The small, mostly forgotten wars of the 1850s in the American Pacific Northwest were part of a broader, often genocidal campaign to seize Native land; many of the horrors were then blotted out by pioneers and the historians who loved them. Illahee (a Chinook term for "homeland") was turned into the states of Oregon and Washington through the violence of invading soldiers, settlers, and serial killers. Clashes over the brutality of invasion - should it be celebrated, isolated, or erased? - left behind accidental archives of atrocity, as history writers disagreed over which stories they should tell and which stories they could sell. By the 1920s, the War on Illahee had been "disappeared." Historian Marc James Carpenter, author of The War on Illahee: Genocide, Complicity and Cover-Ups in the Pioneer Northwest, discusses how everyday people in Portland and Vancouver took part in the campaigns of killing that seized the land. 

Marc James Carpenter grew up in Oregon and now works as assistant professor of history at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota. He has published in American Indian Quarterly, Oregon Historical Quarterly, and Settler Colonial Studies. 

Enjoy 15% off your hotel stay on History Pub nights! Show your ticket at check-in.

These events are open to everyone interested in Pacific Northwest history, and beyond! Often co-sponsored by local or state historical and civic organizations, we bring you experts, scholars, first-person experiencers, historians and documentaries expounding on topics from indigenous history to the birth of Portland, early explorers to hop growing, and on and on! It's like being back in the classroom - except this time you get to settle into comfortable seats and enjoy a drink or two with dinner while you listen and learn.

This event is eligible for a History Pub Stamp