Nokes Book Blog
Stay current on articles, notes and appearances.
Books in Common: R. Gregory Nokes and Jane Kirkpatrick
Fellow author Jane Kirkpatrick and I spoke on our books for a Zoom event: Books in Common. My presentation focused on "Breaking Chains: Slavery on Trial in the Oregon Territory," which is especially relevant in these troubled times. SEE IT HERE. Jane spoke of her...
The Oregonian — Opinion: Oregon’s racist history runs deeper than you might think
The widespread white support in Oregon for the Black Lives Matter movement, reflected in weeks of peaceful demonstrations from Portland to far-off Wallowa County, is in striking contrast to the state’s long history of racial exclusion and discrimination.
Peter Hardeman Burnett’s Short but Notorious Judicial Legacy
Historians have never quite figured out how to judge Peter Hardeman Burnett, and so mostly have ignored him. Yet in the sweep of western history, he’s a hard man to ignore. He held more positions in the early American West than any other leader, including a short term on the California Supreme Court in 1857–1858.
Pacific Northwest Quarterly book review
The Troubled Life of Peter Burnett Oregon Pioneer and First Governor of California GREGORY NOKES (Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2018. xi, 270 pp. Illustrations, maps, appendixes, notes, bibliography, index. $19.95) Peter Burnett emerges from R. Gregory...
CROSSCUT: Yes, there were black slaves in the Pacific Northwest.
Historians are making our region confront it An Oregon author is exploring little-known chapters of the region's ugly, racist roots. By Knute Berger, Crosscut In August, The New York Times Magazine published a special edition devoted to the centrality of African...
Selling well . . .
Seen today in Powell's City of Books in Portland, Ore.
Disabuse Podcast – Episode 15: Slavery in Oregon with Greg Nokes
Slavery and Oregon are not often talked about in the same sentence, nor even the same conversation. Yet, journalist and historian Greg Nokes uncovered this little known history of slaves in Oregon in his book, Breaking Chains. He discusses his work HERE.
Gavin Newsom calls out California’s racist first governor. Who was Peter Hardeman Burnett?
By R. Gregory Nokes, Special to CALmatters In his apology for California’s genocidal treatment of Native Americans, Gov. Gavin Newsom focused attention on the state’s nearly forgotten first elected governor, Peter Hardeman Burnett, and his declaration in 1851 that...
Slavery’s Descendants
R. Gregory Nokes contributed a chapter to the just-published Slavery's Descendants, a compilation of stories about slavery. He wrote about Reuben Shipley, a slave brought to Oregon from Missouri by one of his ancestors. Race remains a potent and divisive force in our...