Tag: Willamette Valley History

columbia river, General History, Oral History, Oregon indians, Uncategorized, Willamette Valley4 Comments

Kalapuyan Eyewitnesses to the Megaflood in the Willamette Valley

David G. Lewis, PhD

Native oral history is based on actual historic events of their tribal past. For the Kalapuyans this is also true. Some  15,000 to 12,000 years ago a series of megafloods occurred (upwards of 40 in some theories) in western Oregon. The glacial dams created by the glacial masses which reached the Columbia River during this period, caused a  massive lake or series of lakes to form up to Missoula, Montana, which scholars call Lake Missoula. When the earth began warming, the glaciers began receding causing cracks to form in the ice dams. A series of catastrophic breaches of the dams … Continue reading Kalapuyan Eyewitnesses to the Megaflood in the Willamette Valley

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

General History, Oregon indians, Rogue Valley, treaties12 Comments

Two Treaties of General Joseph Lane and Chief Jo, Rogue River

David G. Lewis, PhD

This is an article meant to clear up some mistaken histories. In the past historians have mixed up the two treaties and the meetings between Joseph Lane and Chief Jo. At times historians have attributed the 1850 events as taking place in 1853. The history of Oregon Indians is not a neat and clean history with clean divisions. There are multiple overlapping events with the same individuals. There is also a diversity of tribes, some 60 in western Oregon alone. In S.W. Oregon there were several Chief Johns and Chief Jos. Even the notion of the Rogue River tribes is … Continue reading Two Treaties of General Joseph Lane and Chief Jo, Rogue River

General History, Oregon indians, Willamette ValleyLeave a comment

Anson Dart’s Report of November 7, 1851: Contextualized

David G. Lewis, PhD

Anson Dart’s Report of November 7, 1851, Transferring 13 Treaties to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs: Annotated with Contextual Comments Here begin the full text of the Report of Anson Dart. I have worked to include every word transcribed, there … Continue reading Anson Dart’s Report of November 7, 1851: Contextualized

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indiansLeave a comment

The Grand Ronde Acreage History

David G. Lewis, PhD

The original plan for the placement of the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation may have come out of the effort to locate the Kalapuyan tribes on their own permanent reservations after the 1851 treaties. Anson Dart’s statements about the Yamhill Reservation as being remote and protected may be the key, and that Yamhill reserve location at Gopher Valley is actually fairly close by to Grand Ronde Valley. These treaties were never ratified but may have informed Joel Palmer of some well-protected valleys. In 1855 Palmer was finishing the treaties of western Oregon and when the Rogue River war erupted, began planning … Continue reading The Grand Ronde Acreage History