The Oregon Encyclopedia

An Authoritative and Free Resource on All Things Oregon

David Sohappy (1925-1991)

November is Native American Heritage Month

David Sohappy (1925-1991)

Born and raised on the Yakama reservation in south-central Washington, David Sohappy began catching salmon at age five and spent much of each year along the Columbia River. "That is where I ...

Edison Chiloquin (1923-2003)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Edison Chiloquin (1923-2003)

Edison Chiloquin earned international attention in 1974 when he refused to accept a $273,000 payment from the federal government as compensation for terminating the Klamath Tribe. He was the only tribal ...

Elizabeth Woody (1959-)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Elizabeth Woody (1959-)

Poet and artist Elizabeth Woody was named Oregon Poet Laureate in 2016, the first Native American appointed to the position. Woody's roots are in the Deschutes and the Columbia River basins ...

George W. Aguilar, Sr. (1930- )

November is Native American Heritage Month

George W. Aguilar, Sr. (1930- )

George W. Aguilar, Sr., is a Wasco elder and life-long resident of the Warm Springs Reservation who won the 2006 Oregon Book Award for Creative Nonfiction for his book, When the River ...

Halito (Chief Halo) (?-1892)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Halito (Chief Halo) (?-1892)

Chief Halito, commonly shortened to Chief Halo (meaning “having little” or “needing little”), was leader of the Yoncalla Kalapuya tribe and was married to Du-Ni-Wi, one of several wives. He remained on ...

Heinmot Tooyalakekt (Chief Joseph) (1840-1904)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Heinmot Tooyalakekt (Chief Joseph) (1840-1904)

Heinmot Tooyalakekt (Thunder Rising to Loftier Mountain Heights), also known as Chief Joseph, was a prominent figure among the Nimiipuu, or Nez Perce. He is best remembered as a leader during the ...

Henry Yelkus (Indian Henry) (c. 1843–1913)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Henry Yelkus (Indian Henry) (c. 1843–1913)

Henry Yelkus (also spelled Yalkus, Yelkes, Yelkis, Yal-kus, and Yelcus), a member of the Molalla tribe, lived at Dickey Prairie, southeast of present-day Molalla, Oregon. His father, Chief Yelkus (Kil-ke), was one ...

Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (1805-1866)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (1805-1866)

Jean Baptiste Charbonneau is remembered primarily as the son of Sacagawea. His father, Toussaint Charbonneau, was a French-Canadian fur trapper who joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition as an interpreter; Sacagawea proved invaluable ...

Kalliah Tumulth (Indian Mary) (1854-1906)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Kalliah Tumulth (Indian Mary) (1854-1906)

Kalliah Tumulth, also called Indian Mary, was a Cascade (Watlala) Chinook born in October 1854 to a signer of one of the main Oregon treaties. Kalliah was a strong, independent woman who ...

Kathryn Harrison (1924- )

November is Native American Heritage Month

Kathryn Harrison (1924- )

Kathryn Jones Harrison of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is one of Oregon's important tribal leaders. She is known especially for her work as a member of the Tribal Council ...

Kiesno (Chief Cassino) (1779?-1848)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Kiesno (Chief Cassino) (1779?-1848)

Chief Kiesno (his name has also been spelled Keasno, Casino, Kiyasnu, Q’iesnu, Ciasno, Cassino, and Cassinov) was an important Multnomah-Wakanasisi Chinookan leader in the Wapato Valley (Portland Basin). Throughout the fur trade ...

Kintpuash (Captain Jack) (c. 1837-1873)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Kintpuash (Captain Jack) (c. 1837-1873)

Kintpuash (Strikes the Water Brashly), also known as Captain Jack and Kientpoos, was a principal headman of the Modoc tribe during the 1860s and early 1870s. He rose to national prominence ...

Molala Kate (1844?-1938)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Molala Kate (1844?-1938)

Molala (or Molalla) Kate Chantal—the daughter of Molalla Chief Yelkus (Kil-ke), a signer of treaties with the United States in 1851 and 1855—was born in Dickey Prairie, near present-day Molalla, Oregon, in ...

