Jefferson's West: The Lewis and Clark 1)Bicentennial Begins

Broadcast: Jan 26 2003

 

The Lewis and Clark Fife and Drum Corps¹ helped launch the expedition bicentennial, evoking² the music and pageantry of a young American nation. The musicians come from Saint Charles, Missouri, near where the journey originated. But they traveled east to Thomas Jefferson's home at Monticello for the official opening of the ²⁾commemoration.

"This was where it all started, at Monticello, in the mind of Thomas Jefferson," Dayton Duncan, who helped host the opening ceremony. He's devoted³ much of his writing and filmmaking career to the Lewis and Clark expedition." I've compared it often to the race in space, The Corps of Discovery, like the astronauts, were military men. The big keelboat going up the Missouri River was the Saturn⁴ booster rocket. This was Mission Control behind me - Monticello," he explained.

On January 18, 1803, Thomas Jefferson sent a confidential⁵ message to the U.S. Congress, requesting funds for an exploration party to the west coast. In 1804, expedition leaders William Clark and Meriwether Lewis began a two-year journey that would take them from what's now the midwestern city of Saint Louis, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. They were joined along the way by a young Indian woman named Sacajawea. Carrying a child on her back, she became their guide.

"The Lewis and Clark journey in many ways becomes our great national road story. It's made by a whole community, men from many different racial and ethnic⁶ backgrounds, a woman and a child," University of Tulsa professor James Ronda was the keynote speaker at the Monticello ceremony.

"This journey begins the process of Americans looking westward⁷, thinking about mobility⁸ as a way to find a new tomorrow," said Mr. Ronda. "So many of those white Americans who go into the west find disaster and tragedy and suffering. And they carry with them the seeds for the suffering of native people. But if we want to understand beginnings, then we need to learn to look to this journey as one of the moments when we can see what it is that we will become."

James Ronda says interest in Lewis and Clark has surged since the early 1960s, when historian Donald Jackson published correspondence from the expedition. Donald Jackson also encouraged scholars to look beyond Lewis and Clarkand see the expedition as a story with many characters and dramas. James Ronda points to Native American contributions as especially important.

"Native people provide information, maps, guidance, hospitality, food. They are the ones who help carry luggage over the ³⁾Continental¹⁰ Divide. If you take native people out of this story, you don't have a story," he went on to say.

The bicentennial exposition included an honor song performed by Monacan Indian Daniel Redelk Gear. His people have long inhabited the region where Monticello is located. Some Native Americans are avoiding bicentennial events, saying they're a painful reminder¹² of how western exploration damaged their way of life. But others are using the bicentennial to call attention to their heritage.

"My fourth great grandfather was Chief Concomly who met Lewis and Clark at the mouth of the Columbia in 1805. And his group directed them to a safer place to camp for the night, they and provided them with salmon¹³ to eat," Chinook Indian chief Cliff Snider was a featured speaker at the commemoration.

"I'm using it as a format⁹ to help my tribe regain¹⁴ recognition," he stressed. "We were put at the mouth of the Columbia River as the first people at the beginning of time by the Creator. And we are still here today, 2,000 [members] strong." The bicentennial has also captured the attention of environmentalists. David Ellenberger of Bozeman, Montana is the Lewis and Clark Campaign Outreach Coordinator¹⁵ for the Sierra Club. He said the environmental group is working both to protect and promote interest in the Lewis and Clark trail.

"We have been working to get people out in the woods, to have them experience what's left in the West, what beautiful animal creatures we have left, like ⁴⁾bison and ⁵⁾grizzly¹⁶ bears and ⁶⁾elks, and to have them go home and talk to their people in Congress to build a monument of lands and wildlife for the Lewis and Clark bicentennial," he said.

A series of commemoration events begin soon in historic settlements in the Missouri River Valley, where the expedition began. Doug Aken, the executive director of the Missouri Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council, hopes those events will help revitalize old communities:

"So it's bringing people to new places along the Lewis and Clark trail," he said." I think many states, including Missouri, are hoping people have an interest in settling or doing business or coming back to these small places."

If people are commemorating¹⁷ the Lewis and Clark expedition for many reasons, a prevailing¹⁸ theme is that everyone has a voice. Monacan Indian Karenne Wood struck that inclusive note with a poem she wrote for opening ceremonies. It's called Homeland," and it ends with these words: "Nothing was discovered, everything was already loved. We who embrace our father's homeland, hand this love to you, whose faces rise out of the ground, looking west. In our tongues we welcome the people who follow us here. Thank you very much."

The Lewis and Clark commemoration will end in 2006 with another series of events in Missouri, where the explorers completed their round trip journey.

I'm Nancy Beardsley.

1)      bicentennial [5baisen5tenjEl]n. 二百年, 二百周年纪念

2)      commemoration [kE7memE5reiFEn]n. 纪念, 纪念会

3)      continental [7kCnti5nentl]adj. 大陆的, 大陆性的

4)      bison [5baisn]n.美洲或欧洲的野牛

5)      grizzly bears n. 灰熊

6)      elk¹¹ [elk]n.[动]麋鹿

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 evoking   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中，但不发生症状。
• Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前，全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

5 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

8 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

9 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

10 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

11 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

12 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

13 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

14 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

15 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

16 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

17 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

18 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。