David G. Lewis

David G. Lewis is an historian and professor at Oregon State University. He is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.

Biography

David Lewis was born in 1964 or 1965 and is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. He traces his lineage to the Takelma, Chinook, Molalla, and Santiam Kalapuya tribes. He attended Swegle Elementary School in Salem, Oregon.

David Lewis received his associate degree in humanities from Santa Rosa Junior College. He received his bachelor's in humanities and his master's degree in anthropology from the University of Oregon. He received his Ph.D. in 2009, also from the University of Oregon.

He has a son Saghaley, also a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, who also attended Swegle Elementary School.

Career

In 2013, David Lewis was elected chairman of the Oregon Heritage Commission, part of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. He was the first Native American to fill that role and had previously served on the board for four years. He was also appointed to the Bridge Naming Committee and submitted the name that was ultimately chosen for the Tilikum Crossing bridge on behalf of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.

David Lewis left his position as tribal historian at the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in 2014. In 2019, he wrote fourteen narratives for the video game "When Rivers Were Trails," featuring encounters with people Indigenous to Oregon and Northern California. In 2021, he served as a consultant to the Oregon Geographic Names Board. Beginning in 2017, Lewis served as an instructor at Oregon State University. In 2022, Lewis earned a tenure-track appointment as assistant professor of Anthropology & Indigenous Studies at Oregon State University's College of Liberal Arts.

David Lewis' research focuses on the Indigenous tribes of Oregon, specializing in those of the Willamette Valley. In 2023, David Lewis published Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley. The book examines settler contact with the Native American tribes living in the Willamette Valley, beginning with the first years of contact, addressing relocation to reservations and forced assimilation in boarding schools by the United States government, and ending with the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act of 1954. He has traveled the United States piecing together information AbOUT the Kalapuya from archives in universities, historical societies, and government agencies.