Indian Implements acquired by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1873

Contemporaneous with the now famed Summers Collection, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was also collecting traditional implements from the tribes on reservations in the 1870s. The Summers Collection is today a collection of some 600 articles from the tribes of Oregon. At least 300 of the articles are directly from the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation. Reverend Robert Summers, an Anglican minister was located in the 1870s in Mcminnville Oregon and extended his reach into the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation. There, Summers spend many days becoming friends with the Grand Ronde tribal people and purchasing traditional objects that they had and … Continue reading Indian Implements acquired by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1873

Digital Collections at University of Wisconsin

An Academia.com visitor suggested that I check out the digital collections at the University of Wisconsin. There, I found the full range of Indian Affairs reports all fully downloadable. As I had some spaces in my collection, I began downloading those most relevant. The 1852 and 1855 Indian Affairs reports were first. I then began working on the 1879 and later reports. Interesting that the data is much more detailed for these later years. The above Oregon population reports show the church missions assigned to each reservation, tribes assigned, acreage of the reservations and the federal acts and treaties associated. … Continue reading Digital Collections at University of Wisconsin

To Improve the Status of Our First Citizens: The Irony and Fraud of Tribal Termination

“To improve the status of our first citizens” Oregon Governor Douglas McKay, July 14, 1950 Introduction McKay’s comment, is meant to be a statement of assurance and commitment to the tribes from the Oregon State government. However the irony is that the agreement reached did not honor the promises implied. The tribes were not treated as first citizens, and were in fact lied to by federal officials. There was no improvement of the status of these native peoples, because native people generally were an outcast minority and treated very similar to how Blacks and Latinos were treated. Other non-terminated tribes … Continue reading To Improve the Status of Our First Citizens: The Irony and Fraud of Tribal Termination