Wapato Treks at Labish

Wapato (mamptu- Kalapuyan) is a primary root crop of the Kalapuyans and Chinookans. It was probably the second most used food plant in the valley. There were vast fields of wapato in the “Portland” area where the plant grew in the sloughs, and marshes alongside the Columbia, in the Willamette Slough, and in the island ponds. The southern range so far, for the larger quantities is likely to be Lake Labish at Salem. South of Salem, I am not seeing large amounts of wapato anywhere. At Mary’s River there is some, and some at Minto-Brown Island Park at Salem, and a patch under the train bridge at Salem. There are apparently two varieties, a large leaf and a small leaf variety (11 varieties at Sauvie Island). The largest single location is likely to be Wapato Lake near Gaston. The Tualatin were known to harvest the wapato there in great quantities. The Cascades-Watlala-Chinook, Multnomah-Wapato Island, and Clackamas-Clowewwalla  harvested great quantities in the larger “Portland” area in the fall of each year, the quantity and quality of the wapato likely attracting the Cascades from their Rapids location to migrate to “Portland” and to live in their plankhouses for the winter, alongside the Columbia, while harvesting wapato. Other tribes have similar seasonal camps for harvesting wapato in the fall, but since they were closer to their permanent villages- they likely would transport the tubers to their main villages and not have to fully move, like the Cascades. In this context wapato is the major food and trade product of the season, and not salmon.

I estimate that wapato, for at least the northern to central valley was the second most harvested plant food for the Kalapuyans, behind camas. Wapato ripens in an opposite season from camas, late summer, while camas in early to mid summer. Wapato too was cooked in underground pits, apparently the pits would be used for many different seasonal foods, camas, acorns, hazelnuts, and Molalla Kate even said they used a pit oven to cook bear. Pit-oven cooking was not only for camas bulbs as is famously known.

The Grand Ronde Tribe is working with the Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge to redevelop Wapato Lake. The lake was drained by 1936. Tribal volunteers have been planting the former lake bed each season. There are also Tribal studies of the wapato at Willamette Slough. Stories of how hunters have been using lead shot for generations to hunt ducks, in areas with wapato and this causes the tribe to use caution when harvesting wapato bulbs in these areas. The possibility that the tubers of the wapato have leached and become infected with lead are too great to ignore. Lead is a poison in high quantities to humans. Hunters should really be changing their ammo to steel shot.

The wapato at Lake Labish was not well know, not well recorded. We have a couple records of Molalla people gathering wapato at Lake Labish, and one record from the newspapers. Kalapuyans were excised from their lands by settlement far sooner than other tribes and so we do not have good information for French Prairie or Salem area about cultural practices.

The food plant is now in much greater focus today than any other time in the recent past. Tribal communities are looking into the plant. Umatilla is working on test plantings in their territory. We happen to have a great- perhaps the best- growing conditions within the northern Willamette valley.  But the plant is still rare, and need some attention to see full restoration.

My recent – last 2 years- of treks into Lake Labish has kindled an interest with me in understanding more about the plant. It helps that the lake is nearly in my backyard- about 15 minutes from my front door. Lake Labish, as I have written, was drained by 1918, to make extensive and valuable farmlands. The majority of the lake now grows onions, blueberries, and hazel nuts. There are other interesting histories with the lake, the drainage project, the dam project, the history of Japanese farmers losing their lands in WWII, the great train wreck of the 1880s. The train wreck caused a change in national train policies and laws and the engine is rumored to be still buried in the lake having sunk into the muck not far from Hwy 99/Portland Road. This is an interesting story, but recently I have found reports that suggest the engine was extracted.

Wapato Lake 2022

Sam, a farmer contacted me and told me he has wapato growing on his land, in restoration since about 2000. I have been visiting with various tribal and intellectual collaborators. In just two years there has been a 2 to 3x increase in wapato and tule with many colonies occurring around larger mother plants (one of more plants that are older than the plants around them). I predict that in 2 more years the full bed of this pond will be covered with wapato.

 

 

(2023)

 

(2024)