first nation tribes

As a baking school so dedicated to connecting students to the land, we must recognize the original people who thrived here. Before they were forcibly removed, members of the Chinook, Multnomah, Clackamas and other tribes made their home along the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. In the summertime, people would camp out together to take advantage of the bountiful natural resources.

​

In the mid 1800's and through the 1960's, Indigenous people were systematically eliminated using territorial and federal policies, the spread of disease and forced removal. In some areas, 9 out of 10 Indigenous people were killed. In the 1950's over one third of Indigenous people were relocated into seven major cities, Portland, Oregon being one of them. 

​

Thousands of Indigenous people still live in Portland and contribute to our city's wellbeing. They are also disproportionately affected by things like homelessness, drug use and poverty. We cannot turn a blind eye to this. We will fight to remember the wealth of knowledge from these people and to unlearn the devastating tools of their colonizers.

decolonize your mind

Here are some links so that you can learn more about this troubling history and take action. This is only a place to start.

​​

• Portland Indian Leader's Roundtable - A historical account of Portland's Native community.

• Gather - documents the growing movement among Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty.

• The Native Community in Multnomah County - an unsettling profile put together by the Coalition of Communities of Color and Portland State University

• NDN History Research - Critical & Indigenous Anthropology & History

• Land Reparations and Indigenous Solidarity Tool Kit - compiled resources on how to take action, especially if you own Native land

• Native American Rehabilitation Association - A Portland health clinic offering help to American Indians.

• Native American Youth and Family Center - a family of numerous tribes and voices who are rooted in sustaining tradition and building cultural wealth.