Category: Oral History

Nestucca Accounts of the Great Fire of 1845 and First Encounters with White Men

November 11, 2021

There are numerous oral histories from tribal people in Oregon about catastrophic events, fires, volcanic eruptions, floods, tsunamis. Many of these stories are fantastically imagined and are likely stories of long ago historic events. These stories feature giant animals and figures like Coyote who is consistently tricking humans in some manner, and the action of … More Nestucca Accounts of the Great Fire of 1845 and First Encounters with White Men

Agent of Rebirth, Kalapuyan Culture in Linn County

April 23, 2020

The Kalapuyans, for their part, accepted the settlement of the whites at first, as they saw the great wealth in new things brought to them, metals, fabrics, weapons, and beads for jewelry were much sought after. But as always, there was settlement which brought came diseases, competition for food and land, and competing cultural worldviews. … More Agent of Rebirth, Kalapuyan Culture in Linn County

La’tiwi, Northern Molalla, Placenames and Housing notes

October 20, 2019

Phillip Drucker’s field notes from the 1920s and 30s had him questioning many Native people from the region, from Grand Ronde and Siletz. Many of these people were not living on reservations. His Molalla notes are brief compared to his work on the Tolowa and Clackamas. They are embedded in with Coos and Tolowa and … More La’tiwi, Northern Molalla, Placenames and Housing notes

Erroneous Tropes in Narratives of Removal to the Coast Indian Reservation

September 15, 2019

Digging through previously collected digitized documents, I found several accounts of removal of the tribes to the Siletz Reservation. These are worthy of commentary for the historical origins of many of the details emphasized. Its apparent that oral accounts are in many ways more accurate than written histories. A good number of early written histories … More Erroneous Tropes in Narratives of Removal to the Coast Indian Reservation