Among the Indian peoples of the Columbia River, the dead were not buried until very recent times. Instead, bodies were wrapped in robes or tule mats and placed in canoes set in the woods, on rocky points, or in cedar vaults on islands like Memaloose. The name Memaloose comes from the Chinook word memalust, meaning “to die.” Lewis and Clark called it Sepulcher Island in 1805 and visited it in 1806. Memaloose Island was one of several “islands of the dead” once found in the Columbia. Today, many of these islands lie beneath the backwaters of the Columbia’s dams, and only one-third of the island below remains visible above the river. The lone monument on Memaloose Island marks the grave of Victor Trevitt, a pioneer printer, businessman, state legislator, and friend of the Indians, who asked to be buried there among the people he loved. Rising water behind Bonneville Dam led to the relocation of Indian graves during the 1930s, and only Victor Trevitt’s grave remains today.