[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2009-10-20

[Heritage Info]

In this issue:
1.  Tamastslikt's collection work gets national attention
2.  Geographic names board to meet in Salem
3.  Shipwrecks to be covered in archaeologist's talk
4.  Lane group announces fall speaker series
5.  Lange's Oregon photos exhibit at PSU until Nov. 26


TAMASTSLIKT'S COLLECTION WORK GETS NATIONAL ATTENTION

Located near Pendleton, the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute is a
repository for more than 10,000 items, including photos, video,
documents, manuscripts, books, archaeological objects, and ethnographic
objects such as basketry, weaving and regalia. Its collections work is
now known nationwide, thanks to the Institute of Museum and Library
Services.

The IMLS is featuring Tamastslikt and its collections care in its
online newsletter this month. The article can be found at:
http://www.imls.gov/profiles/Oct09.shtm


GEOGRAPHIC NAMES BOARD TO MEET IN SALEM

The Oregon Geographic Names Board will hold its Fall board meeting in
the lobby level conference room at the Bureau of Land Management
District Office located at 1717 Fabry Road S.E., near the intersection
with Commercial Street, in Salem. The meeting begins at 1 p.m. Oct. 24,
and is open to the public.

The board is associated with the Oregon Historical Society and is an
advisor to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.  The Oregon board
supervises the naming of geographic features in the state of Oregon to
standardize geographic nomenclature, prevent confusion and duplication
in naming geographic features, and correct previous naming errors.  It
is comprised of 25 appointed board members representing all geographic
areas of the state and is served by advisors from government agencies
and the private sector. 

The board meeting agenda will include a discussion about the use of
proposed geographic names from Native American languages and replacement
names that would eliminate the word “squaw” from existing geographic
names.  The agenda will address various naming proposals involving
geographic features located in Clackamas, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, and
Wallowa counties.  For more information contact Vaughan at molalla.net or
cbg.ognb at gmail.com.


SHIPWRECKS TO BE COVERED IN ARCHAEOLOGISTS TALK

"The Archaeology of Shipwrecks: Plotting a course between the public's
interest in shipwrecks and treasure troves" will be discussed by state
archaeologist Dennis Griffin at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Columbia River
Maritime Museum in Astoria. 

Griffin will speak about the importance of shipwrecks to archaeology
and their relevance to Oregon. Griffin’s presentation will include
many shipwrecks, including the many that have surfaced recently. Updates
regarding these latest uncovered wrecks will be highlighted.

For more information, visit www.crmm.org or phone 503-325-2323.


LANE GROUP ANNOUNCES FALL SPEAKER SERIES

The Lane County Historical Society and Museum will host two more
programs this fall that touch on the celebration Oregon’s
sesquicentennial statehood year. The programs will take place at the
museum, which is located at the Lane County Fairgrounds, 740 W. 13th
Ave., Eugene. 

Author Suzi Prozanski will speak at 2 p.m. Nov. 1 on her new book,
“Fruit of the Sixties: The Founding of the Oregon Country Fair.”
Several years in the making and based on many interviews with Fair
founders and participants, the book is no quick study. If you have ever
wondered about Eugene’s counterculture reputation, here is the story
of an enduring Lane County event.. This talk is lead-in for the
museum’s next major exhibit, “Tie Dye to Tofu,” an in-depth
examination of  this unique local phenomenon.

At 2 p.m. Nov. 15, “Joe Meek and Robert Newell Alive,” an Oregon
150 living history program, will be presented. Bob Hart appears as Joe
Meek and Al LePage as Robert Newell. They tell stories of their time as
mountain men and their involvement with early Oregon provisional and
territorial government. Newell went on to become Speaker of the Oregon
House and Meek to become the first U.S. Marshal and escorted Lane
County’s namesake Gov. Joseph Lane to Oregon. Meek and Newell will
take on some Oregon myths along the way.

These programs are free and open to the general public. For more
information, visit www.lanecountyhistoricalsociety.org or phone
541-682-4242.


LANGE'S OREGON PHOTOS EXHIBIT AT PSU UNTIL NOV. 26

An exhibit of some 40 of Dorothy Lange's photographs from 1939 rural
Oregon will be on display in Portland State's Littman Gallery through
Nov. 26 before traveling to other points in Oregon. Lange, whose photos
depict struggling workers and families during the 1930s, is best known
for her iconic photo Migrant Mother.

"Lange's portraits capture the spiritual essence of people caught up in
something far greater than they can control," says exhibit coordinator
David A. Horowitz, PSU professor of history. "She gets right down into
the heart of people and their experiences. That's her strength."

IN THE 1930s, Lange was one of a dozen photographers hired by Franklin
Delano Roosevelt's New Deal administration to photograph rural America.
While on assignment, Lange turned her eye to Oregon in 1939. She
traveled the state, not just photographing her subjects but taking notes
and writing thoughtful captions.

The Lange photograph exhibit is being shown in PSU's  Littman Gallery,
which is open from noon-4 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays.
The gallery is located in Room 250 of the Smith Building, 2835 SW
Broadway. For more information, visit
http://www.pdx.edu/magazine/news/hard-times-in-sharp-focus
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which can be contacted at heritage.info at state.or.us