Geographies of reclamation: writing and water in the Columbia River Basin, 1855-2009【翻译】

ABSTRACT
Generations of literary critics have claimed that geography plays a prominent role
in the production of Pacific Northwest literature; however, no one has meaningfully
interpreted the literary and cultural history of the region in relation to United States water
policy and the Bureau of Reclamation’s transformation of the Columbia River Basin.
This dissertation argues that the literary and cultural history of the Pacific Northwest
becomes coherent only when the environmental, cultural, socio-economic and
generational histories of this watershed are placed at the center of scholarly inquiry.
The project maps and traces ways that local and national narratives from the latenineteenth
and early-twentieth century worked alongside the federal government to
transform the Columbia River Basin into an awaiting “Promised Land” of socioeconomic
progress, while writers and activists since the 1960s have used bioregional
prose and poetry to spark a revival of localized counter-reclamation that stresses the
importance of social activism and the attempt to find more sustainable methods of
inhabiting the Pacific Northwest. The role that literature has played in the federal
claiming and local reclaiming of the Columbia River Basin is argued and illustrated
through an interdisciplinary and site based approach to literary studies that draws from
conversations in environmental history, religious studies, cultural geography, visual arts,
and Native American studies.
The chapters investigate canonical and virtually unknown sources of regional
literature, while offering historically and geographically informed investigations of key
sites within the Columbia River Basin that were transformed by the federal government
over a one hundred and fifty year span of time: the Yakima Valley (1855-1920s), Grand
Coulee Dam and Hanford Engineer Works (1930s-1940s), and The Dalles Dam and
Celilo Falls (1950s-1960s). The project concludes by revisiting these sites through recent
prose and poetry (1970s-2009), tracing how the poetic line, in particular, has been used
by regional writers to document the socio-economic, environmental, local and
2
international consequences of the federal reclamation process. After mapping historical
and geographical links between selected poems and places throughout the watershed, I
explore how site specific installations of poetry as public art on the Methow and Spokane
rivers have been used by local community groups to transform and re-create stretches of
water in large tributaries of the Columbia River Basin.
By putting the environmental, cultural, socio-economic and generational histories
of the Columbia River Basin at the center of my investigation of Pacific Northwest
literature, this dissertation ultimately invites readers to actively reclaim and transform the
Columbia River Basin on intellectual, local, and practical levels, not only for a more
complex understanding of the Pacific Northwest’s literary and cultural history, but in
order to find more localized and sustainable methods of inhabiting western watersheds.
Abstract Approved: _______________________________________
Thesis Supervisor
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Date
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Thesis Supervisor
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GEOGRAPHIES OF RECLAMATION: WRITING AND WATER IN THE
COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN, 1855-2009
by
Chad Duane Wriglesworth
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy
degree in English in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa
July 2010
Thesis Supervisors: Associate Professor Laura Rigal
Professor Christopher Merrill
Copyrighted by
CHAD DUANE WRIGLESWORTH
2010
All Rights Reserved
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
__________________________
PH.D. THESIS
____________
This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of
Chad Duane Wriglesworth
has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirement for the Doctor
of Philosophy degree in English at the July 2010 graduation.
Thesis Committee: ______________________________________
Laura Rigal, Thesis Supervisor
______________________________________
Christopher Merrill, Thesis Supervisor
______________________________________
Linda Bolton
______________________________________
Adalaide Morris
______________________________________
Malcolm Rohrbough
ii
To
William D. Wriglesworth
(1945-1997)
iii
Languages meander like great rivers leaving only
oxbow traces over forgotten beds, to be seen only
from the air or by scholars.
Gary Snyder, The Practice of the Wild
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
At the University of Iowa, I have met many wonderful friends, mentors, and
professors who have shaped my life as a graduate student. Laura Rigal, Christopher
Merrill, Dee Morris, Linda Bolton and Malcolm Rohrbough have each contributed to and
transformed my scholarly development and I am thankful for their generosity and
willingness to support my vision and work. I am particularly grateful to Laura Rigal,
whose ongoing encouragement and critical insight has proven to be invaluable.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and American Council of Learned Societies
supported my project with a Dissertation Completion Fellowship, which allowed me to
focus on research and writing for an entire year. Earlier stages of the project were
supported by a variety of short-term fellowships that allowed me to conduct archival
research that undergirds this dissertation. A Formby Research Fellowship from Texas
Tech University provided funds to investigate manuscripts and correspondence in The
Sowell Family Collection in Literature, Community and the Natural World, while a
Summer Research Fellowship from the University of Iowa supported an investigation of
primary sources at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Finally, a James C.
Castles Fellowship from the Center for Columbia River History allowed me to conduct
research at special collections libraries at University of Oregon, Reed College, and the
Yakima Valley Museum, all of which have enhanced my work. I appreciate the support
and generosity of each of these organizations.
