Written by Donna Emert
The University of Idaho’s Institute for Pacific Northwest Studies will host a presentation by Northwest Historian Katrine Barber Tuesday, Nov. 30.
Barber is associate professor of History at Portland State University and director of the Center for Columbia River History.
"Katrine Barber is an outstanding scholar of Pacific Northwest history, especially Indian/white relationships," said Adam Sowards, University of Idaho associate professor of history and director of the Institute for Pacific Northwest Studies.
"Katrine has a knack for telling the personal stories about those who made the Northwest home without losing sight of the larger national issues in which they participated," he said. "This lecture promises to balance those stories and illuminate our region’s multicultural past. We are fortunate to host
her."
Barber will present, "Living History: Examining the Pacific Northwest through the Lives & Work of Two Twentieth Century Women," at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 30 in the university's Idaho Commons Whitewater Room, 875 S. Line St. in Moscow. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Barber’s historical account follows Martha McKeown and Amy "Oma" Singer.
McKeown was born in Astoria, Ore., in 1903, to a family who traversed the Oregon Trail and participated in the nation-building of the American West. As an adult resident of Hood River, McKeown fought for the rights of her Native neighbors in local chapters of national organizations, and as a writer and educator.
Singer was born in 1916 at Fruitland, Wash., and traces her genealogy to Scottish and French employees of the Hudson Bay Company and to indigenous Quinault and Chinook people. Both she and her mother worked for Chinook Tribe.
"The lives of both women allow for the examination of several strands in Indian-white relations in the 20th century Pacific Northwest, including federal recognition, the ongoing struggle for access to traditional resources, and ethnic/racial and regional identity," said Barber.
Barber completed a book, entitled "Death of Celilo Falls," a history of the struggle over The Dalles Dam and Celilo Village in Northwest Oregon. In it, she examines negotiations and controversies surrounding the planning and construction of The Dalles dam, and the dam’s profound impacts.
Barber’s work offers a sensitive and insightful account of Native peoples’ experience.
In addition to her research, Barber teaches Oregon history, history of the Pacific Northwest, and public history courses at Portland State. She holds master’s and doctorate degrees in American Studies from Washington State University. Barber joined the Center for Columbia River History as a fellow in January 1999 and became its director in 2006.