2025 marked the ninth season of the Champinefu Lecture Series, which was founded by the Marys Peak Group of the Sierra Club Oregon and the Cultural Resources Department of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. The purpose of these talks is to inform the general public about local Indigenous lands, rivers, and people. During the past nine years, there have been 27 unique programs featured through this series.
The 2025 series was launched at OSU in October with an in-person program titled, “The Future of Indigenous Foods in the Kalapuya ilihi.” Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde who work directly with developing programs related to Indigenous foods were featured.
The November talk was a webinar entitled, “Indigenous Placekeeping through Tea.” It featured David Harrelson from the Cultural Resources Department of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. He is experimenting with the processes related to Indigenous teas.
Tarweed by Dave Eckert
The December webinar was a dialogue between OSU’s Dr. Molly Carney and David Harrelson as they focused on the cultural relevance of the tarweed plant and the importance of regenerating tarweed ecology in the Willamette Valley. That talk was called, “Kalapuya Placekeeping through Tarweed.”
Recordings of all three events are available on the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library YouTube channel.The website contains videos of webinars dating back to 2021.
Co-sponsors of the talks are the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, the Spring Creek Project, the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, the OSU School of Language, Culture & Society, and the Marys Peak Group. Champinefu Series programs and presenters are all chosen by the Cultural Resources Department of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.
Save the date! The first program of the 2026 Champinefu Lecture Series will take place at OSU's Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts on October 15. The topic and presenters are yet to be chosen. Admission is free.
For more information or to connect with the Marys Peak Group in the Corvallis/Salem area, please email MarysPeakGroup@Oregon.Sierraclub.org.