Oral history interview with Erskine Wood

Collection

Identifier: SR 1096

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Erskine B. Wood was conducted by William Renwick at Wood’s home in Vancouver, Washington, on August 21, 1954.

In this interview, Wood discusses his experiences as an adolescent living with Chief Joseph and the Nimiipuu people (Nez Perce tribe) in the Wallowa Valley, Oregon. He briefly talks about Chief Joseph’s life story. He speaks about his daily life, including caring for horses, hunting, and taking sweat baths. He closes the interview by describing some Nez Perce recreational activities, including dancing, singing, and games. In the interview, Wood uses terms for Native people that were common in that historical period but that are now considered pejorative.

Dates

1954 August 21

Creator

Wood, Erskine (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the estate of Erskine Wood. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/.

Biographical note

Erskine Wood was born in the Vancouver Barracks in Vancouver, Washington, in 1879. He was the son of Portland, Oregon, lawyer Charles Erskine Scott Wood, whose biography he authored. In 1901, he earned a law degree from Harvard University. In 1903, he and Rebecca Baird Biddle were married; they later had four children. He joined his father’s law firm in Portland and specialized in admiralty law. He also served as admiralty counsel to the United States Shipping Board in 1920. Rebecca Baird Biddle died in 1951. In 1953, Wood and Louise Pippel Cunningham were married. He retired from his law practice in 1982, and died in 1983.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (24 min., 20 sec.) + transcript (8 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Erskine Wood conducted by William Renwick on August 21, 1954. In the interview, Wood discusses the summer he spent with the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) people during his childhood.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Pat Sutherland, July 1993 (Lib. Acc. 21364).

Existence and Location of Copies

Audio and transcript available online in OHS Digital Collections.

Related Materials

The Erskine Wood papers, Mss 2445, and additional oral history interviews with Erskine Wood, SR 441 and SR 9512, are also held at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.