Archives West Finding Aid

In the 1950s, the U.S. government's construction of The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River displaced the residents of the Native fishing communities of Spearfish, on the north side of the river, and Celilo Village, on the south side, which had been inhabited for thousands of years. When the dam was completed in 1957, the river inundated Celilo Falls and the sites of Spearfish and Celilo Village.

In the mid-1950s, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and Wasco County, Oregon, initiated the Celilo Indian Relocation Project to remove and relocate residents of the villages. Social worker Barbara Mackenzie (1905-2002) directed the project and established an advisory committee with both Native and non-Native members, which recommended families for relocation and determined residents' eligibility for financial assistance to buy or build homes. Mackenzie notified families of approval for relocation, managed relocation plans, assessed home costs, reported to the advisory committee, and acted as its secretary. The project relocated 36 families, but the relocation also scattered the communities; residents of the old Celilo Village moved to disparate locations including The Dalles, Gresham, Washington state, and Native reservations where they were enrolled.

Sources: "Death of Celilo Falls," Chapter 5, by Katrine Barber, University of Washington Press, 2005; "Helper of Families at Celilo Falls Dies," by Kara Briggs, Oregonian, October 23, 2022; "The Dalles Dam," by William F. Willingham, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/the_dalles_dam/; "Celilo Falls," by Katrine Barber, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/celilo_falls/