A special Oregon 150 series of Oregon Archaeology Celebration presentations at Smith Rock State Park begins Friday with a look at the cultural effects of early Pacific Northwest fur trading.

Titled “The Early Fur Trade Era and its Impact on Northwest Indigenous Populations,” the leadoff lecture is the first of five Friday evening programs dedicated to Oregon’s sesquicentennial. Open to the public with free admission, all will be from 7-8:30 p.m. in the park’s visitor center, 10260 NE Crooked River Drive.

Kenneth Ames, professor and chair of Anthropology at Portland State University, is the guest lecturer for the opening Smith Rock presentation in the 16th annual archaeology celebration. The other 2009 presentations:

Oct. 9 – “The Lost Meet Wagon Train of 1845,” by Steve Lent, assistant director of the Bowman Museum in Prineville;

Oct. 16 – “The Barlow Road: At the End of the Oregon Trail,” by Roger Riolo, regional director of the National Association of Interpretation;

Oct. 23 – “The Coming of the White Man: The Impact on the Indigenous Populations,” by Wilson Wewa, member of the Warm Springs Tribal Council and a Paiute elder;

Oct. 30 – “The Black Hats in Western Oregon: A Military History of Oregon Forts 1855-1865,” by David Brauner, professor in the Department of Anthropology at Oregon State University.

A question and answer period will follow each presentation. “This is an outstanding opportunity to discover the compelling and colorful history and heritage of our region,” said Paul Patton, the central Oregon interpretive coordinator for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

The Smith Rock presentations have become annual fixtures on the Oregon Archaeology Celebration calendar. The statewide celebration was launched by a gubernatorial proclamation setting aside one month each year to celebrate and promote archaeology and an appreciation of Oregon’s heritage.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 at 8:38 am and is filed under Community News, Government News, Outdoor News, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.