Tag: Umatilla

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

Surviving Oregon Native Languages; Online Sources and Links

David G. Lewis, PhD

  Oregon Tribal Languages have been endangered for over 100 years. From an original base of some 100 languages and dialects, the number of surviving languages with speakers has dwindled to about eight. Most tribes do not have many elder speakers and the language programs are constantly searching for funding to help the languages survive to the next generation. At least five tribes have active language stabilization and restoration programs and several tribes teach their language (s) in community groups. A few tribes have a language taught in regular school classrooms. The most advanced by far is the Chinuk wawa … Continue reading Surviving Oregon Native Languages; Online Sources and Links

columbia river, eastern oregon, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Siletz Reservation, Willamette Valley6 Comments

Houses of the Oregon Tribes

David G. Lewis, PhD

The question of what sorts of houses the Kalapuyans had has again surfaced. Over the years this question has been of prime importance. Many Americans, ignorant of the diversity and variability of Tribal cultures have assumed that tipis were the houses for all American Indians. This notion has informed generations of Americans and has been reinforced by media and Hollywoodian images of Native societies. In addition, the extreme focus on the Indian cultures of the American Great Plains by American society (wars, buffalo hunting, studies, religions) has caused the notion of the tipi to become somewhat larger than reality. The … Continue reading Houses of the Oregon Tribes

eastern oregon, Native Issues, Oregon indians, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Because they are Wasting the Lands! Colonization of Federal Lands by the Malheur Militants

David G. Lewis, PhD

The situation on the Malheur Reservation is very reminiscent of what happened to the tribes in the 19th century, when thousands of acres of Indian reservation lands were taken from the reservations and allotted to Americans seeking their piece of land, with the promises of opportunity. This notion maybe connected with that of Manifest Destiny, the idea that America has the god-given right to take all of the West and expand its empire to the Pacific. Its a very American model of taking land, because Americans are deserving of every opportunity, regardless of who they have to push out of … Continue reading Because they are Wasting the Lands! Colonization of Federal Lands by the Malheur Militants

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“I suppose you know you are leaving us many days behind.” Umatilla Reservation 1871

David G. Lewis, PhD

  On August 7th 1871, Indian commissioner Alfred B. Meacham met with representatives of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The mission was to discuss the possibility of the tribe relinquishing its reservation and combining with one of their neighboring reservations in Washington State or Oregon. The transcript of this meeting is found in the M234 series of microfilm. The series is mainly correspondence of Indian Affairs from the Oregon superintendency. the microfilm was accessed at the NARA downtown Washington, D.C. facility, but there are copies at many other libraries. This transcript is 61 pages in a report dated January 1, 1872. … Continue reading “I suppose you know you are leaving us many days behind.” Umatilla Reservation 1871