Ignoring Tribal History in a Contemporary Exhibit

On 10/26, 2019 I visited the Open house at the Oregon State Archives, Salem, OR, and was supremely disappointed at their new exhibit Rust, Rot, & Ruin, which documents the beginning of key industries in Oregon through the boomtowns founded by gold mining, logging, farming and ranching,  and other mining. Some of these industries produced company towns, which have since become ghost towns, largely abandoned by the original settler families who made their wealth off of these natural resources. The text has few, very few, mentions of Native peoples and Chinese people. There is a panel on the Chinese laborers … Continue reading Ignoring Tribal History in a Contemporary Exhibit

20 Years of the Southwest Oregon Research Project

  Southwest Oregon Research Projects & The Archival Collection In 1995, I attended an event that would impact me for many years. The event was a potlatch held by the Coquille tribe and the University of Oregon. There was given away copies of some 50,000 pages of information collected from the Smithsonian Institution to the Tribes of Oregon. It was amazing to see all of these national figures in anthropology and the university and local tribes attend and receive their gifts. I did not known much about the project then, nor did I view the collection. It wasn’t until 1997 … Continue reading 20 Years of the Southwest Oregon Research Project

Research at the Willamettes

This past year I have spent a fair amount of time researching subjects at Willamette University and Willamette Heritage Center. At the university their collections are very good for the local area and politics. Their Chemawa records are beyond most other archives in the area, especially their yearbook collection and photographs. I have contributed to the collection in a significant way and the availability of the collection to researchers is invaluable. Then, the Marion County Historical Society archives, a part of the Willamette Heritage Center, along with the Mission Mill, has good collections as well. Their mostly volunteer staff is … Continue reading Research at the Willamettes

Freely given: Ethnographic collections and their Informants

Tribal traditions, languages, ethnography are integral to research on the cultures of tribes. These are part the libraries of tribal knowledge that are somewhat preserves and lost over the past 200 or more years. Elders have stated that whenever an … Continue reading Freely given: Ethnographic collections and their Informants

Archival Research in Digital Collections: Where to find those resources online!

Over the years I have done a bit of research on the tribes in Oregon. My career in research has crossed from non-digital to nearly full digital for many projects. There is now perhaps 50% of the original manuscripts I use on a daily basis online and available for viewing or digital download. Many more are being enabled as I write. Digital is the future but still cannot replace good archival research skills. Here I am posting annotated online research links. Please notify me if any go out of date. thank you   Online Digital Libraries Berkeley, California Sunsite – … Continue reading Archival Research in Digital Collections: Where to find those resources online!