Go To The Source and Questions to Consider:

Chart of Language Relationships on the Columbia Plateau
Oral History of Thomas Morning Owl whose family comes from Umatilla
What relationship did native peoples have to Umatilla? To the Columbia and Umatilla Rivers?
What connections do families such as Thomas Morning Owl's have to Umatilla?

Excerpts from Narcissa Whitman's Journal
How did Narcissa Whitman react to the environment and people of the Pacific Northwest?

Trial documents for the five convicted men
What factors led to the murder convictions of the five Indian men? How did white assumptions affect the outcome of the trial?

The Oregon Land Claim Donation Act of 1850
What are the principal provisions of the Oregon Land Claim Donation Act of 1850?

Lieutenant Lawrence Kip describes the Walla Walla Council

How were the Umatilla viewed by Lawrence Kip at the Walla Walla Council? How did the Umatilla view Americans?

Walla Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla Treaty of 1855
What rights were reserved by the Walla Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla Treaty? Why are these rights significant today?

Hermiston Herald newspaper article, "Umatilla City End of Old Trail,"
What factors contributed to Umatilla's status as an early commercial center?

1884 Report on the allotment of Umatilla Indian Lands in Oregon
Why did the U.S government allot lands in severalty (individually) to the Umatilla? What values was the U.S. promoting?

Chinese Exclusion Act
What are the principal provisions of the Chinese Exclusion Act? What are the justifications for the legislation?

Eastern Oregon Census Data reflecting Chinese population and occupations
What role did Chinese people have in settling eastern Oregon? Why was discriminatory legislation passed?

General Questions To Consider:

How were different groups included or excluded from certain places in the Umatilla Basin?
In what ways did different people use the environment of the Umatilla Basin? How did they differ? How were they similar?
What underlying values shaped the use and perception of the land and the rivers of eastern Oregon by white settlers? by indigenous peoples?


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