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 … [Read more…]
This past year I have spent a fair amount of time researching subjects at Willamette University and Willamette Heritage Center. At the university their collections are very good for the local area and politics. Their Chemawa records are beyond most other archives in the area, especially their yearbook collection and photographs. I have contributed to … [Read more…]
Over the years I have done a bit of research on the tribes in Oregon. My career in research has crossed from non-digital to nearly full digital for many projects. There is now perhaps 50% of the original manuscripts I use on a daily basis online and available for viewing or digital download. Many more … [Read more…]
A few years ago, I received a donation from the Charles Holmes estate in Salem, from the wife of Charles Holmes. The collection, are records from the career of Charles Holmes, a former teacher and staff member at Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon. There were some 30 boxes of all sorts of documents that … [Read more…]
When the western Oregon tribes were terminated, the federal government reported that we had agreed to be terminated. This story is pervasive throughout the region with tribes, Oregonians and history books all professing the willingness of the western Oregon tribes to be terminated. This story affected people’s identities, where members of terminated tribes were not … [Read more…]