Tag: Oregon

assimilation, education, General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Personal History, Termination, treaties1 Comment

Development of Tribal Cultural Identity at the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation

David G. Lewis, PhD

A good number of people have over the years shown some confusion about the identity of the tribal members at the Grand Ronde tribe. Many natives and non-natives still do not understand the impact of the removal of the people from their lands, their assimilation to American society, and the somewhat unique situation of being terminated in 1954.  It is not that termination is unique to Grand Ronde, because 109 tribes were terminated nationally, but there are few other reservations that can claim 27 to 35 tribes and be terminated, leaving many people without federal status and related to so … Continue reading Development of Tribal Cultural Identity at the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation

coos bay, General History, Oregon Coast, Oregon indians, treaties, Umpqua Valley4 Comments

Preparing for Purchase, First Indian Agent in Coos Bay, 1853

David G. Lewis, PhD

When Joel Palmer was appointed to Superintendent of Indian Affairs in May 1853 he had a good working knowledge of the tribes but had never visited the southern Oregon coast. He began to scope out and plan how southwestern Oregon was to be managed as there were numerous tribes in that region. His first effort was to halt the Rogue River War which was raging in the area of the gold mines of southern Oregon. Palmer teamed up with General Joe Lane to bring the war to a swift end with a treaty of peace (9/8/1853) and a treaty of … Continue reading Preparing for Purchase, First Indian Agent in Coos Bay, 1853

Anthropology, colonization, columbia river, General History, Native Issues, Oregon indians1 Comment

Baleful Gifts of Civilization: Smallpox Epidemic 1853

David G. Lewis, PhD

  It is well recording in numerous sources that diseases from Europe came with the exploring Whitemen and infected millions of the indigenous peoples of the World with waves of pandemics, causing the death of more people in the exploratory period than all of the wars of humankind. An estimated 100-300 million indigenous peoples worldwide died in this manner, a number which is a broad estimate because no one knows for sure how many indigenous peoples existed before the disease and viruses visited them. Many indigenous people, those of the island communities, Australia, and the Americas had no resistance to … Continue reading Baleful Gifts of Civilization: Smallpox Epidemic 1853

colonization, eastern oregon, General History, Oregon indians, Rogue Valley, treaties1 Comment

Major Benjamin Alvord discusses Eastern Oregon Settlement, 1853

David G. Lewis, PhD

In 1853, the former Superintendent of Indian Affairs of Oregon Anson Dart had been forced to resign as none of his nineteen treaties with the tribes were ratified. Joel Palmer took this position in late May. Palmer was already a well-healed politician, and probably knew most people in Oregon at the time, and had previously had many dealings with the tribes. In the summer of 1853 Palmer was engaged with trying to get a  handle on the many issues with the tribes, mainly those in Southern Oregon captivated his attention. The months before his appointment the US Army was the … Continue reading Major Benjamin Alvord discusses Eastern Oregon Settlement, 1853

Anthropology, General History, Native Issues, Oregon indians3 Comments

We Tricked them-We Are All One People

David G. Lewis, PhD

Aunt Pat in a low whispering voice was speaking to me before a Culture Committee meeting at Grand Ronde. Pat Allen was the chair and I was vice-chair, and I had learned not too much earlier that Pat and I are distantly related through the Tom family, probably called shirt-tail cousins among the rez folks. Pat had become a close confidant and had grown up at the Warm Springs Reservation along with her sister Cheryle Kennedy, the tribal chair. Their mother and father had met during the WWII at the Kaiser shipyards, formed a bond and moved to Warm Springs … Continue reading We Tricked them-We Are All One People