Tag: fishing

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Native Issues, Oral History, Oregon indiansLeave a comment

John Wacheno on Fishing Rights and Land Inheritance, 1931

David G. Lewis, PhD

In 1931, John Wacheno of Grand Ronde testified before a subcommittee from the Committee of Indian Affairs at Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon. The subcommittee is investigating conditions of the tribes and calls Wacheno late in the day. The two previous witnesses were Mrs. Sam Riggs from Grand Ronde and a witness from the Klamath tribe, a Mr. Meekham. Wacheno’s first concern is that the Natives at the Grand Ronde Reservation are not allowed to fish on the reservation. At least one boy was arrested by the state officers but apparently was not charged. This situation is quite odd … Continue reading John Wacheno on Fishing Rights and Land Inheritance, 1931

columbia river, General History, Oregon indians, Willamette ValleyLeave a comment

Clackamas Fishing Culture

David G. Lewis, PhD

  The Clackamas were major fisher people in the Willamette and Columbia. The Willamette Falls is second only to Celilo in the lower Columbia for fishing for salmon. At the falls is also an extensive Lamprey eel run as well. The Clackamas also  appear to have had permanent settlement at all of their fishing villages year round. Their version of the seasonal round would have their seasonal fishing villages and camps swell by dozens if not hundreds of additional peoples when the fish were running.     Two notations about fishing villages in Drucker rate mention here. the first is … Continue reading Clackamas Fishing Culture

Anthropology, General History, Washington TerritoryLeave a comment

James Swan: Fishing Culture of Coastal Washington Tribes

David G. Lewis, PhD

James G. Swan is a legendary scholar of Native people of the Northwest coast. He is an early federal employee in the Oregon territory and lives in the territory from 1852-1855. He originally hired on as a surveyor and worked on both the east and west coasts surveying lands. He later worked as a customs inspector at Shoalwater Bay. He was a artist and a good observer of Native peoples drawing what would become some of the most iconic images of  the Native culture in the Oregon Territory. Swan’s book The Northwest Coast, Or, Three Years’ Residence in Washington Territory is … Continue reading James Swan: Fishing Culture of Coastal Washington Tribes

General History, Oral History, Oregon Coast, Oregon indians, Siletz Reservation, Willamette Valley4 Comments

Andrew S. Charles, Siuslaw Informant 1931

David G. Lewis, PhD

In 1931, the coastal tribes were in the midst of a lawsuit against the federal government. The tribes of the southern coast, between the California border and North of Coos Bay, had never been paid for their lands. The tribes signed the 1855 Coast treaty but the treaty was never ratified by Congress, regardless of Joel Palmer’s promises. Many of the tribal members stated in their affidavits that they had trusted the federal government to keep heir word and they had moved to the reservation at Yahats but that the government never ratified the treaty so they were never paid. … Continue reading Andrew S. Charles, Siuslaw Informant 1931