A map is a map, right? It shows you where things are.
True enough, but maps can differ greatly in what the mapmakers choose to show. Maps from white settlement of the west were created by people who thought in terms of land ownership, a concept alien to the indigenous people who lived here already. Plus, there's the whole issue of lands included in treaties, and how maps did and did not reflect those.
In this month's Underground History, we take up the issue of maps, and learn about the difference between anti-colonial and de-colonial maps. Our guides: David Harrelson, who heads the Cultural Resources Department at the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and Natchee Barnd of the Ethnic Studies program at Oregon State University.
Underground History is a joint project with the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology. Chelsea Rose of SOULA is part of the conversation once again.
Links:
- Deep display of the Grand Ronde mapping of the seven Tribal Treaties of Western Oregon
- Grand Ronde general map page