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General History, Oregon indians, Uncategorized, Willamette ValleyLeave a comment

Kalapuya Village of Chemaway

David G. Lewis, PhD

Previous to the settlement of the Oregon Territory the Chemawa (Chemaway) village was located a few miles south of the Village of Champoeg. Little is known about this village. The area did not become a major settler community and as such did not get the attention of larger settlements like Champoeg or Chemeketa (Salem).  Its likely that the remaining Kalapuya people were subsumed by the Kalapuya villages at Champoeg or Chemeketa. It was common during this time, after the malarial epidemics (beginning 1829), which cause a dramatic population decline (90-97%),  for the Tribes to choose to confederate together at the … Continue reading Kalapuya Village of Chemaway

General History, Oregon indians, Uncategorized, Willamette Valley5 Comments

The Kalapuya Village of Champoeg

David G. Lewis, PhD

Champoeg is a monument to early Oregon settlement by French- Canadians and Americans from the 1820s to the 1850s. Champoeg, situated on the edge of the French Prairie, the breadbasket of early pioneer Oregon territory, served as a center of community governance, as a cultural center and as a trade port where shipments of grains and other trade goods (fleece, wheat, timber, vegetables) would be sent downriver to Oregon City. There these products may be processed in mills and factories (powered by the Falls) into flour, lumber or woolens and be shipped to world markets. Champoeg was the community which … Continue reading The Kalapuya Village of Champoeg