- Molala
The Molala (also Molale, Molalla, Molele) were a people of the Plateau culture area in central
Oregon ,United States . Some consider them extinct, though they are one of theConfederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon , with 141 of the 882 members in the 1950s claiming Molala descent.Language
The Molalla language was a member of the
Plateau Penutian family. It was previously considered a language isolate. Molalla is now extinct.**Northern Molalla dialect, spoken in southern Oregon in the Cascade Range
**Upper Santiam Molalla dialect, spoken along the upperSantiam River in the Cascades in central Oregon.
**Southern Molalla dialect, spoken in southern Oregon in the Cascade RangeHistory
A member of the Molalla may figure prominently in the history of Oregon's first militia. During the period of the initial
Provisional Government of Oregon , the 1843Organic Laws of Oregon provided for a militia. The first opportunity to deploy the recently formed Oregon militia came on March 4, 1844, when the territorial government’s recorderGeorge LeBreton and another person in Oregon City were killed, supposedly by a member of the Molalla. Their deaths spurred the organization of a company of 25 men calling themselves theOregon Rangers at theOregon Institute . Though the company of mounted riflemen never saw action, they were briefly led by CaptainThomas D. Keizer and then by Charles H. Bennett.Bibliography
* Horner, John B. (1921). "Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature". The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland.
* Mithun, Marianne. (1999). "The languages of Native North America". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.External links
* [http://logos.uoregon.edu/explore/oregon/mhistory.html Molala History]
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