[Grovenet] "Kalapuya Homes" Program this coming week

[David Morelli]

  Kalapuya Homes

Friends of Historic Forest Grove will host a free program on  
Thursday, January 10 in the UCC Chapel at 7:00 p.m.

Ih this program, "Kalapuya Homes",  Anthropologist Melissa Darby will  
show a 100-year-old photo and sketches of “Old John’s House” along  
with other Native American homes in the region. Her presentation will  
be based on Kalapuya recollections in addition to early accounts of  
the houses from pioneers and early anthropologists.  Early Euro- 
American accounts of Kalapuya life are rare and Ms. Darby hopes that  
this recent 'find' will fill a historical gap.

The Kalapuya lived in seasonal dwellings, some of which were long  
structures with several chambers where related family members lived.  
Darby says the walls and
roofs, which were usually made from bark, could easily expand when  
new family members arrived or be disassembled when the band moved.

Melissa Darby received her master’s degree in anthropology from  
Portland State University. She specializes in applying historical  
records to ethnographic information,
especially as it relates to Native Americans.  She has worked with  
Friends of Historic Forest Grove on the Alvin Smith House project.