The collection consists of papers of and relating to missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. A substantial portion of the collection consists of letters that they wrote to Narcissa Whitman's family. These letters describe the Whitmans' overland journey to the Pacific Northwest in 1836, and their lives as missionaries in the following decade. The letters also frequently express frustration with Native peoples' cultural norms and their reluctance to convert to Calvinist Christianity, often using patronizing and derogatory language. The letters also include pejorative terms for Roman Catholics and for biracial people of Native and European or Euro-American descent.

Other writings by the Whitmans include typescript copies of their correspondence with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and a typescript of Marcus Whitman's proposed legislation to establish outposts to assist Euro-American emigrants traveling westward. Other materials in the collection include original and reproduced materials regarding the Whitman killings and their aftermath; microfilm of Mary Saunders and Helen Saunders' recollections of the Whitman killings and aftermath; and items related to the memorialization of the Whitmans, including efforts in the 1890s to erect a monument in their honor.

This collection consists of the original manuscript of "Early History of Tillamook," by Warren N. Vaughn, as well as typescript copies and a microfilm copy of the history, and biographical information about Vaughn. The original manuscript, undated but probably created in the 1890s, is handwritten in four ledgers or notebooks, and consists of Vaughn's detailed recollections about the earliest emigrants to and events in the Tillamook Bay area, 1851-circa 1863. It begins as a history of Tillamook County but ends abruptly at the end of the fourth volume. Microfilm in the collection is a copy of Vaughn's original manuscript. The collection also includes two undated typescript transcripts of "Early History of Tillamook": one in which each volume is bound separately with paper and twine, and one that was copied, edited, and consolidated into a single book by Louise W. Goodrich of Tillamook, Oregon, for the Columbia Gorge Chapter of the Daughters of the American Colonists in Portland, Oregon. Other materials in the collection include an Oregon Historical Society questionnaire filled out by Vaughn and dated 1902, providing biographical and genealogical details, information on his journey to Oregon, and remarks on Native people, particularly Chief Kilchis; and a photocopy of a biography of Vaughn in "Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon" (Chicago, Chapman Publishing Company, 1904).

Collection consists of salt paper photographic prints attributed to Lorenzo Lorain. The photographs depict scenes around Fort Umpqua and Camp Day during the forced removal of Native peoples from the western region of the Oregon Territory onto the Coast Reservation between 1857 and 1861. The photographs of Fort Umpqua, in Douglas County, Oregon, include the block house, barracks, and support buildings as well as portraits of soldiers and their families. Also included are exterior photographs of plank houses and portraits of unidentified Native American people who were likely members of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw, or Siletz peoples housed near Fort Umpqua on the southern portion of the Coast Reservation. The collection also includes photographs taken by Lorain at Camp Day, a temporary military encampment established in the Klamath Basin in Southern Oregon during the summer and fall of 1860. These photographs depict the camp site, the troops stationed at the camp, and a group photograph of unidentified members of the Klamath and Modoc people at or near the camp. The collection also includes photographs of Portland, Oregon City, and The Dalles, Oregon, which are believed to have been taken by Lorain during his travel from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Umpqua in 1857.

Also included in the collection are two salt paper prints depicting Fort Crook in Shasta County, California, which are attributed to Dr. Edward Perry Vollum. Vollum was stationed at Fort Umpqua during a portion of Lorain’s assignment at the fort.

This oral history interview with Barbara A. Mackenzie was conducted by Katy Barber at Mackenzie's home in Portland, Oregon, from September 27, 1999, to June 1, 2001. Barbara Mackenzie's son, Thomas R. Mackenzie, and Jan Dilg were also present during the sessions recorded in 2001. The interview was conducted in four sessions. The first part of session one was not recorded.

In the first interview session, conducted on September 27, 1999, Mackenzie discusses working as a teacher in Oregon and California, including working with marginalized groups in the San Francisco Bay Area and opposition she faced. She also talks about her work with the Red Cross in Virginia. She speaks about her role in relocating members of the Warm Springs, Yakama, Umatilla, and Nez Perce tribes during the building of The Dalles Dam at Celilo Falls. She talks about her relationship with Chief Tommy Thompson and Flora Cushinway Thompson of the Wyam people and shares stories about the Wyam way of life. She also talks about her work with Navajo people near Palm Springs, California.