Quinaby (1815?-1883)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Quinaby (1815?-1883)

Quinaby (Quimby, Quiniby), a Tsimikiti (Chemeketa) Kalapuya Indian, saw the first whites settle in French Prairie in the mid-Willamette Valley. Known as Chief Quinaby to resettlers in Salem, he reportedly carried himself ...

Sacagawea

November is Native American Heritage Month

Sacagawea

Sacagawea was a member of the Agaideka (Lemhi) Shoshone, who lived in the upper Salmon River Basin in present-day Idaho. In about 1800, she was kidnapped by members of the Hidatsa tribe ...

Sarah Winnemucca (1844?-1891)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Sarah Winnemucca (1844?-1891)

Sarah Winnemucca, a Paiute, had a clear purpose in life: “I mean to fight for my down-trodden race while life lasts.” Winnemucca lived part of her adult life on reservations in ...

Silas Bryant Smith (1839-1902)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Silas Bryant Smith (1839-1902)

Silas Bryant Smith played a key role in recording the traditions, religions, and customs of the Clatsop people in nineteenth-century Oregon. A prominent historian of the region, he successfully bridged the two ...

Tecumtum (?-1864)

November is Native American Heritage Month

Tecumtum (?-1864)

Tecumtum, whose name means Elk Killer, was the principal chief of the Etch-ka-taw-wah band of Athabaskan Indians during the Rogue River War in the mid-1850s. He was known by various names, including ...

William Cameron McKay (1824-1893)

November is Native American Heritage Month

William Cameron McKay (1824-1893)

Dr. William Cameron McKay [mə kī´] lived his entire life on the lower and middle Columbia River, save for five years spent pursuing an education in the eastern United States. He experienced ...

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Become a member of the Oregon Historical Society, GET THE QUARTERLY, have some cheese

As far as encyclopedias go, The Oregon Encyclopedia may be the greatest encyclopedia of all time. It has all the best entries, the best authors, and the best photographs—thousands of them. The OE is part of one of the greatest research libraries in the West, which is located in the largest historical society in the state—the Oregon Historical Society. All sorts of history things are here, including a pardon signed by President Harrison for an Oregon bootlegger, a photo of Santa Ana's cork leg, the film "The Haunted Camera" directed by a 15-year-old Medford girl in the 1930s, and an animatronic elf (or three) from SantaLand. Millions of history items are catalogued, carefully stored, and kept safe at OHS. Come visit! Even better, with an annual membership to the Oregon Historical Society, you'll help keep all that history in good order; you'll get a subscription to the Oregon Historical Quarterly; and you'll be invited to special events, cheese included. You'll also have access to many other historical and cultural institutions around the state. Excellent!

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October: A Month for Fortitude, or What a Little Courage Can Do

"I have more arguments with the people I vote with on this issue. I say, 'Won't you please help us with population-control or family-planning issues?' and their feeling about the sanctity of life disappears. Or, I say, 'How about prenatal care or women and children's nutrition programs?' Often I say to them, 'I wish you'd be as concerned about sanctity of life after birth as you are about it in the womb.'" // Senator Mark Hatfield, during re-election campaign in 1990.

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Looking for history in All The Places?

The Oregon History Wayfinder is an interactive map that identifies significant places, people, and events in Oregon history. Each point on the map connects to the historical records and scholarship on the Oregon History Project and The Oregon Encyclopedia, two of the digital history sites created by the Oregon Historical Society. The Oregon History Wayfinder is supported in part by the Oregon Heritage Commission.

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Upcoming Events

History Pub: McMenamins Old St. Francis School in Bend

"The Hood River Crag Rats and the Cloud Cap Inn: Mountain Rescue Stories from Mt. Hood's North Side." Presented by Don Pattison and Bill Pattison.

Nov. 27, 2018 at 7 p.m.

More details...

Location

McMenamins Old St. Francis School
700 NW Bond Street
Bend, OR 97730

Google Map...

Welcome to the award-winning Oregon Encyclopedia

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In addition to The Oregon Encyclopedia, the OHS Digital History Projects include the Oregon History Project and Oregon History Wayfinder.

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