Tag: molala

Anthropology, General History, Oregon indiansLeave a comment

Horatio Hale’s Description of Oregon Tribes

David G. Lewis, PhD

Horatio Hale has been the subject of much attention by me in recent months, in particular his Ethnology and Philology volume 6, United States Exploring Expedition, 1846. His description of the Molala peoples is noted by many scholars as to the original source of the territorial and pre-historic descriptions of the Molala tribe. I have noted previously that Hale spend no time in his research with natives identified as “Molala” and received most of his information from fur traders at Hudson’s Bay Company and from missionary Dr. Whitman. Further research continues to confirm this as well as Hale’s reliance on … Continue reading Horatio Hale’s Description of Oregon Tribes

Anthropology, eastern oregon, General History, Native Issues, Oregon indians, Willamette ValleyLeave a comment

Ancient History of the Molala (La’tiwi)

David G. Lewis, PhD

The Molala (Mollala, Molalla, Molele, La’tiwi) are a tribe of Western Oregon. They lived on the eastern periphery of the Willamette and Umpqua Valleys. There were at least five concentrations of them: The Northern Molalla were situated in Dickie Prairie on the other side of the ridge from the contemporary town of Molalla, their village called Mokanti; the Crooked Finger Molalla, situated in Crooked Finger Prairie southeast of Scotts Mills; the Santiam Molalla, situated on the southern side of the Santiam River near the town of Stayton; the Tufti Band of Molalla, situated east of Springfield near the town of … Continue reading Ancient History of the Molala (La’tiwi)

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Kalapuya, Oregon indians, treaties, Willamette Valley8 Comments

Newly Found: The March 1856 Census of Indians At The Grand Ronde Reservation

David G. Lewis, PhD

The Census was found at the Oregon Historical Society Archives in the William W. Raymond Collection on May 9, 2019. That afternoon after my PSU class I took the opportunity to check out a few leads looking for information from Indian agents on the Oregon Coast. Raymond is not so well known, but he spent some years as the Indian Agent of the Astoria District. He lived in Tillamook and managed the Clatsop and Tillamook tribes. Then in 1856, Joel Palmer assigned him to help with the Resettlement of Tribes to the Grand Ronde Reservation. He is there with other … Continue reading Newly Found: The March 1856 Census of Indians At The Grand Ronde Reservation

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Rogue Valley, treaties, Umpqua ValleyLeave a comment

Treaty with the Molala, Negotiated December 21, 1855, Ratified March 8, 1859

David G. Lewis, PhD

The Treaty with the Molala is the last treaty negotiated for western Oregon. Joel Palmer heard late in 1855, in fact in October, that there was a tribe of Indians in southern Oregon not yet treated with. (New information suggests he already knew about this tribe, see below) Palmer was able to quickly get down to the Umpqua Valley and negotiate the treaty with the Molala in late December. Of these Southern Molala tribes, not much is known. They are believed to have been close-kindred with the Klamaths, and when the Klamath reservation was formed in 1864, some of the … Continue reading Treaty with the Molala, Negotiated December 21, 1855, Ratified March 8, 1859

General History, Oregon indians, Uncategorized, Willamette Valley2 Comments

We Would Prefer to Remain in Our Own Lands, The Molalla People

David G. Lewis, PhD

The Molalla tribes, North, Santiam, and Umpqua valley (southern), were traders between the Chinookans to the north, the Klamaths to the south and the Paiutes to the east and the Kalapuyans in the west of their territory.  Their name is a corruption of the Chinook Wawa word “ulali” meaning berry or huckleberry.

molalla map Continue reading “We Would Prefer to Remain in Our Own Lands, The Molalla People”