Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Chief Moses and the Columbia-Sinkiuse people

First Inhabitants: Plateau Neighbors

• The Wanapum people of Priest Rapids
• Other Native peoples of the region

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• Rock Art of the Columbia Plateau
• Lewis and Clark Descriptions
• Central Plateau Epidemic History

• American settlers confront the Native American inhabitants of the Columbia River Basin
• The impact of disease on the Native American population
• The 1855 Yakima Treaty

Cultures Clash: Removal

• The Columbia, or "Moses," reservation
• The Wanapum avoid removal to a reservation

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• Yakima Treaty of 1855
• Correspondence of Chief Moses
• Executive orders creating and withdrawing the Columbia Reservation
• Department of Interior Relinquishment of Columbia Reservation

Early Non-Native Settlement

• Ranchers and early homesteaders to the Moses Lake area

• Establishment of the community of Neppel

Neppel and Water: Irrigation

• Attempts to harness Moses Lake for irrigation
• Establishment of the Moses Lake Irrigation District

Neppel and Water: Adaptation

• Incorporation of Moses Lake
• Life on an arid landscape--personal experience

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• 1902 Reclamation Act
• Grant County Realty Company Ad
• Incorporation papers for the town of Moses Lake
• Early Moses Lake City Council meeting minutes

• Construction of Grand Coulee dam stimulates the growth of Moses Lake--a brief overview

Grand Coulee Dam

• Promoting and building the dam

Grand Coulee Dam, Defense, and Public Power

• Grand Coulee dam fuels the Pacific Northwest defense industry and development of the region's first Public Utility District

Opposition to the Dam

• Ideological and political opposition to the dam
• Negative impact of the dam on area communities and their response

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• Rufus Woods
• Workers reminiscences about building Grand Coulee Dam and life in Grand Coulee during the dam's construction
  • Jack Pachoca
  • Hap Longley
• Acquisition of Indian Lands, Relocation of Indian Cemeteries
• Reactions to inundation
• Newspaper clippings describe the inundation of communities
• Report, Committee on Natural Resources, 1994 Grand Coulee Dam Settlement Act
• The fate of the Pacific Northwest Salmon (U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries Report, the Mitchell Act, "The Great Salmon Mystery")

• Introduction to the CBP

Promoting the Columbia Basin Project

• "Farm-In-A-Day"

The Columbia Basin Project: Promise and Reality

• Project expectations and the realities of modern agriculture

The Columbia Basin Project and the Growth of Moses Lake

• The Columbia Basin Project draws agricultural industries to Moses Lake

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• Remina Jorgensen describes challenges of irrigated farming
• 1935 Rivers and Harbors Act - authorizing construction of Grand Coulee Dam
• 1936 Rural Electrification Act - providing electricity in rural communities
• 1937 Anti-Speculation Act - preventing land speculation at Grand Coulee Dam
• Reclamation Project Act of 1939 - guidelines for the "Planned Promised Land."

• Mexican migration to Moses Lake
• Establishment of the area's largest ethnic group

Building Community: Japanese Americans

• World War II Japanese internment
• Japanese American migration to Moses Lake

Building Community: Mormons

• Mormon migration to Moses Lake
• Growth of the area's Mormon population

Building Community: Larson Air Force Base (LAFB) (community4.html)

• Impact of LAFB on Moses Lake

Building Community: Making Connections

• Housing shortages and solutions in post-World War II Moses Lake

Building Community: Larson Air Force Base Closes

• Establishment of the Port of Moses Lake and Big Bend Community College anchor Moses Lake's economy

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• Executive Order 9066 - Japanese Internment
• Larson Air Force Base - Guide and Directory/Closure
• The Bracero Program - Public Law 45, April 29, 1943
• Joe Tokunaga describes internment at Minidoka and coming to Moses Lake
• Lillian Tokunaga describes living in Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II
• Harry Yamamoto, Jr. describes farming in Moses Lake after 1943
• Frank Koba discusses Moses Lake after 1943

• A lifelong resident of Moses Lake reminisces about her town

Reflections, Mount St. Helens Eruption

• The impact of the eruption on Moses Lake

Reflections, Frontier Jr. High School Tragedy

• A community in crisis pulls together

Reflections: Excerpts

• Residents young and old share their thoughts about Moses Lake

Reflections Shared

• Your thoughts about Moses Lake