February 6 & February 13, 2020 Episodes.

​When we think about early Oregon history, stories about the pioneers coming along the Oregon Trail in covered wagons, Dr. McLoughlin and the early fur trappers, or perhaps Jason Lee and his mission along the Willamette River most often come to the forefront of our memory. There were, however, many hundreds of people living out their ancestral stories in our valleys long before the Euro-Americans decided to expand America's western frontier. Indigenous people of the coast, the mountains, the valleys and the eastern plains had cared for these lands for centuries.   In our local area, several bands of the Kalapuya tribe called this place home.

Our guests on this episode were Briece Edwards and Chris Bailey of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, Cultural Resources Department. We learned, among other things, that theirs is a tribal organization made up of more than 30 tribes and bands speaking at least nine different languages, whose sovereign lands span more than  14 million acres from the Columbia River to the California border, and from the west Cascades to the Coast range.

Chris has a background in education, and he finds the outreach and research aspects of his job reviewing various development proposals the most interesting. Briece's background is in archaeology, and he helps the Tribe recognize and implement their "landcestry," where the land itself is just as much a part of their ancestral heritage as the people who have lived on it. 

Their website explains that the Tribe is active throughout its ancestral homelands but is mainly located in western Oregon where it has a 11,500-acre reservation in Yamhill County. With approximately 5,400 enrolled tribal members, the Tribe is governed by a nine-member Tribal Council that is elected by the Tribe’s voting membership. ​Since restoration of their sovereign rights in 1983, Tribal efforts have focused on rebuilding tribal institutions, strengthening tribal culture, and developing service and educational programs designed to meet the needs of their members. ​

The tribes and bands of western Oregon ceded their traditional homelands over to the US Government through a series of ratified treaties in the 1850s [see map above, left]. These indigenous peoples spoke more than nine different languages and came from widely varying cultures, not all of them with friendly histories. This still controversial action was taken to provide for the ever-expanding colonization of the western frontier lands by the United States government.

The Tribes have created the Chachalu Museum & Cultural Center where they showcase the story of the tribes and bands of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community and honor the elders who kept tribal traditions and dreams alive during the years of termination, as well as highlighting their plans for the future. Check out their website for more information.

We always learn something new from each guest we spend time with. In this visit, Christy and I learned that in the native language of the Kalapuyan, "chi" or "che" translates into place. So, Chemawa, means place of speaking, Chemeketa means meaning place, etc.  Consider that bit of knowledge as you travel around our region with its many Native American place names.

To hear the full story, check out the podcasts: Part 1, and Part 2.

January 23, 2020 episode.

Historians are hired to research a wide variety of topics for their clients. Typically it is the lineage of a family, or the history of a property or an organization. Occasionally research is needed to clear up a question involving a property and its relationship with another.  This was the case with a parcel that was part of the Oregon State Hospital grounds that required the expertise of Kimberli Fitzgerald, the City of Salem's historic preservation officer, and our own research bulldog, co-host Christy Van Heukelem.

The OSH properties to the north of Center Street, east of 24th Street, are called the North Campus. Other than the Dome Building, a recognized historic resource, the other buildings were demolished in recent years.  The building at the far left of the photograph above is the 1887 Glen Oaks Orphan's Home.

This parcel was originally part of the Josiah L. & Elizabeth Winn Parrish donation land claim. The Parrish family donated 10 acres to the Oregon Children's Aid Society in the 1880's for construction of the orphan's home, as well as several adjacent acres to the northwest for construction of the Lee Mission Cemetery.  The Glen Oaks Orphan's Home was sold to Salem Hospital in 1887, and Salem General Hospital opened there in 1889.

This is where Christy enters the story, when the State hired her to research available records to find documentation that might substantiate the record regarding the disposition of these remains. This project proved to be a three-month-long endeavor, with Christy logging more than 170 hours in dogged research, including perusing pages of old newspaper accounts, questioning the record-keepers for period mortuaries, sifting through property transfer documents, even reading the numerous pages of a few Oregon State Board of Control Biennial Reports to the Legislature as she attempted to  "follow the money."

Although she did find records of the purchase and installation of a crematory on the grounds of the Asylum, she was unable to locate any documents verifying that the remains were actually disinterred and cremated, However, she also found no documentation that any graves or remains were discovered during the years of subsequent redevelopment on this site. 

Christy was able to ascertain that the cemetery probably extended farther than originally believed. She located 1950 survey maps from Boatrwright Engineering done prior to the construction of the Morse Building-Maternity Unit for Salem General Hospital on land recently purchased from the State, that demonstrate the boundary being farther west. An ArcMap Plot Map obtained from the City of Salem taken before the hospital's demolition in 2017-18 show the proposed building fully constructed on the site.

As so often happens when doing in-depth research, additional questions present themselves more often than real answers. Although it can be quite frustrating at times, we have to admit that this is often where the "fun" begins--just what treasures will you find in the next book or on the next map?