GROWING UP INDIAN: AN EMIC PERSPECTIVE By GEORGE BUNDY WASSON, JR. A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Anthropology and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy june 2001 ii "Growing Up Indian: An Ernie Perspective," a dissertation prepared by George B. Wasson, Jr. in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology. This dissertation is approved and accepted by: Committee in charge: Dr. jon M. Erlandson, Chair Dr. C. Melvin Aikens Dr. Madonna L. Moss Dr. Rennard Strickland (outside member) Dr. Barre Toelken Accepted by: ------------------------------�------------------ Dean of the Graduate School iii Copyright 2001 George B. Wasson, Jr. iv An Abstract of the Dissertation of George Bundy Wasson, Jr. for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology to be taken June 2001 Title: GROWING UP INDIAN: AN EMIC PERSPECTN E Approved: My dissertation, GROWING UP INDIAN: AN EMIC PERSPECTN E describes the historical and contemporary experiences of the Coquille Indian Tribe and their close neighbors (as manifested in my own family), in relation to their shared cultures, languages, and spiritual practices. I relate various tribal reactions to the tragedy of cultural genocide as experienced by those indigenous groups within the "Black Hole" of Southwest Oregon. My desire is to provide an "inside" (ernie) perspective on the history and cultural changes of Southwest Oregon. I explain Native responses to living primarily in a non-Indian world, after the nearly total loss of aboriginal Coquelle culture and tribal identity through v decimation by disease, warfare, extermination, and cultural genocide through the educational policies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Government, and over zealous Euro-Americans. After removal from their homelands, there was little opportunity for the remaining survivors to continue living in their traditional ways. Hence the adoption of living primarily by White man's standards and practices became standard for the Indians of southwest Oregon and their descendants. My resources have been, in part, the Southwest Oregon Research Project (SWORP) archives housed in Special Collections of the UO Knight Library, along with works of Harrington, Chase, Waterman, Frachtenberg, Jacobs, and others. Additional sources include some personal papers on the Coastal Land Claims work by my fa ther, George B. Wasson Sr. (1916 to 1947), my childhood relationships with older relatives and tribal elders, and my own experience navigating both Native American and White worlds in the 20th century. This dissertation includes both my previously published and co-authored materials, as well as previously unpublished essays. vi CURRICULUM VITA NAME OF AUTHOR: George Bundy Wasson, Jr. PLACE OF BIRTH: Coquille, Oregon DATE OF BIRTH: january 14, 1935 TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Coquille Indian Tribe NATNE BLOODLINES: Miluk/Coos, Coquelle, Cherokee GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: Universityof Oregon Southern Oregon State College DEGREES AWARDED: Master of Science, Anthropology, 1994, University of Oregon Master of Science in Counseling, 1971, University of Oregon Bachelor of Music, 1969, University of Oregon SPECIAL AREAS OF INTEREST: Oral Traditions and History Story Telling and Folklore Culture Contact and Change Traditional Technologies Heritage Resource Management PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Consulting Anthropologist: The Portico Group, Review of Shell Midden fo r Washington Park Zoo Exhibit, March, 1998; Endangered Sacred Sites, Washington Park Zoo Exhibit, vii narrative and photo of Big Stump on beach by Waldport, jan. 2000; Oregon Historical Markers Committee, 1998 to present. Founding Director, Southwest Oregon Research Project; University of Oregon, Smithsonian Institution, and Coquille Indian Tribe. Visiting Faculty for The Fife Conference, Utah State University, Logan, june, 1993 Counselor, Office of Academic Advising & Student Services; Universityof Oregon, Eugene, 1976- 1990 Assistant Dean of Students, Officeof Student Services; University of Oregon, 1969-1975. AWARDS: ttLaurel Award"; University of Oregon Graduate School, 1999-01, 1992-98. GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS: Grant: Native American Program, Smithsonian Institution, University of Oregon, and Coquille Indian Tribe, Southwest Oregon Research Project, 1995. "Indian Fellowship Program," U.S. Department of Education; funding fo r Ph.D. study in Cultural Anthropology, 1992. American Indian Cultural Resources Training Grant, Anthropological Archives, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1975-76. viii PUBLICATIONS Wasson, George B. 200 1 "Concentration Camps in Oregon" (an excerpt from "The Coquille Indians and the Cultural Black Hole of the Southern Oregon Coast.") Oregon Quarterly 80 (3):8-10. University of Oregon. 