Sapáxikas Artwork Featured on Clover Island

Spotlights illuminate the Sapáxikas “Willow Fish Traps” artwork structures.

Sapáxikas Artwork Featured on Clover Island

Four artistic renditions of sapáxikas, meaning “willow fish traps,” complete The Gathering Place on the south side of Clover Island. The structures, which are situated along a public pathway overlooking the marina harbor, provide a dramatic vertical element framing The Gathering Place art installation.

The Port commissioned artist Kevin Berry who worked with the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to envision, refine and create these iconic structures. This new artwork honors the Tribes’ tradition of capturing fish by placing large basket-like traps, woven from willows and weighted with rocks, into the Columbia River.