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Oregon Multicultural Archives: Native American People and Culture

Native American Voices in the PNW

Voices of the River ~ a journal published by the nonprofit Confluence, is designed to elevate Indigenous perspectives in how people understand the Columbia River and its tributaries. The journal features articles, stories, poetry, and artwork by Native American writers and artists from Northwest tribes.

Champinefu Series: Indigenous Placekeeping in Corvallis and at the Confluence ~ Recorded Lecture Series

Special Project and Statewide Resources

Oregon Tribal Archives Institute (OTAI) - The OTAI is the culmination of a two-year grant project dedicated to assisting Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes with their archives and records management needs.

Oregon Experience: Broken Treaties (Season 11 Episode 1103 | 59m 19s): Hundreds of books exist about the Lewis and Clark expedition and the decades of pioneers who followed them West. But even today, most Oregonians don't know much about the people who had settled here centuries before "the settlers" came. "Broken Treaties" introduces viewers to the tribes of our state and explores a thread of the Oregon story that hasn't been told very well over the years.

Oregon Experience: The Modoc War (Season 6 Episode 602 | 57m 27s) The Modoc War of 1872 to 1873 was one of the costliest American Indian wars in U.S. history, considering the number of people involved. For nearly seven months, a handful of Modoc Indian warriors and their families held off hundreds of U.S. Army soldiers.

Land Acknowledgements: a guide to serve as an introduction to land acknowledgements; it consists of general information regarding acknowledgements, tribal communities in Oregon, including OSU resources, and the land acknowledgement statement by OSU.

Oregon Historical Society - Native American Heritage Resources - digital resources, Oregon Historical Quarterly articles, primary sources information packets, and more.

OSU's Native American Community

Histories of OSU Students of Color Campus Tour Guidebook: The stories selected for this booklet showcase the impact and contributions that students of color have had on the OSU campus.

Minorities in the Barometer Digital Collection, 1960-1989: Articles from The Daily Barometer pertaining to multicultural issues and minorities on campus. All articles are organized in chronological order in full text searchable PDFs. The PDFs are organized by year; each PDF file begins with a Table of Contents listing the article titles and dates for the year.

"The Native American Community at OSU" Office of Indian Education production, 1993. Digitized from a VHS original held in the University Advancement Videotapes (FV 210:067). Length: about 31 minutes.

OSU's Native American Longhouse, Eena Haws (NAL) and PowWows Digital Display - Images and information regarding the NAL and past PowWow celebrations on campus

OSU's Native American Longhouse, Eena Haws (NAL) 2012-2013 Staff, Oral Histories Collection - 7 interviews, audio and transcripts, available online

OSU's Native American Longhouse, Eena Haws scrapbooks and photo albums ~ 17 albums are digitized and available online

One of the first known Native American OSU graduates was James Collins. Collins was affiliated with the Siletz Tribe and graduated in 1888. James and Benjamin Collins were siblings. Benjamin was a member of the Class of 1886. Apparently he died a few years after graduating, so there is not much known about him. Somewhere there is a photo of the Class of 1886 that includes Benjamin. A third (younger) brother may have also attended for a period of time in the 1890s. Our current understanding is that James and Benjamin's mother was a Siletz tribal member and that their father, George W. Collins, who was anglo, served as the sub-agent for the Alsea Subagency of the Siletz Reservation.

Associated Students of OSU (ASOSU), 1917–2006 (RG 11) The Associated Students of OSU Records document the administration of student government and its interaction with other campus organizations, offices, and bodies primarily for the 1960s through the 1990s.

President’s Office (RG 13)

  • Subgroup 16 (Byrne), series 7 – Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs committee materials, 1987–1995 (3 folders)

  • Subgroup 17 (Risser), series 3 – correspondence with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, 1997

Student Affairs (RG 102)

  • Accession 95:032 – Includes a file on the Native American Longhouse from 1973.

  • Accession 2000:047 – Includes information on the Native American Longhouse

Extension Service Records (RG 111)

  • Subgroup 1 (Reports) – includes annual reports of the Extension Service program on the Warm Springs reservation from 1955 to 1980.

  • Subgroup 2 (Director’s Office), series 1 includes files pertaining to programs, projects and agreements with tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1931–1977

  • Subgroup 2 (Director’s Office), series 2 includes a file on the Chicano-Indian Study Center of Oregon (CISCO), 1971–1972

University Advancement (RG 210)

Accession 2006:010 includes files pertaining to the Native American Longhouse (primarily the 1999 Sacred Landscapes conference); the Museum at Warm Springs (OSU’s vice president for University Advancement was a board member), 2000–2002; the OSU Native American Roundtable (discussion group), 2003; and Native American relations generally, 2000–2003.

