© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Jackson County Commissioners Weigh Name Change For "Dead Indian Memorial Road"

jmerriam7
/
Flickr.com

A controversial road in Jackson County may be renamed.  

Credit Michael McCullough / Flickr.com
/
Flickr.com
A four-footed traveler takes a rest on the edge of "Dead Indian Memorial Road" in Jackson County, Oregon.

Tonight, commissioners are holding a public hearing on “Dead Indian Memorial Road” in Medford. 

Critics say the name is offensive, and has been since the 1850s when the road was built.  Settlers found two dead Native Americans on the site, and the name has stuck since.

Perry Chocktoot is the Klamath Tribes' Director for Culture and Heritage.  He says back in the 1990s when it was known as “Dead Indian Road”, tribal members talked to officials about simply renaming it “Memorial Road.”

“And they said, ‘Oh, okay, no problem.  And then it became ‘Dead Indian Memorial Road’," recalls Chocktoot. 

"And I’m going to ask again from the Klamath Tribes, to remove the words, ‘Dead Indian’.  If you look around the United States, you don’t see too many roads saying, ‘Dead White Guy Road’.” 

Chocktoot hopes this time, the county renames it “Memorial Road”.  A roads and parks official says he gets regular complaints about the road’s current name, from locals as well as tourists. 

Copyright 2017, KLCC. 

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
Related Content