Removal of the western Oregon tribes to the reservations was a tumultuous affair. Caravans from the Umpqua and Table Rock reservations to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation (also called Yamhill River Reservation) took place in the dead of winter with several people dying on the trip. These “Trails of Tears” […]
Albert B. Meacham was an Indian agent in the 1860’s and 70’s and oversaw some changes in the reservations. He attempted to give the tribes some voice in this situation, worked to get the tribes to adopt western medicine, and began warning the tribes that their treaty funding was about […]
For years, I have stated that the tribes did not have bison in Oregon, so they would not have made tipis. This is why the tribes have plankhouses and longhouses made from woven mats. Tipis require a large animal to cover the tipi with their hides. This has made […]
Oregon Tribal Languages have been endangered for over 100 years. From an original base of some 100 languages and dialects, the number of surviving languages with speakers has dwindled to about eight. Most tribes do not have many elder speakers and the language programs are constantly searching for funding […]
Previous to the Americans and the British In Oregon, the tribes had numerous interrelationships with one another. Trade was a major part of the lives of all tribes. Some tribes had vast resources, but only in a few items were they specialized. The Chinookans, had vast amounts of dried salmon […]
