Kalapuya
The Kalapuya, also known as Calapooya, were a group of approximately thirteen autonomous tribes situated in the Northwest Coast cultural area of what is now Oregon. These tribes were characterized by a patrilineal social structure and dialectic variations among them. Their subsistence practices primarily revolved around the gathering of camas, seeds, nuts, roots, and tubers, complemented by hunting and trapping. During the winter months, the Kalapuya lived in permanent multifamily dwellings within their villages, while they utilized temporary shelters in the spring, summer, and fall.
The first significant contact with European Americans occurred in 1812, leading to prolonged interactions that brought various diseases to the Kalapuya population. By 1855, treaties were established that largely relocated the Kalapuya to the Grande Ronde Reservation. Over time, many in this community intermarried with other Indigenous groups. Despite the termination of the Grande Ronde Reservation in 1956, the Kalapuya, along with other tribes, reorganized themselves as the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in 1974, which has since grown to include over 30 tribes and bands. Today, the Confederated Tribes remain dedicated to the preservation of their cultural heritage and natural resources.
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Kalapuya
Category: Tribe
Culture area: Northwest Coast
Language group: Kalapuyan
Primary location: Willamette River, Oregon
Population size: 44 (2010 US Census)
The patrilineal, socially stratified Kalapuya (or Calapooya) people comprised approximately thirteen autonomous tribes, each with dialectic differences. The tribe lived in the Northwest Coast cultural area. Subsistence was mainly from camas and other seeds, nuts, roots, and tubers, supplemented by hunting and trapping. The Kalapuya occupied multifamily dwellings in permanent villages during the winter and temporary shelters in spring, summer, and fall. Chieftainship was probably passed on from father to son.
First contact with European Americans occurred in 1812 with Donald McKenzie of the Pacific Fur Company and continued until the 1840s with missionaries, settlers, and those involved in the fur trade, who introduced various debilitating diseases, including malaria. In 1855 treaties embracing all the Kalapuya were enacted; most of the Kalapuya were resettled on the Grande Ronde Reservation, where many Kalapuya intermarried with other groups.
In 1956 the Grand Ronde Reservation was terminated by the federal government. American Indians living there reorganized themselves as the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in 1974; in 1975, they incorporated as a nonprofit organization. In 2023, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde included over 30 tribes and bands of American Indians, including the Kalapuya. Enrollment in the tribe was approximated at more than 5400 persons. The group remained committed to preserving the culture and traditions of the tribes, as well as natural resources.
Bibliography
"Home History & Culture." Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, 2023, www.grandronde.org/history-culture/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.
Jetté, Melinda Marie. At the Hearth of the Crossed Races: A French-Indian Community in Nineteenth-Century Oregon, 1812–1859. Corvallis: Oregon State UP, 2015. Print.
Johansen, Bruce E., and Barry Pritzker. Encyclopedia of American Indian History. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2008. Print.
Juntunen, Judy Rycraft, May D. Dasch, and Ann Bennett Rogers. The World of the Kalapuya: A Native People of Western Oregon. Philomath: Benton County Historical Soc. and Museum, 2005. Print.
Olson, June L. Living in the Great Circle: The Grand Ronde Indian Reservation, 1855–1905. Clackamas: Menard, 2011. Print.
Vale, Thomas R., ed. Fire, Native Peoples, and the Natural Landscape. Washington, DC: Island, 2002. Print.