Voices from the Past: Samuel's Account of Klickitat Identity
We owe so much to the stories passed down through generations. They take cold, rigid dates on a census sheet and turn them back into real people. A powerful reminder of this is found in a March 30, 1968, article from the Capital Journal in Salem, Oregon, titled "Memories of the 'Trail of Tears'" by Gloria Bledsoe.
The article captures the living memories of early families tied to the Grand Ronde Indian Agency—specifically Samuel Riggs and his wife, Clara, who carried forward the oral histories of their parents.
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| The Capital Journal (Salem, OR), March 30, 1968, p. 23. |
Yakima & Klickitat Lineage & Forced Removal
When reading through Samuel's account, the history gets personal right away. He shared the story of his mother, Jennie McKay Riggs, who was about 17 years old and visiting relatives near Portland when she, her aunt, and her grandmother were rounded up by the U.S. Army in 1856 alongside their community. For anyone piecing together Jennie’s timeline, a key takeaway is that they were not full-time residents of Oregon City; they were simply visiting when they were caught up in the forced removals.
Herded onto flatboats headed for the reservation, Jennie was permanently separated from her family. Though Klickitat, had she been permitted to remain with her people north of the Columbia, she would have been included among the bands brought into the Yakama Nation. It gives a real sense of the stubborn resilience it took to preserve their heritage during forced removals and bitter winter marches under military guard.
Life at Fort Yamhill & The Looking Glass
Samuel's account also preserves deeply personal, startling chapters of survival on the reservation. Shortly after arriving at Grand Ronde, her trade price was determined through dickerings among Indian elders, and she was traded away to keep house for Lt. Philip Sheridan, commander of Fort Yamhill.
Packed up with her belongings and taken by horseback to Sheridan's farmhouse, Jennie experienced a terrifying encounter in the back hall. She spotted another Native girl staring fixedly at her. Terrified, she fled back to her family and vowed never to return—only learning years later that the "other woman" was simply her own reflection in a looking glass.
Marriage to Chief Solomon Riggs
Jennie eventually married Solomon Riggs, an Umpqua Chief who was significantly older than her. Together, their family lineage helped anchor the history of the Grand Ronde community for generations to come.
Preserving the Legacy
For those of us digging through old land allotments, tribal rolls, and census indexes, accounts like these are everything. They remind us that behind every archival tag and faded document is a family that refused to let their story be forgotten. Through accounts like Samuel's, their voices echo across generations—reminding us that our ancestors didn't just survive history; they shaped it.
Sources:
Bledsoe, Gloria. "Memories of the 'Trail of Tears'." Capital Journal [Salem, OR], 30 Mar. 1968, p. 23.
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