Linfield University, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and the Greater Yamhill Watershed Council invite you to learn about the cultural, biological and artistic significance of the purple camas flower at the second-annual Camas Festival.
For generations, purple camas lilies have been cultivated, traded and consumed by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest including the Kalapuya, who were removed to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation in 1855. Though much sparser now than in the days it turned the Willamette Valley purple each spring, it remains a central piece of Kalapuyan lifeways.
The Camas Festival honors their enduring significance and is a chance to engage not only with camas flowers but learn more about the habitats — wet prairie, oak savannah and oak stand — of Linfield’s McMinnville campus.
Grand Ronde staff members, supported by Linfield faculty, will lead tours of the camas patches in Cozine Creek natural area, so attendees should wear shoes that can handle some mud.
Beyond the natural elements, the Linfield Art Gallery will be full of both art and informational displays related to the camas. lakamas, a mixed media exhibit from three Grand Ronde community artists is currently on display; one or more of the artists will be present to speak about their work. Environmental studies students will be sharing their senior capstone projects, which have interactive elements, and participatory art projects will invite attendees to engage with the flower in a different way as they truly look at it.
The festival runs from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and will begin with welcoming and opening remarks from festival leaders and the lakamas artists. The first tour shuttle up to the Cozine Creek area will depart around 10:30 a.m.; the last one will depart around 1 p.m. The walk itself should not be physically strenuous but is not wheelchair accessible; participants will need to be able to walk uphill, downhill and at times step over small plants, logs or other obstacles. For more information, contact environmental studies professor William Fleeger.
When: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, May 5
Where: Talks, information and displays will be in the Linfield Art Gallery (location) in conjunction with their current exhibit, lakamas, featuring work by three contemporary artists from the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde community. Grand Ronde staff, supported by Linfield faculty, will lead tours of the camas patches in the Cozine Creek natural area; please wear sturdy shoes!
Cost: Free and open to the public of all ages; visitors may park in any non-reserved spots.
Information: Visit linfield.edu/camasfest or email Professor William Fleeger.
