Spring Creek Project is honored to be partnering once again on the annual Champinefu Lecture Series. "Champinefu" is the Kalapuya name for the lower Marys River Valley area now called Corvallis and Philomath in Benton County, Oregon. Each year, topics and speakers are chosen by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.

This second lecture in this year’s three-part series will be a virtual talk presented by Joe Scott, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. In “Fire Is Life: Living in Relation with Indigenous Fire Practices of Western Oregon,” he will offer an in-depth discussion into the complexities and diversity of indigenous fire practices. 

Scott was a recipient of the 2023 Indigenous Place Keeping Artist (IPKA) Fellowship, and in this lecture he’ll be sharing his fellowship work over the past year. His work connects Indigenous people to the sacred fire resources and practices that have sustained people of this place through the seasonal round since time immemorial. Come learn about his work to restore the “high art” of tended landscapes here in Western Oregon through fire.

Joe Scott is a traditional dancer, singer, and artisan, and is recognized as a Language and Culture Bearer by the Siletz Tribe. He is dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional indigenous ways of knowing.

This event is free and open to everyone. Register here.

Content for the Champinefu Lecture Series is planned and presented in partnership with the Grand Ronde Cultural Resources Department and event logistics are organized by the Marys Peak Group of the Sierra Club. Additional partners include the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, and OSU’s School of Language, Culture & Society.