Oregon and the collapse of Illahee : U.S. empire and the transformation of an indigenous world, 1792-1859

Title:

Author:

Whaley, Gray H.

ISBN:

9780807833674

9780807871096

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

xi, 303 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Series:

First peoples (2010)

Contents:

Introduction : historical constructions of Oregon and Illahee -- So many little sovereignties, 1792-1822 -- Disastrous times we had : expansions and epidemic, 1821-1834 -- A vital experimental religion : the Methodist mission colony of lower Oregon, 1834-1844 -- Trophies for God : from mission colony to American colony, 1840-1845 -- The colonization of Illahee, 1843-1851 -- Polaklie Illahee (land of darkness) : identity and genocidal culture in Oregon -- Extermination and empire: money, politics, and the Oregon wars, 1855-1856 -- Conclusion : Illahee, "Indian colonies", and the paternalist state.

Abstract:

Modern western Oregon was a crucial site of imperial competition in North America during the formative decades of the United States. Whaley examines relations among newcomers and between newcomers and Native peoples--focusing on political sovereignty, religion, trade, sexuality, and the land--from initial encounters to Oregon's statehood. He argues that the process of Oregon's founding is best understood as a contest between the British empire and a nascent American one, with Oregon's Native people and their lands at the heart of the conflict.

Subject Term:

Indians of North America -- Oregon -- History.

Indians of North America -- Government relations -- 1789-1869.

Indians, Treatment of -- Oregon -- History.

Indians of North America -- Missions -- Oregon.

White people -- Oregon -- Relations with Indians.

Indians of North America. (OCoLC)fst00969633

Indians of North America -- Government relations. (OCoLC)fst00969761

Indians of North America -- Missions. (OCoLC)fst00969849

Indians, Treatment of. (OCoLC)fst00970120

Race relations. (OCoLC)fst01086509

Geographic Term:

Oregon Territory -- History.

Oregon -- Race relations.

Oregon.

United States -- Oregon Territory.

Genre:

History.

Local Subject:

EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION COLLECTION

OREGON HISTORY AND CULTURE COLLECTION

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Library	Call Number	Material Type	Status
Searching... State Library of Oregon	979.500497 Whale	In-Library Use Only (Not For Loan)	Searching... Unknown
Searching... State Library of Oregon	979.500497 Whale	4-Week Loan	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Modern western Oregon was a crucial site of imperial competition in North America during the formative decades of the United States. In this book, Gray Whaley examines relations among newcomers and between newcomers and Native peoples--focusing on political sovereignty, religion, trade, sexuality, and the land--from initial encounters to Oregon's statehood. He emphasizes Native perspectives, using the Chinook word Illahee (homeland) to refer to the indigenous world he examines.

Whaley argues that the process of Oregon's founding is best understood as a contest between the British Empire and a nascent American one, with Oregon's Native people and their lands at the heart of the conflict. He identifies race, republicanism, liberal economics, and violence as the key ideological and practical components of American settler-colonialism. Native peoples faced capriciousness, demographic collapse, and attempted genocide, but they fought to preserve Illahee even as external forces caused the collapse of their world. Whaley's analysis compellingly challenges standard accounts of the quintessential antebellum "Promised Land."

Summary:

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Whaley (Southern Illinois Univ.) has written extensively about the Oregon Territory in the period 1792-1859. His focus is the complex, fraught encounters between white missionaries, colonials, traders, and trappers on the one hand and indigenous peoples on the other. This readable volume examines this whole unfortunate and bloody era. The author corrects misconceptions of the period in his first paragraphs: "The ... colonial fur trade joined and altered the existing networks ... it did not create them." And, he points out, "The Clatsops assimilated the newcomers," not the reverse. Prejudicial estimations of Native peoples abound in the journals Whaley examines in order to understand early Pacific Northwest relationships. The European and Euro-American ideologies embraced by colonials and traders unfairly damned actions of Indians and often undermined their own efforts and goals. Racialism, a construct Whaley shows to be invoked as an expedient when access to valued resources was at stake, eventually led to genocidal wars in Oregon Territory during 1855-56. Surviving Native peoples of southwestern Oregon were "removed" from their homelands. Whaley demonstrates the resilience of indigenous descendents of Illahee while he challenges the analyses of many previous historians. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. L. De Danaan emerita, Evergreen State College

Preface Reconstructing an American Colonial History	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
1 Introduction: Historical Constructions of Oregon and Illahee	p. 3
2 So Many Little Sovereignties, 1792-1822	p. 19
3 Disastrous Times We Had: Expansions and Epidemic, 1821-1834	p. 71
4 A Vital Experimental Religion: The Methodist Mission Colony of Lower Oregon, 1834-1844	p. 99
5 Trophies for God: From Mission Colony to American Colony, 1840-1845	p. 125
6 The Colonization of Illahee, 1843-1851	p. 161
7 Polaklie Illahee (Land of Darkness): Identity and Genocidal Culture in Oregon	p. 191
8 Extermination and Empire: Money, Politics, and the Oregon Wars, 1855-1856	p. 217
9 Conclusion: Illahee, "Indian Colonies," and the Paternalist State	p. 227
Notes	p. 241
Bibliography	p. 277
Index	p. 297

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