Native American Agricultural History in the Williamette Valley

In a brief overview, I will cover the history of Native American agriculture in the Willamette Valley:

Before colonialists overpowered native peoples of the Willamette Valley in the 1800s, the land was occupied by multiple Native American groups. These groups included the Molalla people, the Clackamas people and the Kalapuya people. The Kalapuya people were the most predominant in the valley. They relied on the Willamette River for prosperity.

The groups heavily relied on salmon for food, yet also were able to harvest a variety of food sources such as berries, nuts and grasses. Due to the Willamette Valley being so prosperous with vegetation, these Native American groups had to rely on farming techniques much less than peoples of the mid-west. Throughout the year, the Native American groups of the valley would temporarily move to important resource areas in an annual cycle. They would harvest and store resources such as camas, seeds, basketry materials, acorns, animals and fish. Natives in the Grande Ronde area, which were primarily of the Molalla people, would leave their reservations for the seasonal harvesting of hops, berries, beans and timber. Many males would harvest timber while the rest of the family went to pick berries or go to the hop fields. The areas most plentiful were where Eugene and Portland now are. Peoples from states as far as Arizona would travel to the Willamette Valley in order to participate in the summer harvest.

Even though not commonly thought of as an agricultural resource, the Native American groups of the Willamette Valley used rivers as a primary resource for food. Similar to how farmers manipulate soil in order to create more plentiful harvests, Native American groups maximized the potential of the harvestable resources in the rivers. For example, they would rearrange the rock formations in the rivers in order for the salmon to have the most suitable areas to spawn eggs. They would also regularly clean the rivers in order to make sure the salmon were able to access these spawning areas successfully. Once the salmon had laid their eggs, people would often look after the eggs to make sure that they were safe until they hatched. Hence, these peoples were able to have rich harvests of salmon that would last them all through the winter by using smoking and storing methods.

The Native American groups planted crops as well. Wheat was an ideal crop in order for the groups to produce grains. Tomatoes were also an essential of the valley. The groups would rotate where these crops were planted each year in order to avoid disease and infestation of the crops. The food was plentiful and the land was healthy for these Native peoples of the Willamette Valley.

In the 1830s, French Canadians established the French Prairie farming region in the Willamette Valley. They took the area by force and took over prominent harvesting areas for the Native American peoples. They recruited many Native Americans to work for them, promising them richer harvests that what they could ever have on their own. Plus, the Native Americans already knew how to properly manipulate the land in order to create the most plentiful harvests. This was an attractive attribute for the French Canadians. Many Native American peoples were forced into work. For example, Native American children were stolen from their homes and forced into labor. Over the next century, the rich lives of these Native American groups crumbled under the rapid expansion of colonialists. By the 1950s, almost all Native American groups of the Willamette Valley had stopped their agricultural practices in order to pursue wage-based jobs.

It absolutely amazes me to think that it was only two centuries ago -- a handful of generations -- when this dominant takeover of Native American groups occurred. It was only in the 1800s when the United States claimed the Oregon Territory as its own. This is the generation of our grandparents' grandparents! Yet with practices such as sustainable agriculture rapidly progressing in the Willamette Valley, hopefully these Native American peoples can be reconnected with their prosperous past-time of living a connected life with their surrounding environments.