In the Yamhill Kalapuya language, the word chachalu means “place of the burnt timber,” commemorating the fire that burnt much of the land in the current Grande Ronde Reservation not long before the forced relocation of multiple tribes to the area. Located in the Oregon Coast range, southwest of McMinnville and northwest of Dallas, the Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center opened in 2014. It is well worth a drive from wherever you might live in Western Oregon.
The previous iteration of the museum was housed in the Spirit Mountain Casino, but the tribe’s members realized they needed a better and more permanent solution. Formerly the Willamina Middle School, the building has been completely transformed for its new purpose. The outside is covered in cedar, showing the significance of the multi-purpose tree to the Grande Ronde people. The building itself is designed to reflect on the importance of place and landscape to the tribe. It houses the historical narratives of the tribes in the Cintutac gallery, telling the stories of the groups that were forced onto the reservation, accompanied by selected artifacts.
Those interested in conducting further research on the items or the Grande Ronde tribe can visit the research room at Chachalu to deepen their understanding. The museum also features rotating art exhibits that highlight Indigenous artists, many of whom have connections to the Grande Ronde Reservation.
One program at Chachalu is the Indigenous Place Keeping Artist Fellowship, which is awarded annually to an Indigenous artist. Established in 2022 to “develop Indigenous artist capacity within the Grand Ronde Tribe’s homelands,” the previous winners have exhibited their work in the museum. Chachalu also supports public art, with calls for artists to submit works for display in buildings throughout the reservation. If you’re looking for some of the leading Indigenous artists in Oregon, many have exhibited at Chachlu and have ties to the cultural center.
Tribes of the Grande Ronde
The Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde include 30 groups from southwest Washington, western Oregon, and northern California. During the 1850s, the United States government forced these tribes to sign treaties and vacate their traditional lands. The Umpqua, Chasta, Southern Kalapuya and Rogue River tribes were forced to relocate to the Grande Ronde Reservation in the Coast Range of Oregon.
The Grande Ronde Reservation shrank over the later decades of the 1800s, as pieces were divided for private ownership and sold off by the federal government. The tribe was formally terminated in 1954, losing their federal status and formal community organizations. Starting in the 1970s, tribe members worked to regain their recognition from the federal government. Their status was restored in 1983, and nearly 10,000 acres of land were restored to the tribe in 1986. Since then, the tribe has worked to build strong institutions and community support for its members. Part of that has been the creation of Chachalu as a place to present the narrative history of the tribe, display artifacts, and offer classes and support to artists and makers within the community.
The Summers Collection
The Summers Collection was one of the reasons that many people in the tribe pushed for the museum to open. Reverend Robert Summers began trading and purchasing items from the people forced onto the Grande Ronde Reservation in the 1850s, accumulating a collection of artifacts. He later sold them to a colleague, who then willed the artifacts to the British Museum. For the last 120 years, the items sat in a warehouse outside London.
Grande Ronde tribal members learned of the collection and wanted to bring the artifacts back. Yet the process was extremely complicated because British museums only return or repatriate objects with the consent of Parliament. This meant that the Grande Ronde tribe decided to pursue a loan rather than a permanent return. The tribe also had to demonstrate that they had sufficient exhibition and storage space for the collection and to pay for the artifacts to be transported by courier from the UK to Oregon.
In 2018, the Grande Ronde tribe secured a one-year loan and brought the objects from the Summers Collection back to Chachalu. The artifacts included baskets, tools, and other objects people used in their daily lives. During the year that the items were at Chachalu, tribal members studied them extensively. Skilled researchers made 3-D scans of the objects so that they could make virtual copies. In addition to being able to display the virtual copies, the objects and research, as well as the scans, allowed tribal members to gain new knowledge from their ancestors about what they had made and how they had created it.
The Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center is a triumph. It is the product of a group of Indigenous tribes forced together in 1850 and relocated to a reservation in the Oregon Coast Range. Beyond their forced relocation, the Grande Ronde Tribes had to endure further land being taken by the federal government and the ultimate termination of tribal rights and recognition. Since they were recognized again in 1983, they have made great strides in creating community institutions that reflect their needs, values and history. Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center is one of the best examples of this Indigenous group flourishing.
Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center
8720 Grande Ronde Road, Grande Ronde
