I watch the plankhouse fill up with tribes from across the Pacific Northwest. Representatives from faraway Neah Bay even show up, and the plankhouse quiets when they begin to chant and drum.

I have been following the history of Oregon's natives for so long, that it is refreshing to see the Columbia's culture alive today: I am not a native American, and I was never particularly one of those people who was interested in the romanticism of our native past.

But, the idea of the Oregon Testament - to go out and experience Oregon's native past through the device of travel is very important to me. The reason is this: I grew up as a first-generation American. My heritage is Norwegian and German. My family made this heritage a priority for our family. I felt like a Minnesotan and a European. When I moved to California, I was ambivalent about the place I lived in, until I learned that even gray Los Angeles had a vibrant, rich history.