Tag: Portland

columbia river, General History, Oregon indiansLeave a comment

Signs of Burning over the Columbia Bayou

David G. Lewis, PhD

The area of the south bank of the Columbia between the Sandy and Willamette Rivers is of particular interest to the tribes who once lived there, villages of families and bands of the Cascades Watlala. Historically, there is not too much known of the region beyond the records of the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1805-1806. In 1806, the expedition stopped at and recorded several villages of people, one quite large with 25 houses noted on their map. The journals of the expedition record that these villages were the winter villages of the Cascades Watlala peoples. they would arrive in … Continue reading Signs of Burning over the Columbia Bayou

assimilation, General History, Oregon indians, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Chief Eagle Horse Baritone Singer from Alaska

David G. Lewis, PhD

Charlie Cutter, a student of Chemawa Indian school from about 1898 to 1902 was a noted baritone singer. Cutter was born in Shaken Alaska in1880  and had a native name, Dockh-hoh-kharckh,  which was difficult to pronounce, so the Indian agents just called him Charlie Cutter while at school. He is noted to come from the Klawock tribe of Southwest Alaska.  Newspaper accounts suggest that he had encountered missionaries for the first time as a child and became interested in going to school in the south. In Chemawa he was an older student, which was not uncommon for the time.   He … Continue reading Chief Eagle Horse Baritone Singer from Alaska

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon Coast, Oregon indians, Siletz Reservation3 Comments

Devil’s Lake and Salmon River Encampment

David G. Lewis, PhD

Devil’s Lake is in Lincoln City, in fact it is the only such lake and state park completely contained within a city in Oregon. The lake extends along the eastern edge of Lincoln City and is defined by a ring of vacation and residential homes which ring the lake on all sides. The lake is drained by the “D” River, the shortest river in the world (self-defined) which is about 100 yards long and empties onto the main beach at Lincoln City. The Lake is part of a string of such lakes that line the coastline of Oregon, from the … Continue reading Devil’s Lake and Salmon River Encampment

columbia river, eastern oregon, General History, Native Issues, Oregon indians, Uncategorized, Willamette ValleyLeave a comment

Alexander Phimister Proctor in Oregon

David G. Lewis, PhD

Alexander Phimister Proctor (1860-1950), is born in Canada and becomes one of the most famed American sculptors of his time. He worked extensively in the American West and especially in Oregon. He studied in France under the Master Sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and thereafter sought to exemplify the traditional philosophy of his teacher of Simplicity, Nobility, and Dignity.  The other major influence was Proctor’s personal experiences in the American West. He first travels to Montana in 1897 and again in 1914 to capture images of Native peoples in their natural state. Thereafter, Proctor gains a steady stream of commissions to produce … Continue reading Alexander Phimister Proctor in Oregon

UncategorizedLeave a comment

Tilikum, Tilicum, or Tilix[schwa]m

David G. Lewis, PhD

I was involved with the naming of the new Portland bridge this past year. I was invited onto the committee and it was a very interesting process. when we got down to the final names Tilicum was chosen over all others. This was a suggestion from many Portlanders and the suggestion of the tribe. But when we deliberated the spelling there was some variation. We could have spelled it Tilixem (with X being another character sounding like the clearing of your throat, and the “e” being actually upside down and a schwa symbol) as well as this is how it … Continue reading Tilikum, Tilicum, or Tilix[schwa]m