The Lewis & Clark Bicentennial celebration has come and gone. Two hundred years ago, by now the Corps of Discovery was already a year off the road, basking in the glow of their heroism.

Except for William Clark's black slave, York, who spent at least a decade more in captivity. Mostly forgotten for a couple of centuries, York's enjoyed a mini-revival in the Portland area over the past several years. An elementary school in the Couv has been named after him, and a street in Northwest Portland, which has long carried the name York, has been confirmed as being named after him.

A group that's working on creating a permanent memorial to York on the Lewis & Clark College campus informs me that they're getting close to their fundraising goal for the first element, a sculpture. There's also hope for an academic center to study public memory, which in York's case suffered a bit of a lapse. There are some interesting podcasts about him here and here, and more information about the memorial project here.

There are worse things you could do with a few bucks than remind people to think about this remarkable American experience.