OSU Historical File (P 25)

  • P25:613–618 Siletz or Grand Ronde Indians at a celebration?, ca. 1920

News and Communication Services Photograph Collection (P 57)

  • P57:645 – Native Americans (Warm Springs?) on horseback in the Tygh Valley, 1901. Includes Washington Peter, head man.

  • P57: 5445–5455 – Photographs of the Native American Club’s first pow-wow, October 1977 (used in December 1977 Oregon Stater)

University Publications Photographs (P 94)

  • Accession 2001:105 – photographs of undated pow-wow

  • Accession 2004:036, box 2

    • Native Americans, November 1987 – Native American student activities; includes some Native American Longhouse images; pow-wow

    • Wilma Mankiller speaking on campus and pow-wow, fall 1988

Other Resources

NDN History Research: Indigenous, Public, and Critical Essays website by Dr. David G. Lewis

Federal Records - Bureau of Indian Affairs

Report books of the Office of Indian Affairs, 1838–1885.
E93 .U55 Valley Microfilm

Indian hostilities in Oregon and Washington [microform]: message from the President of the United States, communicating information relative to Indian hostilities in the territories of Oregon and Washington…
1856 F591 .W4 reel 573, no. 5870. Valley Microfilm

Records of the Oregon Superintendency of Indian Affairs, 1848–1873.
E78.O6 U58 Valley Microfilm

Letters received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81 [microform]: Oregon superintendency, 1842–1880.
E93 .U54 [Lib. has rolls 607–630] Valley Microfilm

Indian census rolls, 1885–1940.
E98.C3 U5 (various reels) & internet resource

Corporate charter of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community, Oregon. Ratified August 22, 1936.
E78.O6 C631 1936 Valley SpCol Vault

Constitution and by-laws of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, 1938.
E78.O6 C62 Valley SpCol Vault

Tribal Documents and Publications

A history of the McQuinn Strip, by Gordon McNab, 1972.
E78.O6 M291 1972 Valley SpCol Vault

Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon annual reports, 1976–1984.
E78.O6 C19 Valley

The People of Warm Springs: profile: the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, 1984.
E78.O6 P46 1984 Valley and Valley SpCol Vault

OSU Publications and Theses

Warm Springs Research Project, 1960. Oregon State College. Two year study of the human and social conditions of the Warm Springs Reservation. 4 volumes.
E78.O6 O7 Valley

A theory of economic development at Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Oregon, 1962. Ph.D. Thesis by James A. Rock.
LD4330 1962D 49 Valley

Manuscript, Photograph, and Oral History Collections

Chuck Williams Photograph Collection (P345) ~ The Chuck Williams Photographic Collection documents the life and work of Oregon photographer Charles Otis "Chuck" Williams. Throughout his decades-long career, predominately between the 1970s-2000s in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, Williams photographed a variety of events, locations, and communities. His photographic record includes images of Native American communities as well as events related to environmental activism, cultural celebrations, Pride celebrations, food and agriculture, and the arts. His collection also includes documentation of Oregon’s scenery and recreational activities as well as national parks across the United States. The majority of the collection is comprised of slides, but also includes prints, contact sheets, and negatives. A sampling of Williams' photography of cultural celebrations is available online via Oregon Digital.

Marie Norris Collection, 1974-2004 ~ The Marie Norris Collection documents Norris' life and work as a Native American activist, storyteller, and historian and consists of materials created by Norris and assembled by Roger Weaver. Marie Norris pursued a life of active service to her Klamath community until her death in 1981. Roger Weaver met Norris in 1974 and was inspired by her to develop a course on Native American literature at Oregon State University, where he was a faculty member in English from 1962 until his retirement in 1996.

Native American Maps Collection, 1875-1972 – is a collection of maps of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in north central Oregon; a map of the tribes of Alaska; and maps of reservation lands in the United States.

Mater Engineering, Inc., Records – consists of records generated and collected by Mater Engineering, Inc., of Corvallis, which pertain to the company’s consultation work with various Native American tribes in the use of their forest lands. Oregon tribes represented in the collection include the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and The Klamath Tribes. The records include correspondence, photographs, proposals and contracts, studies, maps, newspaper clippings and publications, and date from 1920 to 1995.

Siletz News, 2007-2017 (MSS SiletzNews) ~ This monthly publication of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians is available in paper through February 2016 and in electronic form from February 2014 through April 2017; the latter are available online. This finding aid was updated to incorporate issues published in 2016-2017.

