After Hours Presentation to Feature Talk on Ancient Place Names

WALLA WALLA—Roberta (Bobbie) Conner, director of Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, will give a free presentation on the meaning of ancient place names at Museum After Hours on Thurs., June 27 at 5 p.m. at Fort Walla Walla Museum, 755 Myra Road.

Ancient place names in the Walla Walla Valley, such as Walawála, Walúula and Pášx̣apa, tell the story of waterways, features, myths, and fruits of the land. Locals are invited to try to wrap their heads and tongues around a different perspective of the places they call home.

Bobbie Conner is Cayuse, Umatilla, and Nez Perce and is enrolled at the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla. She is a graduate of Pendleton High School, the University of Oregon, and Willamette University’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management. She serves on the Eastern Oregon University and Oregon Historical Society Boards of Trustees and the Ecotrust and Oregon Community Foundation Boards of Directors.

Tamástslikt Cultural Institute is the 45,000 square foot tribally-owned museum on the Umatilla Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon, which opened in 1998. The Institute serves three goals: to accurately present the history of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla peoples, to perpetuate knowledge of their history and culture, and to contribute to the Tribal economy.