Page 6 September 1,1995 SMOKE SIGNALS
Tribal member's research uncovers life of Shangretta family
By Donald E. Hallcr
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following story
is one tribal member 's account of Joseph
Shangretta 's years in the military, and his
life as a young adult. It is based on re
search compiled from different historical
books and papers. There have been many
opinions on the spellings and pronuncia
tions of the names Shangretta (Sangretta,
Senegratte), as well as the band of
Calapooya Indians (Calapooia,
Kalapuya). For the purpose of this story,
the spellings will be left as the author has
submitted them.
The Iroquois fought the British in the War
of Independence. After that war 10,000
Iroquois men and their women and chil- ,
dren went to Canada. Later, many of these
Iroquois went with the fur companies of the Pa
cific Northwest. ,,,,,,,
The Hudson's Bay Company has a Royal
Chapter which gave it a monopoly in the fur
trade. At the end of the eighteenth century, the
Northwest Company was formed without a chap
ter to compete for Canada's fur. Dr. McLaughlin
was one of its officers. Fierce competition led
to open fighting in the Red River War. Dr.
McLaughlin and other officers were arrested and
charged with murder. Dr. McLaughlin was tried
in England and found not guilty. The two com
panies were ordered to merge into one. The new
combination continued to be called the Hudson's
Bay Company.
In 1823, Dr. McLaughlin, the newly-appointed
factor in the Pacific Northwest, arrived
in Oregon with his wife and children. They had
crossed the continent by canoe with the French
Canadian voyagers of the Hudson's Bay Com
pany. Fort Vancouver was built that same year.
Louis Shangretta, Iroquois freeman, was in Or
egon at least five years before the arrival of the
I ludson's Bay Company. Louis is likely to have
come to Oregon with the Northwest Company.
The Alexander Henry-David Th
ompson Journals usually do not
refer to Indians accompanying
them by name. As a freeman, he
was not a contracted employee, but paid for his
furs and the work he did. Louis Shangretta is
named in the Hudson's Bay records in 1827,
when he sold furs to them. They refer to him as
a middleman. This meant he occupied an oar in
the middle of the canoe when traveling.
Louis is mentioned in 1832 in a letter from
Dr. McLaughlin to Michael LaFramboise. Louis
had asked permission to accompany the Wil
lamette Valley Fur Brigade and Dr. McLaughlin
indicated in the letter he was giving his permis
sion to go. Louis was married by Indian cer
emony to a woman of the Mary's River
Calapooyas. Their first child, Isabel, was born
in 1822. Joseph was born about a year later,
and Nicholas in 1827. His wife's people lived
in the Willamette Valley near present day
Corvallis. Louis and his family spent the winter
and spring (1832-33) with them.
The plague ravaged the Indian population of
Western Oregon every few years. There had
been other epidemics, but those in the 1830s
decimated the Calapooya. Ten thousand of them
died. A traveler on the Willamette River at that
time wrote that the river's shores were littered
for miles with the dead and dying victims of the
plague. Dr. McLaughlin tells in a letter that many
Indians came to Fort Vancouver to die agoniz
ing deaths outside its walls because they knew
he would bury them.
Louis Shangretta's wife died in the epidem
ics. When Louis died suddenly in 183S, Dr.
McLaughlin asked the newly-arrived Jason Lee'
to perform the funeral services. .After his fu
neral, Jason Lee took the three orphaned
Shangretta children to his Methodist mission at
Dr. McLaughlin's request (Carey's History of
Oregon).
Nicholas Shangretta died in November of that
same year. Isabel Shangretta died in 1837, leav
ing Joseph the only one of his family to be liv
ing. He studied and worked at the Methodist
mission until in closed in 1845.
Joseph was twenty-five in 1848 when news
reached the Willamette of the Massacre at
Marcus Whitman's Mission in Eastern Oregon.
Several volunteer companies were quickly
formed.
