A good number of people have over the years shown some confusion about the identity of the tribal members at the Grand Ronde tribe. Many natives and non-natives still do not understand the impact of the removal of the people from their lands, their assimilation to American society, and the somewhat unique situation of being … [Read more…]
Oregon City, the settlement town, was established by Hudsons Bay company in 1829, but there was already a Clowewalla village in this location for more than 10,000 years. According to accounts of John McLaughlin and the Catholic church, the first non-native building was a sawmill built to take advantage of the hydopower of the falls. … [Read more…]
Chief Kiesno was one of the most powerful chiefs on the Columbia River at the time of the fur trade and American settlement. He was related to tribes throughout the lower Columbia region. He is well documented in numerous encounters with a number of explorers, fur traders, and settlers. His time spanned the whole of … [Read more…]
In this new period of “wokeness” there are calls for the elimination of racist names and statues from our institutions. Christopher Columbus statues have been torn from their moorings and thrown into local rivers, while the statues of confederate generals and slaveowner politicians have been defaced and torn down by citizens in their rage. … [Read more…]
As a native person, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and a descendant of the Santiam, Takelma, and Chinook peoples of western Oregon, I have noted that many of the schools I attended were named for prominent persons in the settler community many of whom had interactions with tribes. I first noted … [Read more…]