Grand Ronde in Polk County, Oregon — The American West (Northwest)

The Grand Ronde Indian Reservation

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 22, 2017

1. The Grand Ronde Indian Reservation Marker

Inscription.
Indians inhabited Oregon’s inland valleys for thousands of years before Euro-Americans began to arrive in the late 18th Century. In the early 1780s, and again in the 1830s, diseases spread by seafarers and fur trappers swept through Oregon’s valleys killing most of the native population. The opening of the Oregon Trail in the 1840s increased pressure to remove the remaining Indians from their homelands.

In 1856, the U.S. Government created the Grand Ronde Reservation, and in the winter of 1857, federal troops forced the native people to leave their aboriginal lands and march to the reservation.

The Grand Ronde reservation, originally 70,000 acres, was later divided into individual parcels for the Indians, and “surplus” land was sold to non-Indians. In 1954, the Grand Ronde Tribe was “terminated,’ and all but 7 1/2 acres of the Tribe’s land was sold. Termination meant the U.S. Government no longer recognized the Tribe or its people as Indians.

In 1983, after a prolonged and dedicated effort by tribal members and their supporters, the U.S. Government restored the Tribe to federal recognition. In 1988 Congress

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re-established a 9,811 acre reservation in the mountains north of Grand Ronde. The Tribe has since acquired additional land, built a community center, and developed education, health care, and other programs for tribal members. The Tribe has also embarked upon an ambitious economic development program as part of its plan to achieve self-sufficiency.

Erected by Oregon Department of Transportation.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Oregon Beaver Boards series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1856.

Location. 45° 3.534′ N, 123° 36.696′ W. Marker is in Grand Ronde, Oregon, in Polk County. It is on Oregon Route 18 near Grand Ronde Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 28459 Oregon Highway 18, Grand Ronde OR 97347, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Oregon Wine Country

and in the Willamette Valley.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 22, 2017

2. The Grand Ronde Indian Reservation Marker

the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Pacific Rim,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 3 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Cross-Cultural Convenience Store (approx. 2.1 miles away); We Greet Settlement … … With Reservations (approx. 2.1 miles away); Policing or Protecting? (approx. 2.1 miles away).

Also see . . . Oregon Travel Experience - The Grand Ronde Indian Reservation. (Submitted on January 19, 2018, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon.)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 14, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 19, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 465 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 19, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.