Over the years, many members of my family have offered financial support and
places to stay in the Pacific Northwest during visits to archives and sites in the Columbia
River Basin. I appreciate their support, generosity, and hospitality. My deepest gratitude
is extended to my wife Crissa, and our two children, Luke and Hannah. Their support,
sacrifices and ongoing encouragement for my work have proven to be immeasurable and
go beyond words. I am truly grateful to be a part of their lives.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES vii
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER I STEPPING INTO THE PROMISED LAND:
THE FEDERAL RECLAMATIONOF THE YAKIMA
VALLEY, 1855-1920s 23
From New York to the Promised Land: Theodore Winthrop
and the Search for Eden 27
From Paradise to Purgatory: Theodore Winthrop and the
Problem of Semi-Arid Landscapes 39
Clearing the Promised Land of Natives: Trampling on
Kamiakin’s “Unconstitutional” Garden 42
From Wasteland to Paradise: Irrigating the Yakima
Valley in the Early Twentieth Century 51
Memorializing the Dead: Returning to Kamiakin’s
Irrigated Garden 61
The New Deal in the Promised Land: Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and the Yakima Valley 66
CHAPTER II THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR LABORS:
FATHERS AND SONS, NEW DEAL DAMS,
AND HANFORD ENGINEER WORKS, 1930s-1940s 70
Heading West with Clevie Carver: Working on a Dream at
Grand Coulee Dam 84
Working with Mervyn Clyde Witherup: Building the
Bomb at Hanford Engineer Works 111
William Stafford’s Labor of Words: From Civilian Public
Service Camp to Bonneville Dam 138
CHAPTER III LABOR AND THE WATERFALL: WHITE MASCULINITY,
NATIVE RIGHS, AND THE MAKING OF NORHTWEST
BIOREGIONALISM, 1950s-1960s 146
Playing Indian, Playing Wobbly: Gary Snyder and Warm
Springs Reservation 156
Breaking Out of the Combine: The Dalles Dam and
Hydroelectric Oppression in Ken Kesey’s
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 180
Stepping onto the Yakama Reservation: Land and Water
Rights in Raymond Carver’s “Sixty Acres” 206
CHAPTER IV BIOREGIONAL POETICS: LOCAL HISTORIES
AND THE LIVING LINES OF WATERSHED
RECLAMATION, 1970s-2009 234
Elizabeth Woody and Celilo Falls: Measuring Absence and
Presence through the Poetic Line 248
vi
William Witherup and the Green Run: Atomic Aftershocks
at Hanford Nuclear Reservation 262
Rewriting the Past, Transforming the Present: Gloria Bird
and the Reclamation of Kettle Falls 275
CHAPTER V WRITING THE PLACE OF THE WATERWAY:
REVISING HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
WITH POETRY AND PUBLIC ART 291
William Stafford and the U.S. Forest Service: Rewriting
Place with The Methow River Poems 294
Concrete Walls and Ghosts of Salmon: Sherman Alexie
and the Reclamation of Spokane Falls 304
CONCLUSION 322
BIBLIOGRAPHY 329
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1. Map of Annual Rainfall in the West Beyond the 100th Meridian. Wallace
Stegner, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the
Second Opening of the West (1954). 9
2. Map of Major Dams in the Columbia River Basin. Washington State
Department of Ecology. 10
3. Map of Theodore Winthrop’s Travels, August 21, 1853 – August 31, 1853.
Robert Cantwell, The Hidden Northwest (1972). 30
4. Frederic Edwin Church and Theodore Winthrop, c. 1860. Archives of
American Art, Smithsonian Institute. 32
5. The Heart of the Andes, 1859. Exhibited at the New York Metropolitan
Sanitary Fair, 1864. Photograph Collection of the New York Historical
Society. 36
6. St. Joseph’s Mission (rebuilt 1872), Yakima County, n.d. University of
Washington, Department of Special Collections. No. 4010. 44
7. Home Backyard Garden; Sunnyside, Washington (c. 1903). Yakima Valley,
Sundquist Research Library. No. 2002-803-532. 53
8. The Marking of Kamiakin’s Garden, June 30, 1918. (Fred Parker, Right;
John Lynch, Left). Yakima Valley Museum, Sundquist Research Library.
No. 2001-801-466. 63
9. Map of Bonneville Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, and Hanford Engineer Works. 71
10. Grand Coulee Dam Workers Receiving Weekly Paychecks at a Contractor’s
Office, 1936. Washington State University, Special Collections.
