Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley

by David Lewis, Greg Robinson (Cover Art)

From oral history to written word, learn about the history of Oregon through the stories of the Indigenous peoples of the Willamette Valley. The Willamette Valley is rich with history—its riverbanks, forests, and mountains home to the tribes of Kalapuya, Chinook, Molalla, and more for thousands of years. This history has been largely unrecorded, incomplete, poorly researched, or partially told. In these stories, enriched by photographs and maps, Oregon Indigenous historian David G. Lewis combines years of researching historical documents and collecting oral stories, highlighting Native perspectives about the history of the Willamette Valley as they experienced it. The timeline spans the first years of contact between settlers and tribes, the takeover of tribal lands and creation of reservations by the US Federal Government, and the assimilation efforts of boarding schools. Lewis shows the resiliency of Native peoples in the face of colonization. Undoing the erasure of these stories reveals the fuller picture of the colonization and changes experienced by the Native peoples of the Willamette Valley absent from other contemporary histories of Oregon.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Indigenous

240 pages, Paperback

Published November 14, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[David P. Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was privileged to read an advanced copy of Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley and shared the following with the author and his publisher.

Lewis’s book is a must-read for every Oregon educator, field-based scientist, and natural resource manager in the Willamette Valley. In personal and accessible prose, Lewis shares “Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley,” which draws from his synthesis of overlooked records, scattered academic papers, and his direct experiences in the homeland of his ancestors. Lewis’s book contributes to the growing body of work by Native people about Native people and the places they have lived since time immemorial.

This book reveals the cultural and natural history of tribal people through settler colonialism, providing a critical perspective for understanding current and future problems of ecology and social justice. Readers will finish the text wanting to learn more and be ready to do more to preserve the wetlands of wapato, fields of camas, and the many places that carry the legacy of tribal people living and working in Oregon today.

Lewis gathers together politics, community, identity, and much more in this much-needed book about the resilience of Willamette Valley Native people who have survived pandemics, theft of land, and the destruction of ecosystems by settler colonists. This book will add momentum to the Land Back movement and invites those of us operating in Oregon’s oldest institutions to do more to acknowledge the harm caused by our founders and many of those who followed. If you live in Oregon, this book is mandatory reading.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

David G. Lewis provides an honest, balanced description of native - settler relations in the Willamette Valley of Oregon during the 1800s. Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley includes events leading up to, during and after the sweeping of native people off of their homelands as inconvenient obstructions to the westward expansion of settlers.
Real life events are always so much more faceted than the extremes and truncations that we are normally presented with. What does the commandeering of your homeland and everything you've ever known look like? How does it come about? What are the many and far-reaching repercussions? Does anyone help you? Do you stand your ground or resignedly see the writing on the wall and comply? This book fills in those gaps and gives a voice to the many differing experiences of the tribal people of Willamette Valley.
Although, slow in some areas, as academic books usually are, Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley is the necessary perspective of The West that I didn't know I needed.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had ancestors who settled near Brownsville in 1847 or 1848. Thank you, Dr. Lewis, for researching and publishing this other perspective on this period, when the native people of the Willamette Valley were pushed aside and impoverished for the benefit of my ancestors.

(To the long list of things I owe apologies for, I add my low star rating, which will depress the deservedly high average rating for this book. I cling to my idiosyncratic rating standards, which do not follow the near-universal rating inflation standards of this era. This book is well-researched, well-written, and deserves to be widely read. It contains truth that needs to be more widely known.)

[Catherine Kordesch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a detailed account of the true history of the Willamette Valley in Oregon, written by Dr. David G. Lewis, Oregon State University Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies & Indigenous Studies. Dr. Lewis is a member of the Grand Ronde Tribe, Takelma, Chinook, Malala and Santiam Kalapuya.

