FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Stefani Schuette Lewis & Clark: Currents of Change 314.454.5753 sschuette@mohistory.org		Sammye Meadows Circle of Tribal Advisors 970.641.1355 or 970.596.6672 (cell) jermond@pcrs.net

35-Foot Tribal Long House
to be erected on the Saint Louis Riverfront
for Lewis & Clark: Currents of Change

“The Houses or Lodges of the tribes of the main Columbia river is of large mats made of rushes.  Those houses are from 15 to 60 feet in length generally of an Oblong Squar form, Suported by poles on forks in the iner Side, Six feet high, the top is covered also with mats…”,
-- William Clark, October 17, 1805

(ST. LOUIS, MO, 9/13/2006):  A little over two hundred years ago, ancestors of the Wanapum Tribe of Washington State greeted Lewis & Clark in tule mat long houses on the banks of the Columbia River.  Next week, in preparation for Lewis & Clark: Currents of Change, Wanapum tribal members will be in St. Louis setting up a 35-foot traditional tribal long house made of tule reed mats.  Tules are large reeds that grow in wetlands of the Columbia River basin.  At the time of Lewis & Clark’s visit, many tribes along the Columbia built their structures from tall mats woven from the reeds. 

Wanapum tribal elder Rex Buck explains that tule reeds were “used to make dwellings, watercraft, duck decoys, burial mats and a variety of other things.”  He said the Wanapums were among the last to use tule mat dwellings as their homes, “There are some people with memories of actually living in them.  This long house project has helped increase cultural knowledge within our own tribe.” 

Next week’s construction of the tule mat long house and a smaller teepee will begin at 8:30 am on Wednesday, September 20, on Lenor K. Sullivan Blvd. on the Riverfront.  The public is invited to stop by, observe the building’s progress, visit tribal members and ask questions. 

The work consumes the efforts of five people working over several days.  Once erected, the long house,  teepee and a Wanapum canoe will welcome visitors for the duration of Lewis & Clark: Currents of Change, which concludes on Sunday, September 24. 

Lewis & Clark: Currents of Changeis hosted by the National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial and the Osage Nation.  The final national event of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial commemoration, it will begin with a symposium, The Stories We Tell, at the Millennium Hotel, September 20 & 21, and conclude with tours, programming, demonstrations, entertainment and fireworks on the St. Louis Riverfront, September 22-24.

For more information about Lewis & Clark: Currents of Change, please go to www.currentsofchange.org. 

For more information about the National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial, the Circle of Tribal Advisors and 2003-2006 bicentennial activities, please visit www.lewisandclark200.org.

For more information about the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, please visit www.osagetribe.com.

For more information about the National Park Service and the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, please visit www.nps.gov/jeff.