Willamina in Yamhill County, Oregon — The American West (Northwest)

We Greet Settlement … … With Reservations

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 22, 2017

1. We Greet Settlement ... ... With Reservations Marker

Inscription. Good-bye to Our Homelands For thousands of years we lived on this land, thankful for its bounty. We lived for generations until white men came in strange clothes brining goods to trade, and wanting more, always wanting more. A westward invasion in the mid-18oos showed us that the white men wanted our land and resources for themselves. Wagon trains brought settlers into our homelands. They were squatters. It was a dangerous, difficult time for us.

In treaty negotiations in early 1850s, we attempted to reserve land within our traditional homelands. Facing more land-taking by the settlers, we ceded most of our lands and were moved to the Grand Ronde Reservation. Over the years, the reservation dwindled from 64,000-plus acres to 5 acres (a tribal cemetery) in 1954. We began to slow process of reacquiring some of our original lands in 1983.

Before we came to the reservation, myself and my people were promised cattle, horses, and clothing. We were to have each a piece of land to cultivate. … The government has not complied with these promises… - Chief Sam

Accepting a New Life We agreed to treaties that extinguished

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aboriginal title to our homeland and brought various tribes and bands together on the Grand Ronde Reservation. The government intended this reservation to ease tensions between the settlers and our people. In 1856, we became a group of camps at Grand Ronde beginning a struggle to scratch out an existence. We attempted to survive as farmers, gatherers, and laborers while trying to maintain our tribal identities. Moving to the reservation forced our different tribes, with vastly different life way, to live side by side while speaking different languages and living under foreign rule.

Erected by Oregon State Parks and Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1954.

Location. 45° 4.173′ N, 123° 34.226′ W. Marker is in Willamina, Oregon, in Yamhill County. It is on Hebo Road near Three Rivers Highway (Oregon Route 22), on the left. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Willamina OR 97396, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 22, 2017

2. We Greet Settlement ... ... With Reservations Marker

The marker is on the right.

this marker is in Oregon Wine Country,

in the Willamette Valley,

and in Greater Portland Area.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in 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: Policing or Protecting? (here, next to this marker); Cross-Cultural Convenience Store (a few steps from this marker); The Grand Ronde Indian Reservation (approx. 2.1 miles away).

More about this marker. The marker is near the parking lot at Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area.

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 300 times since then and 27 times this year. Last updated on January 29, 2024, by Mark St. Martin of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 19, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.