David Gene Lewis

David Gene Lewis (born 1965) is a Native American writer and editor, and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. He researches information about the Kalapuya from archives in universities, historical societies, and government agencies, and writes about indigenous tribes, specializing in those of Oregon's Willamette Valley. Since 2022, he has held a faculty appointment in anthropology and ethnic studies at Oregon State University.

Early life and education David Gene Lewis was born in 1965 in Heidelberg, Germany, the son of Viet Nam era soldier Gary Wayne Lewis, and Polly Katherine (née Cox) Lewis. He married Donna Marie Ralstin, and they have two adult sons, Saghaley and Inaty. and McKay High School, both in Salem, Oregon. He completed an Associate of Arts degree at Santa Rosa Junior College in 1993, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in humanities (1997) as well as both a Master's (2000) and also a Ph.D. (2009) in anthropology at the University of Oregon. His dissertation, Termination of the confederated tribes of the Grand Ronde community of Oregon: Politics, community, identity, was advised by Lynn Stephen.

Career

David Lewis has an established career as a writer and historian, publishing dozens of entries on The Oregon Encyclopedia, more than 500 posts about historical topics on his blog, The Quartux Journal, as well as research articles in literary journals, on diverse topics such as Oregon tribal histories, historical fire regimes, and forest management.

When his son Saghaley's fourth-grade class at Salem's Swegle Elementary School "was making models of Oregon Trail-type wagons",

According to the Oregon Historical Society,

Lewis engaged in research on the tribes of the Pacific Northwest while studying at the University of Oregon and working for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. He also served as the director of the Southwest Oregon Research Project Collection at the UO Knight Library Special Collections and University Archives. He has served in the culture programs at Grand Ronde, first on the Culture Committee, then as department manager, cultural liaison, tribal historian, and manager of the Exhibits and Archives program. For two terms he sat on Oregon Heritage Commission, serving as chair for two years. He has a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Oregon (2009) and is an assistant professor of anthropology and indigenous studies at Oregon State University. Lewis conducts research, gives historical presentations, and writes articles about the tribes of Oregon. He is the author of Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley (2024). Lewis' teaching routine then involved:

When Lewis was appointed in 2022 as assistant professor of anthropology and ethnic studies at Oregon State University (OSU), the University described his appointment as "an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde... the first Kalapuyan tenure-track appointment in OSU history. He's known throughout the state for consulting work and for his work researching Oregon Native American history."

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