This long awaited book should be read by everyone who lives in the Willamette Valley. It is the story of a fertile valley occupied by thousands of people when it was first explored by Fur Traders in the early 1800’s. Over the next 150 years the valley was colonized and the rights of the tribal people who lived there were disregarded. Dr Lewis has done an amazing job of telling this story clearly and accurately with carefully annotated references to historic documents and maps. Also included is the story of his own ancestors that lived in the Willamette Valley.

[S. Wigget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Ooligan Press and LibraryThing, for this free ebook galley.

I was surprised to see an email from Ooligan Press, the grad student-run press at Portland State University. I occasionally receive emails from PSU's Alumni Association, not Ooligan Press--for which I worked as a publishing student over a decade ago.

I live in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and before reading this book only knew that the local tribe is the Kalapuya. The book covers all tribes in the Willamette Valley. Before reading this, I only knew Molalla and Clackamas as place names, not tribal names. I appreciate learning so much about the tribal history of the place I've chosen to call home... which makes me a twentieth-century settler.

This history book describes the Native cultures of the Willamette Valley. More than that, it delves into the details of relations between the Indigenous population and white settlers. A lot happened in the 1850s, with white settlers invading and breaking treaties and stealing land. Reservations were created then, and Natives were officially required to stay on the reservation--though many worked for settlers at low wages.

The book includes many direct quotes from primary sources.

The history starts with ancient times and goes all the way to the early twentieth century, with a conclusion about the present. This history includes interactions with settlers, the confederation of tribes, the creation of reservations, assimilation and possible citizenship, laws and Acts, missionary boarding schools in Oregon, interracial marriage, etc.

Over twenty years ago in St. Louis, I visited the Lewis & Clark museum under the Arch, and that was probably the first I learned of how white settlers really treated Natives, how they consciously intended to kill off bison and Natives. This book goes into specific details of one region.
No doubt similar histories need to be written about other North American regions. It's horrifying... but nowadays not surprising to learn about the betrayal, the arrogance, the delusions of entitlement and utter lack of fairness and basic compassion flaunted by white settlers.

I appreciate the section on basket weaving--arts and crafts are more my cup of tea than treaties.

Black and white illustrations include: antique maps and modern maps, vintage photos, a vintage costume etching, and photos of primary source documents such as, for instance, letters and census documents (with quaint handwriting).

The time period the book covers is ancient times (briefly) to the early 20th century, but mostly the 19th century. A lot happened in the 1850s--or should I say, this book covers a lot in that decade and a great deal was written about Oregon tribes during that time.

The author's closing statement addresses issues of Native poverty and how settlers to this day occupy land stolen from tribes.

Back copy includes a bibliography and a Historic Events Timeline.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing I most appreciated about this book was the relatively in-depth and balanced picture it created of the region in the nineteenth century. Not an easy thing to accomplish and it is clear the author dug deep into whatever resources remain to provide this perspective for the reader. Of course, he focused on the Native Americans and their experiences. However, there is seemingly so little to go off of, other than the commonly covered aspects of wars, treaties, and reservations that the book lacked a cohesiveness in its narrative. In other words, I assess it more as a resource rather than a book intended for a general non-fiction audience. Additionally, I was disappointed at times when I felt the author should have taken a step back to review something from a wider lens before delving yet again into another series of facts. The book would have benefited from some stronger editing as there was some repetition of events without any acknowledgement of it being covered earlier. That said, when phrases such as "as mentioned previously" did appear I was grateful but wish it was either done with greater consistency or just edited down to eliminate some redundancy. The inclusion of a couple higher-quality maps would have been really helpful to understand where things are in relation to one another (there are some but they were not that helpful to me). Overall, the book is a relatively quick and short read. I got some good perspective out of it and appreciate the research that has produced this comprehensive volume. I simply wish the final product had been executed better.

[Priscilla King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some parts of the Western States were "won" by the battles and showdowns Hollywood loved. Other parts, like the Willamette Valley in what became Oregon, were mostly purchased from quiet, peace-loving people who seemed to have worked out a sustainable relationship with their land...and then, too, stolen from the bereaved as diseases carried in by the immigrant population turned the older, richer families into a poor, segregated minority.

