Understanding the fullness of our state’s story with Senate Bill-13
In 2017, Oregon’s tribal leaders partnered together with education leaders to pass Senate Bill 13 (SB 13): Tribal History/Shared History. This momentous legislation requires Oregon “to create and include K-12 Native American Curriculum in Oregon public schools,” providing essential understandings of Oregon Indians.
As a result, the Nine Essential Understandings of Native Americans in Oregon were written by the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon. These are short summaries—we invite you to please read the full, rich text that captures the breadth of these important writings.
Essential Understanding 1: Since Time Immemorial
Indigenous peoples have deeply shaped the land we now call Oregon and beyond and continue to shape this region today—including Willamette Falls.
Essential Understanding 2: Sovereignty
“Sovereignty describes the inherent right of Native American Nations to exercise self-governance. This tribal sovereignty predates the existence of the U.S. government and the state of Oregon.”
Sovereignty does not depend on the US constitution—it is inherent. Tribal nations derive their sovereignty from the people, land, and their relationships.
Essential Understanding 3: History
“The history of Native Americans is multifaceted, complex, and timeless.”
Stories vary from tribe to tribe which is why it is so powerful to hear from all nine federally-recognized tribes in Oregon — to understand each of their many, unique experiences. This is what we are hoping to do at Willamette Falls: tell the diverse and compelling stories that surround the region and the Falls themselves.
Essential Understanding 4: Tribal Government
Today in Oregon, while every tribal nation operates uniquely, tribal governments provide services such as social programs, education, and economic development for their members. They also build and maintain roads, bridges, and public buildings. Oregon was the first state in the country to pass a “tribal-state government-to-government relations law”—where the governments learn about each other’s methods and history of governing to help understand better ways of working together.
Essential Understanding 5: Identity
Within media, social networks and the education system, consistent stereotypes about Native Americans, particularly youth, are pervasive and harmful and spread a distinctly one-dimensional narrative. There is not a universal Native American identity — each person is a whole, complex individual, with widely varying life experiences.
Essential Understanding 6: Lifeways
Native peoples’ cultural and spiritual beliefs and practices are often represented as traditions from the past. But many indigenous traditions and spiritual practices continue to be observed today, despite the many attempts to abolish them—and are worthy of the same respect as any other religious and spiritual practices.
Essential Understanding 7: Language
There were and continue to be direct attacks on tribal languages through harmful governmental policies and strategies of assimilation. As a result, many languages are endangered. In Oregon, there has been important work done to preserve and revitalize the diverse families of languages across the tribes. There is still much work needed. The Native American Languages Act of 1990 states, “It is the policy of the United States to preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans to use, practice, and develop Native American languages.”
Essential Understanding 8: Treaties with the United States
The existence of treaties between Native Americans and the US government is one fraught with coercion and mistrust, with Tribes forced to give up their land and many of the rights of Native people never upheld. In Oregon, the treaty of 1855 with the Umatilla, Walla Walla and the Cayuse, was signed into law a few months before Oregon entered the Union.
Essential Understanding 9: Genocide, Federal Policy and Laws
“Genocide of Native Americans is an untold reality.”
Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, defines genocide as the attempt to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by committing any of the following:
Killing members of the group;
Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its
physical destruction in whole or in part;imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Native American tribes have experienced all of these. As we collectively continue to deepen our learning through these nine understandings, it is important to reflect on these traumas and their impacts across generations.
As we envision the future of Willamette Falls, we cannot do so without first understanding the history — and the present experiences — of the people for whom the Falls has been home since time immemorial. These nine essential understandings are a beginning to our learning, and we will continue to pursue a place of gathering that will honor and celebrate the richness and diversity of the Native American people and culture in our region and beyond.
