Talk on Alsea Tribal Life

Alsea Tribe. | Courtesy of Lincoln County Historical Society

Learn about the pre-European inhabitants of the Cape Perpetua area from one of Cape Perpetua’s exceptional volunteers, Dick Mason. Dick has also been an avid CoatchWatch mile adopter and Oregon Shores member for many years.  His lecture, part of the Cape Perpetua Speaker Series which runs from January-March, takes place a 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center (2400 Hwy. 101, about three miles south of Yachats). The talk is free and open to all.

Mason will also take his listeners on a quick, 45-minute tour of world history that occurred while the Alsea were enjoying their evening seaweed and mussel dinners at Cape Perpetua before European contact. He'll start with a big picture view of the native populations of Cascadia, narrowing down to the Oregon Coast, then detailing housing, clothing, and food gathering and processing lifeways of the Alsea.  That section of the talk will be followed by a survey of the significant earliest archaeological sites across Oregon, ending up on the coast, then a final section will deal with major events of human history – all referenced to archaeological timelines here at Cape Perpetua.  The overall intent is to show the incredible depth of time that the Alsea and their ancestors have been in the locality.