Tag: Klickitat

colonization, General History, Kalapuya, Oregon indians, Willamette Valley2 Comments

Klikitat and Twality Battles Over Land

David G. Lewis, PhD

Klikitats Occupy the Willamette Valley By the 1830s, right about the time that “fever and ague” a great plague, likely malaria (Boyd, the Coming of the Spirit of Pestilence,1999) hit the tribes of the Columbia River and Willamette Valley, Klikitat Indians began occupying parts of the Willamette and Umpqua valleys unopposed. It’s likely that they had been coming into the valleys, crossing the Columbia River in small groups, for decades, even hundreds of years. But, tribes like the Chinookans and the Kalapuyans were quite numerous and they would have defended their territory and presence at key resource locations, like falls, … Continue reading Klikitat and Twality Battles Over Land

columbia river, General History, Oregon indians, Umpqua Valley, Washington Territory, Willamette Valley8 Comments

Klickitat Bands Colonize the Columbia River and Northwestern Oregon

David G. Lewis, PhD

The Klickitat (Klikitat, Clickitat) tribal nation are for many people in Oregon, synonymous with “Oregon Indians.” In fact, Oregon still has stories of Klickitat trails, and a Klickitat Mountain in the Coast Range. Yet, the Klickitats are not originally from Oregon at all. Their habitations in the 19th century were the eastern flanks of the northern Cascades, that section of the range north of the Columbia River. The Clickatats claim a district of country north of the Columbia, but they are a roving tribe and are scattered about in different parts of the territory. Their number is four hundred and … Continue reading Klickitat Bands Colonize the Columbia River and Northwestern Oregon

columbia river, coos bay, General History, Kalapuya, Oral History, Oregon Coast, Oregon indians, trade, Umpqua Valley, Uncategorized, Willamette Valley2 Comments

Trade Between the Interior and the Coast; Kalapuyans, Klikitats, Coosans

David G. Lewis, PhD

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 because of owning the best salmon fishing sites on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, as well as access to all of the trade items in the Columbia River Trading region, a vast trade zone which stretched from the mid-west American plains to the Pacific Coast. While the Kalapuyans had lots … Continue reading Trade Between the Interior and the Coast; Kalapuyans, Klikitats, Coosans

columbia river, General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Native Issues, Oregon indians, Uncategorized17 Comments

A Startling History of the Cascades Indians, 1855-1862

David G. Lewis, PhD

On March 26, 1856, a year after the Willamette Valley treaty is negotiated (Jan. 22, 1855) there is an uprising on the Columbia near the Cascades. There are numerous versions of the story,  but it is associated  as an extension of the Yakima Indian Wars, where  Klickitat and Yakima and perhaps some Cascades Indians were upset with the Americans and killed some of them in a series of attacks on settlements and outposts on the Columbia River. The Yakima leader Kamiakin was upset about the invasion of his country and wanted to drive the Americans from the Columbia. The Klickitats … Continue reading A Startling History of the Cascades Indians, 1855-1862