Celilo Falls

Celilo Falls
Name	Celilo Falls
Location	Columbia River near The Dalles, Oregon and Dallesport, Washington
Coordinates	45°36′N 121°10′W
Type	Seasonal cascades and rapids (historic)
Elevation	~70 m above sea level (pre-inundation)
Watercourse	Columbia River
Basin countries	United States

Celilo Falls was a major series of cascades and rapids on the Columbia River near present-day The Dalles, Oregon and Dallesport, Washington. For millennia it functioned as a significant fishing site and trade hub for indigenous peoples of the Columbia Plateau prior to inundation by The Dalles Dam in 1957. The site played central roles in regional transportation, commerce, ritual, and treaty negotiations between tribal nations and the United States.

Geography and physical characteristics

Celilo Falls occupied a constriction in the Columbia River where basalt flows from the Columbia River Basalt Group created a stepped channel, producing a series of rapids and falls. The feature lay downstream of Mount Hood and upstream of the Willamette River confluence, near the modern Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Flow regimes were influenced by seasonal snowmelt from the Cascade Range and the Blue Mountains, producing variable discharge that exposed channel teeth and islands during low water and powerful hydraulics during peak freshets. Geomorphology included submerged basalt benches, plunge pools, and gravel bars that funneled salmon runs of Chinook salmon, Sockeye salmon, and Coho salmon into concentrated fishing sites. Navigational impediments at the falls shaped the routing of Oregon Trail traffic and steamboat operations on the Columbia.

Indigenous history and cultural significance

For at least 10,000 years the location served as a major village, rendezvous, and commerce center for tribal nations including the Wasco Tribe of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, Wishram, Umatilla, Nez Perce, Warm Springs, Yakama Nation, and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Oral histories, material culture, and archeological deposits indicate continuous occupation and complex seasonal cycles tied to runs of Chinook salmon, which provided protein and trade goods. The falls hosted intertribal trade fairs and ceremonial gatherings where obsidian from the Cascade volcanics, tule mats, and dried fish were exchanged. The site figures in creation narratives and was governed by customary fishing rights enforced through social institutions of the Plateau peoples. Encounters with explorers and fur traders later intersected with indigenous stewardship practices centered on selective harvest, fish weirs, and platform fishing.

European contact and economic use

Contact-era activity accelerated with 19th-century fur traders such as the Hudson's Bay Company and expeditions including Lewis and Clark Expedition. The falls became an economic focal point during the rise of steamboat navigation, with portage routes and railheads serving Oregon Trail emigrants, miners bound for the California Gold Rush, and timber interests. Urban centers such as The Dalles, Oregon grew adjacent to the site, and entrepreneurs established commercial fish processing, cannery operations tied to the Pacific Salmon Treaty antecedents, and river transport linking to the Columbia River Highway. Treaty-making in the 1850s—most notably agreements negotiated at regional councils—altered land tenure and fishing rights, culminating in contested claims adjudicated later by federal courts and commissions.

Construction of The Dalles Dam and inundation

Mid-20th-century federal policy prioritizing hydroelectric development led the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Bonneville Power Administration to plan dams on the Columbia for power, flood control, and navigation. Construction of The Dalles Dam (completed 1957) created a reservoir that permanently submerged the falls and adjacent village sites. Engineering decisions were shaped by wartime and postwar industrial demand for electricity for operations linked to Hanford Site production and regional aluminum smelting. The inundation proceeded amid negotiations and compensation agreements with tribal nations and landowners, though many indigenous leaders and communities protested the loss of fishing grounds, cemeteries, and cultural landscapes.

Environmental and ecological impacts

The loss of the falls altered river hydraulics, sediment transport, and thermal regimes, with cascading effects on anadromous fisheries including Chinook salmon, Steelhead, and Sockeye salmon. Dam operations disrupted traditional spawning migrations and habitat connectivity, exacerbating declines already driven by overfishing, irrigation projects, and habitat modification. Subsequent mitigation efforts involved fish ladders, hatchery programs administered by entities such as the Bonneville Power Administration and state departments of fish and wildlife, and restoration initiatives by tribal fisheries departments. Broader ecosystem consequences included changes to riparian vegetation, waterfowl use, and cultural resource sites managed by agencies like the National Park Service and tribal cultural preservation offices.

Contemporary commemoration and legal issues

Today the former falls are commemorated through interpretive displays at locations including The Dalles, Oregon museums, tribal museums of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and markers along the Columbia River Highway. Legal disputes over fishing rights and treaty enforcement have proceeded through forums such as the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and the U.S. Supreme Court in precedent-setting cases involving treaty fishing rights; co-management agreements and compacts now govern much of the Columbia Basin fisheries management, involving parties like the Bonneville Power Administration, state fish agencies, and tribal governments. Cultural revitalization projects support salmon restoration, repatriation of artifacts under frameworks influenced by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and tribal sovereignty assertions. Annual commemorations, educational programs, and collaborative restoration efforts continue to foreground the site’s enduring significance to tribal nations and regional history.

Category:Columbia River Category:Native American history of Oregon Category:Dam removals and impacts