While this book raises a lot more questions than it answers, Lewis certainly seems to have done a thorough job of researching the tiny amount of history that was ever actually written--mostly by authors who were at least somewhat hostile to the people they were writing about.

A bottom line was set in the late nineteenth century, and never changed. Anglo-American settlers and their descendants had no reason to hate their indigenous neighbors. Mostly they got along well; peace was even cemented by intermarriage. Descendants of indigenous people sometimes destroyed their proof of tribal identity in order to assimilate into the now dominant culture. But somehow the bottom line continued to be that indigenous Oregonians were poorer, on average, than Oregonians of English descent, and although the richer Anglo-Americans would even agree that it was sad that their indigenous neighbor's ancestors got the worst of a land deal, they never showed any interest in giving any land back.

[Maileen Hamto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indigenous scholar and author David G. Lewis (Santiam Kalapuya) tells the Indigenous side of Western Oregon’s colonization story through "Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley." The book highlights the erasure of Indigenous voices in the predominant narrative about colonization. During the time of first contact with American expansionists, tens of thousands of Indigenous peoples inhabited Willamette Valley. Within a few decades, Indigenous tribes endured debilitating diseases, broken land treaties, and cultural desecration. White settlers intentionally destroyed Indigenous food sources and provoked attacks on the Kalapuya, Chinook, Molalla, and other native communities. American justice turned a blind eye to numerous assaults on Indigenous villages, as they knowingly created an unsustainable situation to necessitate the relocation of native peoples to under-resourced reservations.

A hopeful reader might take away the story of resilience. After all that the tribes have endured, they are still here. Many are engaged in cultural preservation. Another reader might connect generational trauma to the present-day economic, health, educational, and other disparities among Oregon's Indigenous peoples. This is an important book for advocates of Indigenous rights who are interested in digging deeper and beyond the prevailing myths that erase the truths about the long-lasting impact of genocide and colonization.

[John Lowry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I moved to the Willamette Valley just over a year ago and wanted to learn more about white settlement and how it affected the native population. This was the perfect book for that. The stories are sometimes repetitive, but I found that a good thing as it really helped the narrative sink in. White settlers came to the valley seeing it as a place to tame. There were conflicts between the native inhabitants and the settlers. Sometimes, at first, conflict was violent. Later conflict resulted largely from incompatible cultural uses of the land. Plowing the valley to grow crops wasn't compatible with the tradition of digging camus roots, a primary source for food for the original inhabitants.The native people's world was turned upside down in the course of just a few decades. As a result many white pioneers became wealthy from what they did with the land while native people were removed to the Grand Rond and Siletz reservations, making their way on occasion to the valley to provide the labor needed to make the land 'productive'.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live on land that was once the home of the Clackamas people, and am descended from pioneer folks who settled throughout the mid-Willamette Valley but from the age of 10 I have been aware of the indignities foisted upon the original occupants. I salute David Lewis, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, for the kind of research that was required to produce this book. Conversations with tribal elders, deep dives into newspaper archives and letters that have survived to present day provide a detailed picture of the historical claims and the deplorable attitudes of settlers and government officials. I was especially moved by an essay reproduced on pp. 194-197 written by a white man, John Minto, describing an event he witnessed when a large body of Kalapuyans gathered to mourn the loss of their land.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable analysis of the history of Kalapuya, Chinook and Molalla tribes in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, who have inhabited this land for thousands of years. Lewis is an Oregon Indigenous historian who has gathered documents, archives and oral stories mostly forgotten. His timeline begins in the 1770s and concludes in the 1980s. The period between 1848 and 1856 was dominated by white settlers claiming the land and determined to exterminate the Indian settlements. Indian agents in an attempt to protect the tribes moved them forcibly to the Grand Ronde and Siletz/Coast reservations which were underfunded. Many starved or died of illness and disease, slowly diminishing native populations. This is a painful history, mostly unresolved. Our native neighbors remain poor and marginalized. This is a history that we all need to be aware of.

