My first update concerns the late 1700s smallpox epidemic (chapter two), and a new discovery of my own that gives added weight to the hypothesis that smallpox first entered the region via a coastal contact. The source is an important … Read More
When UW Press announced to me back in September 2020 that they wanted to reissue “The Coming of the Spirit of Pestilence” in paper, they didn’t allow me to revise and update (probably wise, since it would take a while … Read More
After a long hiatus, I’m back on my website with great news! Both The Coming of the Spirit of Pestilence and Indians, Fire and the Land in the Pacific Northwest are scheduled for republication during 2021. The Coming of the Spirit of … Read More
I’m a bit late posting this, but here’s the link to my May 18 op ed in the Oregon City News, “Celebrate Native heritage at Willamette Falls”: portlandtribune.com/cr/28-opinion/306897-183016-celebrate-native-heritage-at-willamette-falls It’s my second media suggestion (after the October 2015 Oregonian op ed) … Read More
The Oregon Encyclopedia has just published my “Wapato (Wappato) Valley Indians,” and “Portland Basin Chinookan Villages in the 1800s” (with Henry Zenk). If you want the basics on Portland Native peoples, read these! Both provide thumbnail sketches of that data … Read More
After a year’s work, our article on “Chinookan Villages of the Lower Columbia” just came out in the Spring 2016 Oregon Historical Quarterly. Authors are Henry Zenk, Yvonne Hajda, and myself. I’ve known Henry and Yvonne for over thirty years, … Read More
Now that the UW Press advance contract has been signed, it’s time to get funding in place for the next fourteen months until the manuscript is due May 1, 2017. To that end, I’ve set up a Kickstarter campaign titled … Read More
Good news! On March 1 I signed an advance contract with the University of Washington Press for “Before Portland: the Native Americans’ Wappato Valley.” A completed manuscript is due in the Press’s Seattle office May first 2017. (No, I receive … Read More
On February 6 I gave a talk at the old county courthouse in The Dalles titled “Henry Perkins, forgotten Oregon Missionary.” It was a repeat of a talk I gave at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles in … Read More
While updating my chapter “Eyes on the Past: the Wappato Valley Native Paintings of Paul Kane and John Mix Stanley,” for my Before Portland manuscript I was pleased to discover the just-published book Painted Journeys: The Art of John Mix Stanley (Peter Hassrick and … Read More