Agnes Emma Baker Pilgrim (September 11, 1924 – November 27, 2019) was a Native American spiritual elder from Grants Pass, Oregon. She was the oldest member of her tribe, the

Takelma The Takelma (also Dagelma) are a Native American people who originally lived in the Rogue Valley of interior southwestern Oregon. Most of their villages were sited along the Rogue River. The name ''Takelma'' means "(Those) Along the River". His ...

. She was also the granddaughter of Jack Harney, the first elected Chief of the

Confederated Tribes of Siletz The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in the United States is a federally recognized confederation of more than 27 Native American tribes and bands who once inhabited an extensive homeland of more than 20 million acres from northern Califo ...

.McCowan, K, (2004) Pilgrim was Elected Chairperson of the

International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers is an international alliance of indigenous female elders that focuses on issues such as the environment, internationalism, and human rights. The group met for the first time in October ...

at its founding in 2004. "She was honored as a "Living Treasure" by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz, and as a "Living Cultural Legend" by the Oregon Council of the Arts."

Personal life

Pilgrim was born on September 11, 1924 having been delivered by Elizabeth Juliana Tole Harney, Pilgrim's grandmother who was a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

. Her family was poor during the Depression and survived with no electricity.Native Village Publications Grandma Aggie, as she was affectionately known, had a rich and varied working life ranging from working for the

Indian Health Service The Indian Health Service (IHS) is an operating division (OPDIV) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). IHS is responsible for providing direct medical and public health services to members of federally-recognized Nativ ...

as a physician's assistant, an alcohol and drug counselor, a scrub nurse, a logger, a singer, a

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...

, a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

in a jail and a stock car racing driver. Married three times, Pilgrim had three daughters and three sons. Pilgrim also had twenty

grandchildren Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

, thirty-one great grandchildren and a great great grandchild. In 1982 Pilgrim was seriously ill with cancer. Pilgrim claimed that she asked the Creator to let her live as she had many friends and family who relied on her, and that, she had a lot left to do in the world. Ever since that time she had a transformation and gravitated to a very spiritual type of life – even though Pilgrim admitted to have initially being reluctant to travel her spiritual path as she doubted her worthiness for this task. Agnes Baker Pilgrim spoke of her life, her calling and her philosophy in an oral history collected on January 23, 2018 on the banks of the Rogue River in Grants Pass, Oregon as part of the Stories of Southern Oregon project at Southern Oregon University.

Sacred Salmon Ceremony

A ceremony to welcome,

bless In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will. Etymology and Germanic paganism The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...

, and thank the returning

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

each year was held by the

tribe, as well as many other Indian tribes in the northwest United States and Canada, . However, for 140 years, due to the loss of traditional ways, the ceremony was not performed publicly by the Takelma tribe. To revive the ceremony, Pilgrim and her late husband Grant Pilgrim (Yurok tribe), visited with area tribes that continued to perform this ceremony. Following numerous visits to ceremonial and spiritual gatherings of northwest tribes, the Pilgrims brought back their version of the

ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

to Southern Oregon.Baker-Pilgrim, A, Salmon Ceremony '94–'06 Due to Pilgrim's contribution in returning the Salmon Ceremony to Jackson County, she is known to some locals as the 'Keeper of the Sacred Salmon Ceremony'. A great deal of interest has since been shown by the

National Geographic magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

and the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

and

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pub ...

due to the unprecedented increase in salmon seen in the river since the ceremony has been performed.Supriano, S, (6 April 2009) The ceremony is annually held on the bank of the

Applegate River The Applegate River is a -long tributary of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains approximately . Rising in northern California, it soon crosses the border and flows northeast then northwest to meet the Rogue about west of Gra ...

in Southwest

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Konanway Nika Tillicum (All My Relations) Youth Academy

While studying psychology and Native American studies at Southern Oregon University at the age of 50, Pilgrim co-founded the Konanway Nika Tillicum (All My Relations) Native American Summer Youth Academy. She was the Elder-Woman-in-Residence for the Academy.

The International Council of 13 Grandmothers

In 2004, Pilgrim was approached by The Center for Sacred Studies to serve on the

. Pilgrim was the oldest of the Grandmothers and was elected as the council's Chairpersonchairman. The Council has been active in protecting indigenous rights and medicines, promoting ancient wisdom. Pilgrim considered the International Council of 13 Grandmothers not to have come together by accident, coming at the eleventh hour to be "a voice for the voiceless." In 2008, she traveled with the group on "a trip to Rome to try to get Pope Benedict XVI to rescind historical papal bulls, which played a role in the genocidal onslaught of indigenous people worldwide," according to

Indian Country Today Media Network ''ICT News'' (formerly known as ''Indian Country Today'') is a daily digital news platform that covers the Indigenous world, including American Indians, Alaska Natives and First Nations. It was founded in 1981 as a weekly print newspaper, ''The ...

Legacy

Pilgrim's likeness is featured in the bronze statue, ''We Are Here'', in downtown

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population was 21,360 at the 2020 cen ...

. Pilgrim attended the dedication ceremony on May 24, 2013.

Notes

References

Agnes Baker-Pilgrim
(Official Website), Biography. * Doty, T

* Harcourt-Smith, J

* McCowan, K, Canku Ota (Many Paths)

* * *
Sue Supriano Steppin’ Out of Babylon
(2009-04-06) Interview with Agnes Baker Pilgrim - Chairperson of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers and the oldest living member of the Takelma Siletz nation of Southern Oregon

External links

Agnes' Official website

International Council of 13 of Indigenous Grandmothers Official Website"Grandma Aggie" interviewed on ''Conversations from Penn State''

Official website for documentary

Konanway Nika Tillicum (All My Relations) Youth Academy

For The Next Seven Generations Film Trailer

The Center for Sacred Studies

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20091221001556/http://conversations.psu.edu/episodes/grandma_aggie Conversations from Penn State – Interview with Grandmother Agnesbr>Statement of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers

Agnes_Baker_Pilgrim,_Grandma_Aggie._Stories_of_Southern_Oregon_[videotaped_oral_history
_January_23,_2018.html" ;"title="ideotaped oral history">Agnes Baker Pilgrim, Grandma Aggie. Stories of Southern Oregon [videotaped oral history
January 23, 2018">ideotaped oral history">Agnes Baker Pilgrim, Grandma Aggie. Stories of Southern Oregon [videotaped oral history
January 23, 2018* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilgrim, Agnes Baker 1924 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans Activists from Oregon American environmentalists American humanitarians Women humanitarians American women environmentalists Female Native American leaders Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest People from Grants Pass, Oregon Religious figures of the indigenous peoples of North America Southern Oregon University alumni Sustainability advocates Takelma people 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women