Oregon Is Indian Country traveling exhibit Albany, Oregon
January 15 through February 20, 2010
provides text and historical and contemporary photographs about the nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon. Themes include: The Land, Federal Indian Policies, and Traditions that Bind. This unique exhibit experience will take you to three locations in Albany, Oregon:
Traditions that Bind (Albany Regional Museum) investigates the rich cultural heritage of Oregon’s tribes, including their oral traditions, material culture, art, and traditional lifeways. This section highlights ceremony and tradition, language, and how traditions are important in the survival of people and their cultures.
The Land (Albany Public Library) examines the ways the physical environment has and continues to influence tribal cultures. It looks at uses of natural resources and the enduring ties that tribes have with the land.
Federal Indian Policies (Linn Benton Community College Library) explores policies that changed lives since the first official exploration by the U.S. government into the territory by Lewis & Clark in 1805. This section helps develop a better understanding of the complexities of current issues affecting Indian Country through an examination of significant historical events and policies such as sovereignty, treaties, the reservations system, termination and restoration.
Oregon Is Indian Country represents a groundbreaking project bringing all nine Oregon tribes together to present information never-before-assembled in a traveling exhibit on contemporary indigenous cultures.
The exhibit is a direct result of the Oregon Tribes Project, a multi-year collaboration between the Oregon Historical Society’s Folklife Program and Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes. Tribal members documented their contemporary traditions and worked with Society staff to plan a series of heritage resources to be used to teach about tribal histories and cultures.
