Nch'i-Wána, "The Big River"The mighty Columbia River cuts a deep gash through the Miocene basalts of the Columbia Plateau, coursing as well through the lives of the Indians who live along its banks. Known to these people as Nchi Wana (the Big River), it forms the spine of their land, the core of their habitat. At the turn of the century, the Sahaptin speakers of the mid Columbia lived in an area between Celilo Falls and Priest Rapids in eastern Oregon and Washington. They were