Walter Baker Photograph Collection (P 18)

  • P18: 259 & 270 – Chemawa Indian School, near Salem, ca. 1905

Extension Bulletin Illustrations Photograph Collection (P 20)

  • P20: 757 – Warm Springs Indians show their “War Dance”, Crook County (??), ca. 1920
  • P20:2521 – Siletz Indians, ca. 1920 (identified by Siletz elder as Oscar Wood and wife, Marthe)

E. R. Jackman Photograph Collection (P 89)

  • P89: 216–217 & 219 – Indian hieroglyphics
  • P89: 220–233 – artifacts from the collection of Reub Long

John Horner Photograph Collection (P 100)

  • P100:24–33, 35–38 & 42 – Siletz Indians, early 20th century
  • P100:45 – Umatilla family
  • P100:46–47 & 61 – Modoc Indians
  • P100:102 – Chief Joseph
  • P100: 89, 101, 103–104 – unidentified Native Americans

E. E. Wilson Photograph Collection (P 101)

  • P101:453–454; 550–562 – Siletz Indians, 4th of July celebration, 1910

Oliver Matthews Photograph Collection (P118)

  • P118: 802 – Hieroglyphics near Elk Lake, Sept. 21, 1928
  • P118: 1103 – Indians fishing form Shears Bridge, May 19, 1934
  • P118: 1167 – Diggings near Indian Cave close to Long’s Hollow, Sept. 26, 1935
  • P118: 2079 – Warm Springs, as it appeared from the road above, Sept. 16, 1937

Extension and Experiment Station Communications Photograph Collection (P 120)

  • P120:1165–1172 – Warm Springs Indian Boys’ Wildlife Management Short Course, July 1966
  • P120: 4054 – 4069 & 4074 – Images of the Warm Springs Reservation, June 1958. Includes the old school house at Shimanisho, which was made into a community center; 4-H club members and activities (beadwork, swimming); baseball diamond construction; sewing; canning.

Four-H Photograph Collection (P 146)

  • P146:2618–2621 – Indian dancers (hoop dancers from Warm Springs or Chemawa?)

Ralph Van Cleave Photograph Collection (P 156)

  • P156: 53 – Block house originally located at Fort Yamhill at the Grand Ronde reservation, ca. 1900

Gifford Photograph Collection (P 218) ~ This collection includes early 20th century images of Native Americans from the Columbia Plateau region and images of Native American participants in the Pendleton Round-Up in the 1940s.

KOAC-TV Films (P 207 F/V) ~ This collection includes color films made circa 1973 of the Klamath and Warm Springs reservations.

Oregon Pioneers (OH1)

  • 23. Rilatos, Robert, Siletz Reservation, Indians

Oregon Native American Language Sound Recordings (OH 12) ~ Oral interviews with members of the Coquille and Siletz tribes made by Portland State University anthropologist Joe E. Pierce in 1962–63 (57 tapes)

Oregon Multicultural Communities Research Collection Files

Oregon Multicultural Communities Research Collection (OMCRC):
The OMCRC is an artificial collection containing items of interest about multicultural communities within Oregon State University and to a lesser extent, the city of Corvallis, and the state of Oregon.


American Indian Science and Engineering Society: Contains clippings, brochures and informational posters on the OSU chapter of this student organization.

Center for the Study of the First Americans: Contains information on this research center that was located at OSU from 1992 to 2002. The center function was to seek evidence of the Western Hemisphere’s first inhabitants.

Fort Hoskins and Fort Yamhill: Current newspaper accounts of these forts that were ostensibly established to protect the Siletz and Grand Ronde reservations.

Modoc War: Transcribed newspaper articles from the 1870s to the turn of the 20th century pertaining to this 1872 conflict.

Native American Longhouse (Eena Haws): Newspaper clippings and a brochure about this cultural center.

Native American Student Association: Newspaper clippings and flyers about the activities (primarily pow-wows) of this student organization.

Native Americans in Oregon: Newspaper clippings brochures, and other information pertaining to Native Americans at OSU and in Oregon.

Warm Springs Reservation: Newspaper clippings, poster, and 1985 annual report of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon; 2009 MOU with OSU and delegation visits agendas and reports.

Locations of North American Native Nations and Cultural Institutions

The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums is developing a map showing the locations of Native communities and cultural centers. To date, it has added over 600 locations.

It is also developing a map of non-Native collecting institutions holding Native materials, which will be released later. If you can help get word out to non-indigenous collecting institutions, it will speed the development of the map.

To view the Native Nations map, go to https://www.atalm.org/node/504 

Doris Duke Native American Oral History Revitalization Project

From 1966-1972, philanthropist Doris Duke sponsored an oral history project that resulted in the world's largest and most significant compilation of 20th century Native American first-person narratives. The 6,000 recordings, transcripts, and related materials are housed in the collections of seven University repositories throughout the United States.

The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums has partnered with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the seven repositories to revitalize the collections. More information about the groundbreaking project, a list of the repositories, and a directory of the160 tribes represented in the collections is available here.