Tag: Chifin

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Kalapuya, Oregon indians, Willamette ValleyLeave a comment

Eliza Young: Brownsville Basketweaver

David G. Lewis, PhD

  Eliza Young (Indian Eliza, Liza), was a native of the Mohawk Valley. The Mohawk Indians, were originally called the Peyu (Pee-you, Pe-u) Kalapuyans and were re-named by settlers after the river was renamed by early settler Jacob Spores. The Spores family had come from New York in 1847, the original homeland of the Mohawk Seneca peoples, and brought that name with him. It was a practice for settlers to  rename their new settlements with names they brought from their original settlements from the east. Eliza appears to have been orphaned, likely as a result of the epidemics, perhaps malaria, … Continue reading Eliza Young: Brownsville Basketweaver

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Uncategorized, Willamette Valley4 Comments

Chafin Band Reservation and Village 1855

David G. Lewis, PhD

The Chafin (Chifin, Chafan)  Band of Kalapuya Indians lived in and around the Eugene-Springfield  to the Coburg area.  Their main village was likely on the Willamette River at the base of the Coburg Hills. This area includes the Coast Fork Willamette River (now MacKenzie) and included creeks and braided waterways as the river meandered through the valley. Jacob Spores arrived in Oregon in 1847 and is one of the first settlers in the area along with Eugene Skinner (at Eugene) and Elijah Bristow (at Pleasant Hill) Spores had a 640 acre DLC next to the Chafin village and later developed a ferry … Continue reading Chafin Band Reservation and Village 1855

General History, Oregon indians, Uncategorized, Willamette Valley1 Comment

Chifin Kalapuya Village

David G. Lewis, PhD

Before settlers to Oregon, before the imposition of the names of Springfield and Eugene on the land, there were native villages named by the Kalapuya peoples. Nearly all of these villages began with the syllable Cha- or Tsa-  and where spread throughout the Willamette valley. The name Chifin (Chafin, Chiffin) is a Kalapuya village name at the junction of the Willamette and McKenzie rivers. Described as being about the site of Eugene City. Chifin Kalapuya Indians were a sub-village likely related to the Santiam Kalapuya Tribes. Their neighbors being the Pe-u (Mohawk), Chelamela, Winnefelly, Yoncalla and Calapooia at Brownsville. Chifin … Continue reading Chifin Kalapuya Village