News

The nation recently completed its bicentennial commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803 to 1806. Thousands of people and organizations along the trail contributed to the body of historic knowledge. WILLIAM LANG, HISTORY PROFESSOR, answers a few questions about what we learned from Oregon's participation.

Q: Were there any surprises from the Lewis and Clark commemoration?
A: The bicentennial was much different than originally planned because Indian Nations from the Dakotas to Oregon and Washington participated and federal and state agencies responded positively to their significant contributions.

Q: Can you give us an example?
A: The Tamastslikt Cultural Institute on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in eastern Oregon comiled an important map that inventoried significant places in the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Wall homelands at the time of Lewis and Clark.

Q: What other contributions did Oregonians make?
A: A 13-part Oregon Public Broadcasting series on Lewis and Clark that had nationwide distribution, special issues of Oregon Historical Quarterly and Oregon Humanities, and two new books from the Oregon Historical Society Press: Waiting for Lewis and Clark by David Sarasohn, and Two Centuries of Lewis and Clark by Carl Abbot and myself.