2000 "The Coquelle Indians and the Cultural 'Black Hole' of the Southern Oregon Coast." Worldview and the American West: The Life of the Place Itself, edited by Polly Stewart, Steve Siporin, C. W. Sullivan III, and Suzi Jones, pp. 191-210. Logan: University of Utah Press. 1999 "Oral Traditions of the Earliest Humans on the Oregon Coast: A Comparison of Ethnohistorical and Archaeological Records." In Changing Landscapes on the Oregon Coast, edited by R. Losey, pp. 19-32. North Bend: Coquille Indian Tribe. 1996 "Two Oregon Tales: 'Coyote Taboo,' 'Woot'lat and the Bad-Luck Canoe'." In: Chin Hills to Chiloquin: Papers Honoring the Versatile Career of Theodore Stern, edited by Don Dumond. University of Oregon Anthropological Papers 52:69-74. 1994 Three stories in: The Stories We Tell: An Antho logy of Oregon Folk Literature, edited by jerold Ramsey and Suzi Jones, pp. 43, 100-101, 125-130. Oregon Literature Series, Corvallis: OSU Press. 1992 "Coquille" in Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia, edited by Mary B. Davis, pp. 169-173. New York City: Garland. ix 1991 "The Memory of a People: The Coquilles of the Southwest Coast" Chapter 12, The First Oregonians, edited by C. M. Buan & R. Lewis, pp. 83-87. Portland: Oregon Council for the Humanities. Erlandson, Jon M., Mark A. Tveskov, Madonna L. Moss, and George B. Wasson 1999 "Riverine Erosion and Oregon Coast Archaeology: A Pistol River Case Study." In Changing Landscapes on the Oregon Coast, edited by R. Losey, pp. 3-18. North Bend: Coquille Indian Tribe. Erlandson, Jon, Jason Younker, and George Wasson 1998 "Revival of the Coquille Giveaway." An thropology Newsletter 39(7): 17-18. Arlington, Virginia: American Anthropological Association. Moss, Madonna L. and George B. Wasson, Jr. 1998 "Intimate Relations with the Past: The Story of an Athapaskan Village on the Southern Northwest Coast of North America/' World Archaeology 29:317-332. Wasson, George B. and Barre Toelken 1999 "Coyote and the Strawberries: Cultural Drama and Intercultural Collaboration," Oral Tradition 13(1): 176-199. X ACKNOWLEDGMENTS and DEDICATION I'm grateful to my older brother Dr. Wilfred C. Wasson. He inspired me to contemplate life now and long ago. His death in 1990 left me feeling I would never again share the thoughts and memories of Old Man Coyote, family anecdotes, myths, legends, or traditional stories. Now, I find strength and support in remembering how he would have responded to my questions and ideas. The memory of my father, George B. Wasson, and my mother, Bess Wasson Hockema, inspired me to go back to college and write the "true" historyof the Coquille Indian Tribe. I'm honored they think I could do it. I'm humbled by the experience. I often think of Richard Chaney who readily shared esoteric cultural perspectives with me. I appreciate the support, of the Department of Anthropology faculty. Clarice Jeppesen kept my records in good order. Ted Stern talked long hours with me. Steadman Upham was very supportive of my academic endeavors. Mel Aikens, and Ann Simonds served on my committees, giving me good advice and strong encouragement. Madonna Moss served on my committee and provided extensive xi editing and advice. Carol Silverman, Harty Wolcott, Aletta Biersack, Theresa O'Neil, John Lukacs, Bill Ayres, Phil Young, and Don Dumond gave me encouragement. I'm indebted to Ron Crook and Loren Bommelyn fo r accurate details on tribal history, culture, language, and good friendship. Rennard Strickland, Law School Dean, prodded me to write. My long time friend, Barre Toelken gave me insights into my own Indianess and has been a stimulating critic of my academic products. Toby Deemer provided financial support and scholastic encouragement over many years. My dissertation committee chairman, jon Erlandson, deserves great thanks for his "blind faith" in me, his prolonged patience, superior advice, obsidian sharp editing, and continued support of my academic endeavors. I appreciate my fellow graduate students who (naively) believed me to be younger than I am: Mark Shekoyan, Rene Vellanoweth, jerry Jacka, Rob Losey, Torben Rick, Mel Brewster, Charlie Hodges, Pat Haynal, Tia Hallberg, Chris Descantes, Nancy Harrington, David Liberty, jerry Marr, joan Wozniak, Bill Stephens, and numerous others. xii Gray Whaley talked history and culture at length with me, providing good references to some works. Geoff Hamilton inspired me to continue thinking and writing my personal cultural analysis. I'm grateful to joAllyn Archambault (Smithsonian) and the SWORP teams: Denni (Mitchell) Hockema, jason and Shirod Younker, jeff