Tom McKay, Dr. McLaughlin's half-Indian
stepson, organized one at French Prairie. Jo
seph Shangretta joined and went to fight in the
Cayuse War. Company rosters shows his friend
Augustine Russie was there with him.
This was a company of Indians and half-Indian
sons of the French Canadian voyagers who
had settled with their families in the Champoeg,
Oregon area after the fur trade had expired in
the 1830s. Notes on microfilm at the Oregon
State Archives shows the colonel sent some
horses to Tom McKay's company to be given to
his men as gifts. Joseph Shangretta was given
one of those horses.
Toward the end of the Cayuse War, Captain
Tom McKay became ill and had to return to his
home in the Willamette Valley. Since his troops
had been appointed part of the U.S. Army, a new
captain had to be appointed. An American was
appointed to replace McKay, but the sons of the
French Prairie voyagers refused to follow a man
they. had not chosen. They elected Joseph
Shangretta to be their captain.
Joseph was given a commission.
The American captain signed the
papers and commanded the com
pany through Joseph. In 1848 Joseph
Shangretta, half-Iroquois Chief of the Mary's
River Calapooyas, was a captain in the U.S.
Army in the Cayuse War (Oregon State Ar
chives). In 1855, Joseph was thirty-two. He, with the
other chiefs of the Willamette Valley, signed the
treaty at Dayton, Oregon with Joel Palmer. He
could read and write English. He had been an
army officer five years earlier. He grew up in a
world of many languages: English, Iroquois,
French, Chinook, and Calapooya.
Joseph could talk with people in their own
language. He was appointed judge of Indian
court and head of the Indian police. The Indian
police was composed of mainly Indian and half
Indian veterans of the Indian wars.
Joseph was confined with his tribe to the res
ervation at Grand Ronde, but he was not rounded 1
up and marched to the reserve. He was allowed ,
to take his family there in a wagon. Allowing
him to go unescorted to Grand Ronde was a fa
vor for his service in the Cayuse War and be-,
cause of the shame some felt for confining him '
for the rest of his life. In the past, a veteran's
Organization has decorated Joseph Shangretta's
grave every Memorial Day.
POSITION : 95-39 CONTRACT HEALTH SERVICES SPECIALIST
SALARY: $1282 - $1410 MO - Regular Full-TimeNON-EXEMPT
DEPARTMENTDIVISION: Health & Human Services
REPORTS TO: Support Services Coordinator
POSITIONS SUPERVISED: None
CLOSING DATE: Friday, September 15, 1995
OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES: Maintains records and processes payments relating to the
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does related work as required.
EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING: High school graduation or equivalency with specialized
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KNOWLEDGE OF: Considerable knowledge of general office practices and procedures;
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ABILITY TO: Deal courteously and tactfully with the general public including individuals who
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interruptions and several situations at one time; establish and maintain effective working
relationships with medical providers, clients, the public and other employees; organize and
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mathematical calculations using decimals, fractions and percentages.
SKILL IN: The operation of standard office equipment, including a ten-key calculator by
touch; utilizing computer software including word processor and database management
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POSITION : 95-40 HOUSEKEEPING ASSISTANT
SALARY: $7.00 HOURLY - Part-Time
DEPARTMENTDIVISION:
Nanitch Sahallie Youth Residential Treatment Center
REPORTS TO: Housekeeper
POSITIONS SUPERVISED: NONE
CLOSING DATE: Friday, September 15, 1995
OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES: Performs basic and routine cleaning duties to assist in
maintaining sanitary conditions throughout a residential treatment center; does related work
as required. '
Works under direction to organize work time to complete tasks. Work is performed under the
supervision of the Housekeeper who observes work accomplished.
EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING: Entry level position.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Must be able to climb a 1 0 ft. ladder and lift up to 25 pounds;
occasionally bend and reach; stand and walk for long periods of time.
ABILITY TO: Establish and maintain an effective working relationship with other employees
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role model behavior to adolescent clients; work flexible hours and one weekends.
SKILL IN: The use of cleaning equipment and proper handling of cleaning solutions while
adhering to safety requirements.