4-H club members doing a presentation on depth of seeding grass, 1961

Oregon’s geography isn’t limited to just green valleys and wet coasts. This week we explore the 50 year history of extension in the high desert, home to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

4-H leader doing beadwork at the Warms Springs Indian Reservation, circa 1955

The confederation was formed in 1938 and consists of three tribes: the Wasco, Warm Springs and Paiute. The reservation upon which they currently reside was created, by treaty, in 1855 and as of 2003 is home to over 4000 tribal members. It encompasses 1,019 square miles (640,000 acres) bounded by Mt. Jefferson and the Deschutes River from west to east and the Mutton Mountains and the Metolius River, from north to south. The reservation lies primarily in parts of Wasco and Jefferson County but small parts fall into six other counties.

Breaking wild horses at the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, circa 1950

The Warm Springs Extension Service has always placed a large emphasis on education, with numerous outreach programs aimed at both adult and youth audiences. Many of the photos included in this set showcase these programs in action with training in: Family and Community Health Development, Agriculture Resources and 4-H. With current tribal unemployment rates at 40% the goal of these programs is to “increase job/income opportunities from natural resources and agriculture and supporting Reservation youth to be productive contributing members.” OSU Extension is working closely with Tribal Council committees and Education and Natural Resource branchs to achieve these goals.

Mary Anne Crocker measures the hem of a skirt for a young homemaker on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, circa 1955

My thanks go to Daniel Pearson, one of our fabulous student workers in the OSU Archives for writing this post! And thanks to my daughter for picking the pictures! A budding historian, a budding archivist, both Flickr fans.