November Book Reviews

By Kathy Anderson, KMUCC Mission and Social Action Team

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Somewhat belatedly, we of the UCC (or, at least, the Central Pacific Conference) are realizing how our pioneer ancestors contributed to the decimation of the indigenous people who were already living here when they came to the Oregon Territory. As a descendant of pioneers myself, I have a special interest in learning more about their attitudes toward the First People and how they were able to rationalize their actions. They often used religion to justify their attitudes about what constitutes a civilized society. Two books published recently here in Oregon provide insights into these issues. I highly recommend both of them.

The Place We Make; Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate
by Sarah Sanderson. Colorado Springs: Waterbrook, 2023.

Sarah Sanderson began her quest to learn more about her own pioneer ancestors when she and her family moved to Oregon, living near Oregon City where they had been some of the earliest settlers. Their names can still be found in and around Oregon City, on streets and buildings that honor their contributions to the founding of the town and the territorial government.

Sarah’s research turned up evidence that a number of those folks had been slave holders, which explained their involvement in legislation to prohibit Black people, slave or free, from living in the territory. So it was no surprise to learn that their racist tendencies extended to their indigenous neighbors.

Her journey toward knowledge and understanding is a fascinating one and ends with the revelation that her husband’s roots are on the Pine Ridge Reservation. My hope is that she will continue to write about these complicated histories.

Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley
by David G. Lewis. Portland, Oregon: Ooligan Press, Portland State University, 2023.

David Lewis is a registered member of The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde who grew up in Salem knowing nothing about those tribes because there were no reservations. In the 1950s, the federal government had terminated all of the tribes and sold off the reservation lands, thinking that assimilation had taken place and there was no need to set aside property or provide any social services to a people who didn’t exist.

An assistant professor of anthropology and Indigenous Studies at OSU, David has spent more than 20 years poring through archives, interviewing individuals about their memories, and learning how the tribes were eventually restored to much reduced lands. This is a very readable history with photographs, maps and a detailed timeline of the historic events chronicled in the book.