This IS Kalapuyan Land

What happens when a museum known for pioneer history turns over curatorial authority to a young Indigenous artist and writer? For Five Oaks Museum, the result is a bold, self-critical exhibition about the Tualatin Valley’s first people.

For the past 60 years, Five Oaks Museum has, like many museums, acquired, collected and preserved Native artifacts that were largely donated by settler-pioneer descendants — well-meaning groups who may not know local tribal communities’ true wishes for their peoples’ artifacts. All over the world, these Native objects are the basis for exhibitions and curriculum shared with the public. They are an incredible resource, but too often, Native culture is discussed in the past tense.