Tag: Washington

columbia river, General History, Oregon indians, Umpqua Valley, Washington Territory, Willamette Valley8 Comments

Klickitat Bands Colonize the Columbia River and Northwestern Oregon

David G. Lewis, PhD

The Klickitat (Klikitat, Clickitat) tribal nation are for many people in Oregon, synonymous with “Oregon Indians.” In fact, Oregon still has stories of Klickitat trails, and a Klickitat Mountain in the Coast Range. Yet, the Klickitats are not originally from Oregon at all. Their habitations in the 19th century were the eastern flanks of the northern Cascades, that section of the range north of the Columbia River. The Clickatats claim a district of country north of the Columbia, but they are a roving tribe and are scattered about in different parts of the territory. Their number is four hundred and … Continue reading Klickitat Bands Colonize the Columbia River and Northwestern Oregon

Anthropology, California Natives, Native Issues, Oral History, Oregon indians, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Tribal Oral Histories Are History

David G. Lewis, PhD

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 allowed to participate in reservation activities, as many non-terminated tribes assumed that the terminated tribes willingly agreed to stop being Indian. In fact terminated tribal people moved into cities and became “urban Indians”, a term many attributed in a negative way to be a racism … Continue reading Tribal Oral Histories Are History