Search Native American Community
Learn more about Portland's vital Native American community.
This section was produced in collaboration with 1000 Nations and the Oregon Native American Chamber.
Portland’s urban Native community is descended from more than 380 tribes, and there are nine sovereign Native American nations located throughout Oregon. Each nation inhabits their own reservation and welcomes visitors in their own way, according to their respective customs and traditions.
Events
Depending upon the time of year, you may find a powwow, a salmon fest or other indigenous community events within easy reach during your stay in Portland. For a calendar of events, see the Portland Indian Leaders Roundtable website and its Native Connect e-newsletter.
Meet a Local
These Portlanders are crafting some of the city's best food, music and fashion.
Creations for Continuity Jewelry Blends Inuit Design with Modern Style
Portland artist Caroline Blechert leads a collective of Indigenous jewelry makers.
Portland’s Bison Coffeehouse Celebrates Indigenous Culture
Meet Loretta Guzman, owner of Bison Coffeehouse in Northeast Portland, the city’s only Native-owned coffee shop.
Meet Queer Indigenous Musician, Black Belt Eagle Scout
Portland artist Katherine Paul draws inspiration from the riot grrrl movement, Nirvana and her Swinomish roots.
History
The Portland metro area rests on traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla and many other tribes and bands. These groups created communities and summer encampments along the Columbia and Willamette rivers and harvested and used the plentiful natural resources of the area for thousands of years.
Portland’s Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), which hosts cultural programming and other events, is located on what, to the Native community, is sacred ground in Multnomah county. The site in contemporary Northeast Portland is recognized as the original location of an Indian village known as Neerchokikoo, dating to before 1792 and cited in Lewis and Clark’s journals.
Oregon’s population was largely Native American until relatively recently. The Oregon Donation Land Act of 1850 and accompanying legislation removed tribes and offered free land to white settlers, who laid claim to 2.5 million acres of tribal land — including all of what is now Portland — over the course of just seven years.
More About Portland’s Native American Community
What Native American Tribes lived in Portland?
What Native land is Portland on?
How many Native tribes live in Oregon?
Museums & Art
Several spectacular collections of Native American art celebrate the rich cultural diversity of the region:
- The Oregon Historical Society houses one of the largest photo archives west of the Mississippi, documenting the changing landscape of the West over the last two centuries. The museum is also home to a vast array of Native American basketry, beadwork and carvings.
- The Portland Art Museum displays traditional carving, basketry, paintings and sculpture from tribes throughout the Northwest. The museum’s Native American Art Council hosts lectures and public displays by local and regional artists throughout the year.
- Many shops and galleries in Portland feature Indian art, jewelry, crafts and food products. One established gallery is Arthur W. Erickson, Inc., in downtown.
- Created in 1972, Quintana Galleries is home to a robust collection of Native American, First Nations, Arctic and Mexican art. The gallery’s extensive assortment of jewelry, paintings, pottery, sculpture and more is available exclusively online and by appointment only.
- Jim PepperFest: The Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival is a free event that is held annually at Parkrose High School. Founded in 2013 to increase access to music education, celebrate Native American culture and honor this remarkable musician’s legacy, the festival takes place outdoors with dancing on the lawn and Mount Hood views.
Day Trips
Explore tribally-owned museums such as the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute on the Umatilla Reservation (210 miles east of Portland in Pendleton, Ore.) or the Museum at Warm Springs on the Warm Springs Reservation (100 miles southeast of Portland).
The various tribal museums, with their permanent and changing exhibits, strive to show not only who Native Americans of Oregon were before contact with Caucasians, but who these indigenous communities are today and who they plan to be in the future.
Indigenous Events
Explore and celebrate Portland's Indigenous Culture at these upcoming events.
Come Thru: Black & Indigenous Market
Come Thru Market is an incubator market centering on Black and Indigenous Farmers, Makers, and Friends. Come Thru supports BIPOC growers in taking their small business dreams to the farmers’ market environment. It’s a vibe – Come Thru and get what you need.
Portland Indigenous Marketplace
Portland Indigenous Marketplace (PIM) is a culturally-specific, community response organization. All members of PIM’s board and staff reflect the community served. As active Indigenous and Black Artists and Entrepreneurs, they utilize their extensive networks to connect with the community. The Indigenous and Black Artists and Entrepreneurs this organization serves through the Indigenous Marketplace programming are,…
Oregon Origins Project III: Maa~‑xuslh‑ghalh‑ta Tututni Dené (A Year in Tututni Dené Seasons)
Oregon Origins Project presents a journey through the seasonal traditions of the southwest Oregon coast indigenous peoples. Yashuwe’ Tututni Dené culture bearer and artist Hii-ne Jake DePoe's artwork will be displayed at the Reed College Vollum College Center. On the evening of Saturday, October 14, at the Reed College Performing Arts Buidng, Hii-ne Jake DePoe…
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