Not so very long ago, the land we now call Tryon Life Community Farm was the hunting grounds of  the Tualatin Kalapuya and the Clackamas Chinook.

For thousands of years they thrived, until 200 years ago devastating diseases swept through their villages severely reducing the population. Before they had a chance to recover, waves of Euro-American colonization hit the land we now call Oregon. Years of struggle to retain tribal autonomy followed, as did many promises made and broken by the United States government. Mounting pressure for more land by white settlers led the federal government to extinguish all native claim to land in the Willamette and Tualatin valleys and forcibly remove the tribes to the Grande Ronde and other reservations in 1855.

The government then set about giving the land away to Euro-American settlers, including Hotchkiss Socrates Tryon who claimed the valley which is now his namesake park. His name is well known, even included in the name of our land project, while those from whom the land was stolen have been forgotten by many.

Why do you need to know this?  Learning and sharing the history of this land, and that of all western Oregon, is key to understanding why those who visit, volunteer, come to classes, and enjoy events here, have been predominately white. And why this needs to change.

Over the past few years, TLC Farm has been actively reshaping itself to counter this legacy of colonialism.  To do so, a new collective created by and for people of color has taken root on this land.  The Sacred Lands Alliance is working with TLC Farm volunteers to make the land and programs more accessible for frontline communities who have been alienated from thier lands. 

We can't undo the past, but we can absolutely shape the future.

Thanks for your part in making the future more just and equitable, here at TLC Farm and in all the places we collectively strive for justice.