[Cal McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an out-of-state transplant to Portland, I came into Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley with a very limited knowledge of Oregonian history, let alone Indigenous Oregonian history. I found David G. Lewis' writing to be educational and engaging. I appreciate how Tribal Histories provides access and insight into first-hand accounts of the establishment of reservations in the Willamette Valley, from the sides of both the colonized and the colonizers. It's truly infuriating how frequently the U.S. government failed to deliver on - or just completely threw out - promises made to Indigenous tribes and chiefs. The book isn't all doom-and-gloom, though; as an example, Chief Crooked Finger is a shining example of defiance through pettiness. Whether you're an established or temporary resident of upper Oregon, I recommend giving Tribal Histories a read.

[Coriander Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

You wouldn't think this is the kind of book you could read in just one weekend, but it certainly was for me. It's written in a very, flowing style that really draws you in.

Furthermore, it's a good balance of celebrating the cultural traditions and resilience of the tribes involved and just how awful settlement was for them.

The presence of the Willamette and the beauty of the Pacific Northwest can be felt throughout, and as much as it's a history of the people involved, it's also a history of the land itself, as the title suggests.

Absolutely beautiful, breathtaking review of history told by people whose voices are often overlooked. I highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn a bit more about history, especially Oregon or Pacific Northwest residents! :)

[Alan Spinrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not finish this book. In the first few pages i learned about the numbers andspread of nativeamerican peoples in the Willamette valley upon whom settlers descended. Í learned about the devastation of pre-existing communites bythe efforts of settlers to steal land and of non-thieving settlers to impose their agricultural and cultural ways rather than learn from thosewho had lived in the area for many generations. I also learned of depredations imposed by each “side”, butwith a distinct lack of accountability for the settlers’ misconduct. And I learned of the forced relocation of natives and their mistreatment. These same events repeated themselves over and over in susequent pages until i quit about halfway through.

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the in-depth history offered about ancient Indigenous life in the Willamette Valley, and how it changed with the arrival of white settlers. Relations between the two groups were both peaceful, and increasingly violent as settlers seized tribal land they had no legal right to. I did notice unfamiliar terms that weren't explained until several usages in, while the same information would sometimes be repeated without acknowledgement that it had already appeared. Still, having oral tribal histories united with contemporary written records makes this text a valuable resource for history in the area.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed history of the Kalapuya as told by a descendant of the Kalapuya people. Most of the book deals with colonization, but the anthropological setting of lifestyles, language and customs pre-colonization is detailed. Paints a different picture of what the Willamette Valley was like say, 2000 years ago, as a functioning culture.

[Marcia Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for every Oregonian. It was well-written history from a perspective that is not often head in history class.

[Kevin Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, a fascinating read. The horrors persist...

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading as a new inhabitant of the Willamette Valley, to understand the history of this place.

[Megan Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic historical reference for indigenous history in the now Portland metro area

[Rebecca Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important history, should be taught in local schools. I wasn't able to finish, but enjoyed discussing it in book club.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for anyone living in the Willamette Valley. It is so rare to read something so local - most accounts of indigenous history lump all the state and regional stories together, losing so much nuance. The one negative is some repetition in story telling; could use a tighter edit.

[Corinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Our people have lived in Oregon for more than thousand years and lived well off the land." p7

[Mad Hapa]

This book was more like a textbook than your standard non-fiction fare. I'm glad I read it, I learned a lot, but it wasn't what I expected.

The tribal history covered in this book is 85% from when settlers arrived through the early 20th century. I hoped to learn more about how the tribes and people lived before they were forced to live on reservations. Still a worthwhile read if, like me, you don't know much about the people who lived in the Willamette Valley for thousands of years.