Presenter(s): Clara Gorman − History
Faculty Mentor(s): Jennifer O’Neal, Kevin Hatfield
Oral Session 1M
Research Area: Humanities
Funding: Vice President for Research and Innovation Undergraduate Research Fellowship (2017)
In 2016, Northern Paiute tribal elder Myra Johnson-Orange stated, “Before the coming of the white man, there were peaceful feelings among the tribes that are now, what I call, inter-tribal racism.” Myra’s statement seamlessly captures the central research question I am pursuing, comprised of two interconnected components. The first part examines how Oregon’s tribal history of the Western Slope and Northern Great Basin regions, specifically historical tribal animosities and alliances, has shaped and characterized contemporary inter-tribal dynamics on the Warm Springs and Grand Ronde Reservations. The second part explores what these contemporary inter-tribal dynamics look like in regards to cultural fusion, tribal and inter- tribal identity, cultural politics, and inter-tribal discrimination. There currently exists little academic or historical research that specifically examines the cultural inter-tribal dynamics of either The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs or The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. With the creation of the Indian Reservation System, historically hostile tribes are forced to live together as one representative sovereign nation. The dominant discourse assumes that inter-tribal dynamics are characterized by a notion of unity and a semblance of tribal equality. However, this widespread assumption fails to recognize the individuality of each tribe and tribal member, limiting equal tribal representation on a political, social, and cultural level. In an attempt to record Native history from an exclusively Native perspective, I plan to conduct my research using a methodology of oral history within a framework of decolonization. Ultimately, my research will be discussed in a comparative framework, examining similarities and differences in tribal history and contemporary inter-tribal relations that exist on the two Reservations. I anticipate that the different geographic locations of each Reservation and the various levels of historical tribal engagement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs will indicate some degree of existing inter-tribal prejudice and discrimination in both communities.