No. 40b5v4p329. 76
11. Hanford Engineer Works, Mess Hall No. 1 at Mealtime, c.1944. Hanford
Declassified Retrieval System. No. N1D0023548. 80
12. Batch of Concrete Handled by Workers at Grand Coulee Dam, c. 1937.
University of Washington, Special Collections. NO. UW 9164. 91
13. Laborers Placing Concrete with Cranes and Trestles, Grand Coulee Dam
Construction Site, 1936. University of Washington, Special Collections.
No. DAM129. 93
14. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Speaks Over a Microphone to a Crowd at Grand
Coulee Dam, 1937. Washington State University, Special Collections.
No. 40b5v5p35. 95
15. Significant Geographical Locations in Clevie Carver’s Life, 1929-1967. 98
viii
16. Map of Hanford Engineer Works, 1943-1945. U.S. Department of Energy,
Office of History and Heritage Resources. 114
17. Recruitment Pamphlet, Highlights of Hanford: Work for Victory. Hanford
Engineer Works, 1943. 117
18. Laborers Constructing the Front Face of 100-B Reactor, 1944. Hanford
Declassified Document Retrieval System. No. N1D0029049. 121
19. G. Albin Pherson’s Advertisement for the “Type-A” Prefabricated
Government Duplex, c. 1943. East Benton County Historical Society,
Kennewick, Washington. 124
20. Hanford Engineer Works, Plant T (221-T, “Queen Mary” Separation Plant),
1944. Hanford Declassified Document Retrieval System. No. N1D0030560. 128
21. Plutonium Processing Line with Cell Cover Blocks, 1950. Hanford
Declassified Document Retrieval System. No. N1D0001802. 134
22. Bonneville Dam, Salmon Counting Station, c.1940s. Penny Postcard. 140
23. Map of Celilo Falls, The Dalles Dam, and Compensated Columbia River
Indian Reservations. Katrine Barber, Death of Celilo Falls (2005). 148
24. The Dalles Dam, c. 1957. Columbia River Gorge Discovery Center,
The Dalles, Oregon. No. 1999.59.14a. 152
25. Seaside Shingle Mill Interior with Workers; Everett, Washington, 1907.
Digital Archive, Everett Public Library; Everett, Washington. 165
26. Wobbly Memorial Poster: “Workers Remember Your Dead,” 1916.
Digital Archive, Everett Public Library; Everett, Washington. 178
27. Celilo Falls on the Columbia River, 1953. Columbia Gorge Discovery
Center, The Dalles, Oregon. No. 1999.10.4. 196
28. Motorized Cableway at Celilo Falls, 1951, Oregon Historical Society
Research Library. No. 65984 203
29. Yakama Farmer Irrigating an Alfalfa Field, c. 1950. Yakima Valley
Regional Library. No. 2002-851-373. 218
30. Fort Simcoe Flag Day Celebration, 1964. Yakima Valley Regional Library.
No. 2002-850-559. 221
31. Map of Selected Columbia River Basin Poets in Relationship to Places
A. Elizabeth Woody; B. William Witherup; C. Gloria Bird. 246
32. Final Dynamite Blast at The Dalles Dam, 1956. The Army Corps of
Engineers Used Twenty Tons of Gunpowder to Remove 60,000 Cubic
Yards of Land. Oregon Historical Society Research Library. No. 015320. 251
ix
33. Plaque Commemorating the Celilo Falls Fishery, Unveiled by Relatives
of Chief Tommy Thompson, 1961. Oregon Historical Society Research
Library. No. 001592. 255
34. “Ancient Indian Fishing Grounds.” Interpretive Signpost, Celilo Park, 2009. 256
35. She-Who-Watches Petroglyph, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
No. 92315. 259
36. Map of General Radiation Exposure Areas, 1945; 1946-1951. Washington
State Department of Health. 267
37. Exposure Apparatus on Pig at Hanford, 1958. Hanford Declassified
Retrieval System. No. 16345-NEG-D. 271
38. Colville Indians Fishing at Kettle Falls, c. 1930. University of Washington,
Special Collections Library. No. L93-75.31. 282
39. Map Locating the Methow and Spokane Rivers; Sites of The Methow River
Poems and “That Place Where Ghosts of Salmon Jump.” 293
40. Location of the Methow River Poetry Signs, 2009. Dennis Schmidling,
Friends of William Stafford 14.1 (Fall 2009), 10. 300
41. Dams on the Spokane River. John Fahey, “Power Plays: The Enigma of
Little Falls, Pacific Northwest Quarterly 82.4 (1991). 306
42. Postcard of Expo ’74. Spokane, Washington, 1974. 310
43. Public Art Installation of “That Place Where Ghosts of Salmon Jump.”
Overlook Park, Spokane, Washington. 318
44. Excerpt of Sierra Club and Center for Environmental Law and Policy
Advertisement. 320
45. David James Duncan’s “Lost River.” Photographed by Frederic Ohr. 327