flag on which was drawn a five-pointed star and a red circle on a white, yellow, and blue background. During the dance a qualal qualal, or brass bell, symbolized the heart and was rung to keep time and announce to Nami Piap that the dance was underway. answers.com Pleiades--a constellation that many Lower Amazonian people believe is their spiritual home. The staff functions as an energy conduit between the up above and down below worlds. It is a stand-in for the Axis Mundi or Center of the Cosmos. Shamans from the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest of North America use staffs, as well. These staffs allow the shaman to access her or his ancestral spirits for help and guidance while performing shamanic healings. These implements are used to heal, combat the spirits of disease and to detect the presence of “witchcraft” or negative magic. Among the Selkups, Enets and Nenets of Siberia, the shaman’s staff functions to help the shaman negotiate the perils in the spirit world. Since the shamans in this region sing and dance their journeys, the staff also functions as a rhythm stick. To facilitate this role, the staff is forged of iron and covered in iron rings which clang together and against the body of the staff. http://www.shamanportal.org/article_details.php?id=383
