Abstract
The Southwest Oregon Research Project, initiated by members of the Coquille Indian tribe broke ground in Oregon for archival collections. Tribal scholars, working to restore and support their tribal nations collected documents and learned skills of archival research and organization. The last phase of the project returned collections to regional tribes in a community process of potlatch. The project theory reversed the trend of the late 19th and early 20th centuries of collecting information from tribes with little or no reciprocity. Tribes today are using the information to write histories, restore cultural identities and support tribal sovereignty.
Author Biography
David G. Lewis He is a Tribal member of the Grand Ronde tribe descended from the Santiam, Takelma and Chinook tribes. David is the Tribal Historian at the Grand Ronde Tribe and has a PhD in anthropology from the University of Oregon. George Wasson, Jr. George was a tribal elder with the Coquille Indian tribe. He held a PhD in anthropology from the University of Oregon.
Recommended Citation
Lewis, David G.
(2015)
"Natives in the Nation's Archives: The Southwest Oregon Research Project,"
Journal of Western Archives: Vol. 6:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26077/e5e5-e0b1
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/westernarchives/vol6/iss1/4
