FEATURE
Teaching Indigenous History Through a Children’s Book:
My Name is LaMoosh
Chief Tommy Thompson, Flora Thompson, and Linda Meanus at a library event. Photo by Oregon Historical Society.
My Name is LaMoosh (Oregon State University Press and Confluence 2023), is the life story of Warm Springs Tribal Elder Linda Meanus. She grew up with her grandma Flora Thompson and grandpa Chief Tommy Thompson near Celilo Falls, a mighty fishery on the Columbia that was flooded in 1957 by the construction of The Dalles Dam.
For those not familiar with the history of dams along the Columbia River, the US Army Corps of Engineers constructed The Dalles Dam in 1957, and in the process also flooded Celilo Falls and Celilo Village, a fishing and cultural site for Columbia River Indigenous peoples Since Time Immemorial.
Intended for young readers to learn more about Native American history through a first-hand account, My Name is LaMoosh reminds them that Indigenous people continue to maintain a cultural connection to the land and river that gave them their identity. The book includes fact boxes that provide historical, cultural, and environmental context for Linda’s personal story. For those serving in interpretive roles, My Name is LaMoosh offers ways to think about place and identity well beyond the Pacific Northwest.
The book was co-published by Oregon State University Press and Confluence, the organization where Lily is employed and in which Linda is involved. Confluence is a community nonprofit that connects people to the history, living cultures, and ecology of the Columbia River system through Indigenous voices. They work through six art landscapes, educational programs, and public gatherings in collaboration with northwest tribes, communities, and the celebrated artist Maya Lin. Linda approached Confluence to be a part of the project due to the work she does in their educational programs.
Linda’s idea sparked her and Lily’s journey in 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic shaped their process. They spent many hours recording Linda’s stories via Zoom and communicating and consulting over this new platform. While all the words are Linda's, three collaborators—Lily Hart, Colin Fogarty of Confluence, and Dr. Katrine Barber (professor of history at Portland State University)—worked with Linda by recording, transcribing, and offering editorial suggestions, using a method Paige Raibmon calls “transformational listening,” in the introduction to As I Remember It, by Elsie Paul (Tla'amin [Sliammon] Nation). Yet, Linda is the sole author of the book and only her name appears on the cover.
This particular journey toward publication ended in June 2023 with the release of My Name is LaMoosh. Currently, LaMoosh is in its second printing and is a finalist for an Oregon Book Award.
However, the journey really started long before, in 1956, when an Oregon author named Martha McKeown published a book for younger audiences called Linda’s Indian Home, which focused on a baby named Linda. Linda became famous in the region thanks to Martha’s book. Martha was a friend of Flora Thompson, Linda’s grandmother, and Martha and Flora hoped the book would help raise awareness about Celilo Falls and the impending Dalles Dam.
Although a popular book for generations, Linda’s Indian Home fell out of publication, and Linda felt it was time to update it with her own stories. The loss of Celilo Falls is one that is continually felt today, a loss that Flora and Tommy Thompson deeply felt and that Linda still feels. Like her grandmother before her, Linda has dedicated herself to educating people throughout the Pacific Northwest region and beyond through her stories.
The cover of My Name is LaMoosh. Photo by OSU Press.
Here, Linda Meanus talks about the loss of salmon and Celilo and the impact on her grandfather. Video from Confluence Library.
Since this book on her childhood was published, Linda has survived and thrived through many changes and challenges. Linda has a BA from Portland State University, and she is a well-respected pow-wow dancer. She goes into schools to talk to kids about First Foods—foods native to the Columbia River and essential gifts, such as salmon, game roots, berries that are gifts—and about Celilo. These efforts of Linda's include working with Confluence’s school program (which is how Linda ended up asking Confluence to co-publish the book) and speaking at national conferences, such as the National Indian Child Welfare Association and the Western History Association.
As she went into schools, Linda often talked about Linda’s Indian Home. The book became very popular in the Pacific Northwest when published, but it also became a resource teachers still use today—a challenge since it is out of print and hard to find. And so, many students wanted more, and to hear more of Linda’s story. A new book seemed to be the natural next step.
My Name is LaMoosh is not just about loss and trauma—it is about perseverance, survival, reciprocity, culture, and the next generation. You can learn about the Columbia River and about place. You can learn about root digging, how beadwork teaches one patience, and education. You can learn about listening and speaking truth from your heart. Linda’s Grandma Flora always said you’re telling the truth when you speak from the heart. You can always write and change everything you write now, but when you talk, you talk from the heart.
Young Linda. Photo courtesy Linda Meanus.
Linda at Confluence in the Classroom Event. Photo by Confluence.
For More Information
Paul, Elsie, Paige Raibmon, and Harmony Johnson. “Introduction: Listening to Ɂəms tɑɁɑw.” In Written as I Remember It: Teachings (Ɂəms tɑɁɑw) from the Life of a Sliammon Elder, 3-62. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2014.
In this podcast, Linda Meanus, Dr. Barber, and Lily Hart talk about the book and the process.
