Wilbur J. Slockish, Jr., hereditary chief of the Klickitat Band of the Yakama Nation, was born in Wapato, Washington, on the Yakama Reservation, in 1944. As a child, Slockish fished at Celilo Falls, and throughout his life, he defended Native fishing rights reserved by treaty and advocated for environmental stewardship. In 1983, Slockish was one of multiple Native fishermen prosecuted after a federal-state sting operation that became known as "Salmonscam." After selling salmon caught under ceremonial use permits to undercover federal agents, the fishermen were accused of poaching fish that were later found in tributaries. Convicted in U.S. District Court, Slockish served 20 months in prison. After his release, he focused on water quality and salmon conservation, serving on the Bi-State Water Quality Commission for the Lower Columbia, on the Hanford Health Effect Subcommittee, and on the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Slockish in his interview; “Native American chief shot at, imprisoned for fishing in the Columbia River,” by the Associated Press, August 16, 2022 (accessed February 2026), https://www.kptv.com/2022/08/16/native-american-chief-shot-imprisoned-fishing-columbia-river/; "Wilbur Slockish, Jr.," Bringing the Salmon Home website, 2022 (accessed February 2026), https://columbiariversalmon.ca/bio/wilbur-slockish-jr/; "Oregon Voices: Johnny Jackson and Wilbur Slockish, Jr.," Oregon Historical Quarterly, Volume 108, No. 4 (Winter 2007), pages 706-716; "30 years after 'salmon scam' trial, David Sohappy is still on the river," by Phil Ferolito, Yakima Herald-Republic, April 22, 2017 (accessed February 2026), https://www.yakimaherald.com/30-years-after-salmon-scam-trial-david-sohappy-is-still-on-the-river/article_5dc2f63e-27d6-11e7-9b2f-276b99f27bf6.html; "Salmon Scam," Northwest Power and Conservation Council website (undated, accessed February 2026), https://www.nwcouncil.org/reports/columbia-river-history/salmonscam/; "David Sohappy (1925-1991)," by Andrew Fisher, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/sohappy_david_1925_1991_/

In 1990, the Washington State Historical Society, Portland State University, and Washington State University Vancouver formed the Center for Columbia River History (CCRH) to promote research, education, and public programs about the Columbia River Basin. The center operated for more than 20 years. Among its work was the Columbia River Basin Project (CRBP), an umbrella project supported by a 1997 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The CRBP included online exhibits, oral histories, and high school curricula about the history of the region's land, wildlife, and people.

As part of the project, CCRH partnered with the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s oral history program, headed by Jim Strassmaier, to gather interviews. Oral Historian Michael O’Rourke spearheaded the Northwest Power Planning Council Oral History Series, while Oral Historian Clark Hansen oversaw the Columbia River Dissenters Oral History Series, with aid from two Portland State University research assistants, Dannette Rowe and Tania Hyatt. In addition, CCRH conducted oral history interviews for a third project, Columbia Communities, and later donated the interview recordings and transcripts to the OHS Research Library, where they are designated SRC 1.

The Columbia River Dissenters Oral History Series culminated in 59 interviews (approximately 184 recorded hours) conducted between 1998 and 2001. Interviewees included Native people, activists, farmers, conservationists, fishers, and others who contributed to the shaping of policies that have had, and continue to have, significant impacts on the Columbia River Basin in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia. The interviewees opposed policies by agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bonneville Power Administration, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and advocated for alternative visions of management and use of the Columbia River.

Sources: “Voices of the Columbia,” by Bryan White, PSU Magazine, Fall 1998, Page 17; Center for Columbia River History brochure, undated (circa 2000); Center for Columbia River History website (accessed July 10, 2025, partially archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250215175329/https://columbiariverhistory.org/; email correspondence with Donna Sinclair, 2025; email correspondence with Tania Hyatt, 2025; Oregon Historical Society Research Library internal documentation.