07-01 The Shimkhin Project

Saturday, November 04, 8:30 am–10:00 am
Pavilion Ballroom

This live event will not be recorded.

Sponsored by the AFS Local Planning Committee


Chair: Lyle Cairdeas (Chachalu Museum and Cultural Center)

Forum participants:

Felix Furby (Chinook Indian Nation)

Anthony Hudson (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde)

Jedd Schrock (Linguist)

We will delve into the making of an Indigiqueer exhibit focused on 19th-century Atfalati Kalapuya healer Shimkhin (pronounced “Shim-hen” or “Shum-hin”). The show examines text translations of interviews conducted by ethnolinguist Melville Jacobs. We explore how interviews with Victoria Howard (Clackamas Chinook) and John B. Hudson (Santiam Kalapuya) demonstrate a history of well-respected Indigiqueer ancestors such as Shimkhin in Pacific Northwest Indigenous communities. We also explain how Jacob’s cis-gendered white settler bias skews translations and disregards Indigenous worldviews, leading to misrepresented, misunderstood, and often hidden histories of Indigiqueer folks. To undo this is a key path to cultural revitalization.