Oregon Humanities

Native journalist to discuss challenges faced by urban Indians

Seattle newspaper editor Mark Trahant will deliver the Oregon Council for the Humanities' Commonplace Lecture on Oct. 26 in Portland.

09 September 2007

The 38,000 Native Americans who reside in the Portland area comprise the nation’s ninth-largest urban Indian population, according to the Native American Youth and Family Center in Portland.
Journalist Mark Trahant, the editorial page editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, explains that many of these urban Indians find themselves torn between the opportunities available in the cities and the history and culture of the reservations. He notes that this group is a significant—and perhaps unplanned for—population that faces specific challenges in the fields of education, employment, and health care.
As an example, Trahant, who is a member of the Shoshone Bannock tribe of Idaho, says, “In recent years the Bush Administration has... More