American History and Applied English for American History -- Summer 2003

The Kalapuya

Last name __________________________ First name _______________

Vocabulary
  • The Kalapuya/Kalapuyans = American Indians who lived where Salem is now; there are several acceptable spellings of this word
  • nation = a large group of people organized under a single formal or informal government
  • tribe = a group that shares a common culture, family history, and leadership; a group of Native Americans smaller than a nation: a term often used with indigenous (native) people
  • band = a group smaller than a tribe
  • drill = a tool used to make a hole
  • acorn = the fruit of an oak tree
  • oak, spruce, and hazel = kinds of trees
  • bark = the outside of a tree trunk (usually brown)
  • epidemic = a situation in which a disease passes quickly from person to person and makes a large percent of the population sick/ill
  • territory = a area of land; an area of land that is self-governed
  • canoe = a simple boat that is long and narrow

1. By what route did Indians come to North America and to Oregon and from where did they come?

 

2. About how many Indians lived in "Oregon country" before white settlers of European origin arrived? (We say "Oregon country" because Oregon wasn't a state yet.)

3. Within one generation after the arrival of whites, the Indian population was how large? What began to kill the Indians immediately after the arrival of whites?

 

4. In what year did the U.S. government take over the Kalapuya territory and why? Where were the survivors sent?

 

5. The Kalapuyans are extinct, meaning there are no more people of pure Kalapuyan descent (there are people alive with some Kalapuya blood). What are two or three reasons they became extinct?

 

 

6. What language did the Kalapuyans speak? Were there sub-dialects?

 

7. Were the Kalapuyans literate (did they have a written language)?

8. What were some of the important positions (jobs or roles) in a Kalapuyan village? What do you know about family life and community life? Was there a class system in which some groups of people were of higher status than others?

 

 

9. Can you guess what daily routines might have been like? When did they get up and go to bed and how did they spend most of their time?

 

 

10. Besides baskets, what did the women and girls make from natural materials such as the root of the spruce tree and the bark of the wild hazel tree?

 

11. The Kalapuyans used fire for at least five tasks. What were these tasks?

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12. What tools did the Kalapuyans hunt with or use for other purposes? what were these tools called and what did they look like (you can sketch or describe them)?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13. What was the most important and most widely known food plant used by western Oregon's inland valley Indians, including the Kalapuyans? What color is it and what does it look like? (Note: It still grows in Bush Park in Salem and blooms in early spring.)

 

14. What were at least eight different foods eaten by the Kalapuyans?

 

 

 

15. What kind of clothing did the Kalapuyans wear? Describe or sketch the clothing.

 

 

 

16. What did the houses of the Kalapuyans look like? Describe or sketch the housing.

 

 

 

 

 

17. What kinds of beliefs, ceremonies, festivals and sacred items did the Kalapuyans have? Were there spiritual sacrifices made?