Tag: watlala

colonization, columbia river, General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Native Issues, Oregon indians1 Comment

Records of the Cascades Watlala Removal to Grand Ronde

David G. Lewis, PhD

Joel Palmer’s letters during his superintendency lend themselves to a timeline for the removal of most tribes. Palmer penned orders and received reports from his Indian agents, sub Indian agents, local agents and special agents in a timely manner. Work that some may think would take months would be accomplished in a few weeks. There was an inexplicable high level of cooperation among many of these men. I have searched for reasons why they seemed to be able to accomplish so much with relatively little disagreement, no complete failures to speak of, and with great efficiency. The efficiency and ease … Continue reading Records of the Cascades Watlala Removal to Grand Ronde

colonization, columbia river, General History, Native Issues, Oregon indians, treaties1 Comment

Blanchet’s Mission to the Cascades, 1841

David G. Lewis, PhD

Blanchet’s mission to the Cascades is perhaps his first visit to this location. His interactions with Tamakoun, also later called Tomaquin, are quite revealing of the tribe and its divisions. The notation about villages on the two banks suggests a different leadership and some division in the tribe. Tamakoun does not suggest that the attentions of the Methodists or the Catholics are in any way undesirable only that there is a difference, yet he had become coverted to Catholic by this account. It is in this location that Blanchet’s ethnographic notes really show the tribal culture. His notes about the … Continue reading Blanchet’s Mission to the Cascades, 1841

columbia river, General History, Oregon indians, treaties, Washington Territory2 Comments

Fishery Politics with the Yakima Reservation Peoples: 1890s

David G. Lewis, PhD

Chilluckittequw: In what was to become Skamania County, the first residents called themselves Chilluckittequw (Ruby and Brown) and they lived along the rivers that drained into the Columbia between Beacon Rock and about Hood River. They spoke a language later classified as the Upper Division of Chinookan and could communicate with other tribes that lived along the Columbia from The Dalles to the mouth at the Pacific. Explorers Lewis and Clark (1805) called them the Smock-shops and other observers dubbed them Sahellellah, Shahala, Ninuhltidihs, and Kwikwuilits. American settlers named them the Cascades. (http://www.historylink.org/File/7811) Context The Cascades/Watlala peoples of the middle … Continue reading Fishery Politics with the Yakima Reservation Peoples: 1890s

columbia river, General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Native Issues, Oregon indians, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Cascade Watlala Removal in April 1856

David G. Lewis, PhD

My previous article about the Cascades addressed the general history and culture of the Cascades Tribe. I am now over a year into additional research on these tribal histories. I have nearly completed a full review of the M2 microfilm series (Oregon Superintendency) and found numerous additional details. The most startling yet found is a letter from Joel Palmer, preserved in his letter-books (M2, Reel 6), that address directly the Cascades and when they were removed. Previously I have stated: “The Cascades at the rapids, now Cascade Locks have their own unique history. Those Cascades where on the southern eastern bank … Continue reading Cascade Watlala Removal in April 1856