The work completed on the MNF was organized as part of the Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project (OCDP), a grassroots Federal/State/local partnership which emphasizes the shared stewardship of our important yet fragile cultural history. Excavations in 2019 confirmed the presence of a Chinese blacksmith shop, the first such site to be found in Oregon. Archaeologists discovered artifacts like Chinese brown glazed stoneware, winter green porcelain, wok fragments, imported cooking oil and tea containers, and other Chinese related items at these sites. Archaeologists identified some critical areas in the Middle Fork area of John Day River, where they located nine cabin sites associated with Chinese mining. Over the years, archeological explorations on the Malheur National Forest (MNF) area clarified some of the misunderstandings. As a result, and in combination with other political actions like the Chinese Exclusion Act, by 1890, only 6 percent of the county’s population was Chinese. A number of legacy misunderstandings eventually forced Chinese miners out of the area. The challenges were language barriers, cultural/food differences, as well as the increasing anti-Chinese sentiment that later hardened into legislation in the 1880s. Although the Chinese miners had the same goal as Euro-American miners with a desire to go after the untapped resources of America’s West, there were barriers that slowly caused their presence to disappear. Further records suggest that between 1870 to 1880, over 80 percent of all placer and hydraulic gold mining operations were Chinese-owned and operated. According to historical data, by 1870, 42 percent of Grant County’s population (940) and 69 percent of its miners were Chinese. Soon after, Chinese miners from California and southwest Oregon near Jacksonville also joined in the search for gold in the area. Their involvement in the California Gold Rush and the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad may be the first things to come to mind, but they also had significant involvement in Oregon.Ĭanyon City, Oregon became a major attraction to gold miners when word got out in June 1862 that Whiskey Gulch was the place to be. 2020 Asian Pacific American Employees Association News Letterīy: Yiqiang Gu, Planning Engineer, Alaska and Pacific Northwest RegionsĬhinese immigrants have long been a part of the building of today’s American West.
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