The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’ Relationship with and Reclamation of Tumwata

Session: (Virtual) Creative Work—Connection, Escapism, Poetry and Exercise

In 2019, The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde purchased land at Tumwata (Willamette Falls). The falls are of great cultural significance to the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde, and the purchase of this land is a reclamation of part of the Tribe’s ancestral homelands.

This project began in my class EDST 456 Decolonization and Education, taught by Dr. Lelani Sabzalian. The goal of my project was to answer the following questions, “how would one teach about Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s relationship and reclamation of the Tumwata land” and “what foundational knowledge is necessary for students to contextualize this reclamation within a larger scope of the settler-colonial society in which we live?”

I created a website to answer these questions and prepare myself to contextualize and teach about this relationship and reclamation in the future; this website serves as a compilation of resources. With the mentorship of Dr. Sabzalian, I have grown the scope of my project. This website is a work in progress and is not an exhaustive list of information or resources but rather a starting point for me as a white settler, student, and future educator to engage in critical conversations, actions, and lessons about the falls respectfully and responsibly.