Lucy Dick

Author: 
J.F. Ball

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and this picture portrays the plight of a once proud and peaceful people: the southern Oregon Chetco (Cheti) Indian. The tribe loved their native lands along the lower regions of the Chetco and Winchuck Rivers. This peaceful tribe of hunters and gatherers, fished, hunted sea lions, harvested shellfish, picked berries, and acorns. They lived in dwellings made of wooden planks and their clothing was made of deer and other animal skins, Cedar and Maple bark, Tule grass, and skin robes to protect them from the cold.

Support For An Elegant Tribute

Media Source: 
Curry Costal Pilot, Letter to the Editor - Dec. 16, 2009

Editor:
I want to express thanks to all the people who have been involved with siting, design, and financial support of the Chetco Historical Indian Memorial (see Arwyn Rice’s Nov. 28 article).

I'm also grateful to the Curry Coastal Pilot for its coverage of the development of the project.

It's not easy to coordinate an endeavor like this one. It takes cooperation from state, city, county, and port officials and I want all of them to know their efforts are greatly appreciated.

My great-grandmother, Minnie Louie, was a contemporary of Lucy Dick. This memorial to Lucy Dick and the Chetco people will be an elegant tribute, not only to our native past, but also to the foresight and generosity of those who brought history to life at Brookings Harbor.

Port property picked for planned Chetco Indian memorial

Media Source: 
Curry Costal Pilot - Nov. 28th 2009

The Chetco Historical Indian Memorial is one step closer to reality after the Brookings Harbor Port Commission voted to dedicate a piece of land where a Chetco Indian village once stood to the memorial in perpetuity.

The memorial, planned by descendants of Lucy Dick, the last full-blooded Chetco Indian to live in the Brookings area, includes a bronze statue of Dick, a salmon pond and waterfall, native plants with a guide to their uses, and an interpretive trail.

"It's going to be a beautiful project," Chetco Indian descendent and project organizer Lynda Timeus said.

The memorial property sits atop the remains of a Chetco village, which contained about 40 houses near the mouth of the Chetco River.

The location of the memorial directly on top of the south bank village site was serendipitous, memorial designer Patrick Chew said.

Group begins plans for Chetco Indian memorial

Media Source: 
Curry Costal Pilot - Sept. 5th 2009

A memorial to honor the Chetco Tribe, the original residents of the Brookings-Harbor area, will be built at the Port of Brookings Harbor.

Brookings artist Patrick Chew was selected to design the memorial is planned to be constructed at the end of the planned boardwalk ex-tension near BC Fisheries and Transport and the port cold storage facility.

The memorial’s location is near the site of a village inhabited seasonally by the Chetco Tribe until their forcible removal 150 years ago.

The design stage of the memorial was funded by a grant from Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.

The Chetco (Cheti, in their their own language) people lived along the Chetco River.

A Special Thank You

Submitted by Lynda Timeus on Fri, 05/21/2010 - 10:45

A special thank You to the Port of Brookings-Harbor, Oregon. Thanks to their generous gift of port property, they have made it possible to commemorate and celebrate the Native American history of the Brookings-Harbor area.

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