"We Will Make It Our Own Place".

Agriculture and Adaptation at the Grand Ronde Reservation, 1856-1887

"The Americans will never leave us alone. Let us not concern our hearts.... We will take [Grand Ronde].... [W]e will make it our own place." These words represent a dramatic decision and transformative vision that emerged in the Native communities of western Oregon in the 1850s. A member of the Tualatin band of Kalapuyans, perhaps Peter Kinai, recalled them for linguist Albert S. Gatschet in 1877. Gatschet's informant related an episode in which the respected Tualatin elder Kia-kuts consulted the ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.