In the second interview session, conducted on September 30, 1999, Mackenzie continues discussing her role in the relocation of members of the Warm Springs, Yakama, Umatilla, and Nez Perce tribes. She talks about her relationship with Flora Cushinway Thompson of the Wyam people, some of her advocacy on behalf of indigenous people, and where she felt the local authorities were neglecting indigenous people's needs. She also talks about Temmingway Moses, a Yakama woman who tended a cemetery near the Maryhill Museum in Washington; the attitudes of the population at The Dalles towards Native Americans; and her working relationship with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She talks about Abe Sholoway, a Umatilla man who acted as interpreter; her efforts to get Native American marriages legally recognized; and attending the Pendleton Round-Up. She also talks about the processes of the relocation project and how she got involved. She shares her opinion about assimilation and the U.S. government's practice of tribal termination. She talks about her brother, Ralph Tudor, who served as undersecretary of the Interior under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and worked as an engineer on the Bay Bridge and Bay Area Rapid Transit in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also discusses some of her secretaries and revisits the topics of working as a teacher with marginalized groups in California and her work with the Red Cross in Virginia. She then talks about serving as executive for the Red Cross in Lincoln County, Oregon.

In the third interview session, conducted on January 16, 2001, Mackenzie discusses her family background and her early life and education in Sutherlin, Oregon. She also talks about the career of her brother, Ralph Tudor. She discusses her education at St. Mary's Academy and at Lincoln High School in Portland, her relationship with her mother, and her first teaching job near Bend. She talks about her college experiences at Western College for Women (now known as the Western Campus of Miami University) and at the Oregon Normal School (now known as Western Oregon University).

In the fourth interview session, conducted on June 1, 2001, Mackenzie discusses serving as executive for the Red Cross in Lincoln County, including organizing blood drives and working with veterans. She closes the interview by describing the town of Newport.

This oral history interview with Flora Cushinway Thompson was conducted by Joan Arrivee Wagenblast in April 1966. Several unidentified people were also present. The interview was conducted as research for Wagenblast's biography of Tommy Kuni Thompson, titled "Flora's song: a remembrance of Chief Tommy Kuni Thompson of the WyAms." The audio recording is a digital copy made from Wagenblast's original reel tapes; the digital files were donated to the Oregon Historical Society Research Library by Wagenblast's daughter, Debra Arrivee, who retained the original tapes.

In this interview, Thompson discusses the family background and early life of Wyam Chief Tommy Thompson. She talks about the settlement that was negotiated by the U.S. government and the Warm Springs, Yakama, Umatilla, and Nez Perce tribes as compensation for the flooding of Celilo Falls; about the construction of the Wyams' new village after they were forced to relocate; and about Tommy Thompson's resistance to the relocation. She talks about the wind rock, which was stolen; describes the Wyam salmon feast; and talks about the spiritual beliefs and practices of the Wyam. She describes how Tommy Thompson always kept copies of federal treaties with him; talks about his rules for salmon fishing; and discusses caring for Thompson at the end of his life. She discusses burial sites along the Columbia River that were moved before the flooding, and also names some white people who were buried at Native sites. She also talks about her children and grandchildren. She closes the interview by speaking about gathering berries in the Columbia River Gorge.

This oral history interview with Flora Cushinway Thompson was conducted around 1971. The interviewer is unidentified. The audio recording and transcript are incomplete; the interview was recorded on three cassettes, but the first tape is missing.

In this interview, Thompson discusses the execution of Modoc leader Kintpuash, aka Captain Jack. She then talks about salmon fishing by Native peoples at Celilo Falls, and about the slow encroachment of dams and commercial fishing at the falls. She speaks about her marriage to Wyam Chief Tommy Thompson and talks about their respective marital histories. She discusses the Wyams' resistance to the construction of The Dalles Dam; describes attending the dedication of the Celilo converter station; and talks about Tommy Thompson's funeral. She speaks at length about some of the Wyams' spiritual beliefs, particularly regarding visions and songs, and sings a Christian song in Sahaptin. She closes the interview by talking about her work advocating for the Wyams' fishing rights. The recording ends with piano music identified as "Indian Love Poem" by Nancy Walker.