Chinese Massacre Cove is an area along the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

in Wallowa County,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. ...

, United States. It is located in the

Wallowa–Whitman National Forest The Wallowa–Whitman National Forest is a United States National Forest in the U.S. states of Oregon and Idaho. Formed upon the merger of the Wallowa and Whitman national forests in 1954, it is located in the northeastern corner of the state, in ...

and the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, upriver from the Snake's confluence with the Imnaha River. In May 1887, it was the location of the

Hells Canyon Massacre The Hells Canyon Massacre (also known as the Snake River Massacre) was a massacre where thirty-four Chinese goldminers were ambushed and murdered in May 1887. In 2005, the area was renamed Chinese Massacre Cove, and a memorial was placed there i ...

, where up to thirty-four

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

gold miners were ambushed, murdered, and robbed.

History

Chinese Massacre Cove is the location of one of the most brutal injustices against the Chinese immigrants in the Northwest United States. In May 1887, thirty-four Chinese gold miners were ambushed by horse thieves and white schoolboys from Wallowa County. The crime was initially discovered through the appearance of the dead bodies near Lewiston, Idaho with little accuracy of crime specifics. The crime and its details were found later under the direction of Lee Loi of the Sam Yup Company of San Francisco, which was a major employer of Chinese miners who sought the help of Judge Joseph K. Vincent to investigate the situation. Vincent reported his findings to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco which then sought the help from the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

. The information given included description of the bodies of the deceased Chinese immigrants, the vague background of the deceased Chinese immigrants, and information on the gang of killers. More than a year after the murders, a trial in

Enterprise, Oregon Enterprise is a city in and the county seat of Wallowa County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,940 in the 2010 census.

was held in front of a grand jury on September 1, 1888, which accused six men and boys of the nine total of murder. However, none of them were punished for the crime. Over time, the massacre was gradually forgotten. In 2005, the location was officially renamed from the "Deep Creek Massacre site" to "Chinese Massacre Cove" by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to commemorate the crime. Each year thereafter, conferences and healing ceremonies were held at the site by local representatives in remembrance the murders of the Chinese immigrants victimized in the attack. In June 2012, a permanent granite memorial was established on the site to recognize these deceased Chinese miners. The text on the memorial in English, Chinese, and Nez Perce (the language of earlier inhabitants of the area) reads, "Chinese Massacre Cove — Site of the 1887 massacre of as many as 34 Chinese gold miners — No one was held accountable." These words stand to represent the silently oppressed population of Chinese, Native Americans, and other minority races in the area who experienced insufficient justice regarding criminal victimization and injustice against their races. Chinese Massacre Cove.jpg, granite memorial

References

2. "Chinese Massacre at Deep Creek." The Oregon Encyclopedia, Portland State University and the Oregon Historical Society, 6 Oct. 2017, oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/chinese_massacre_at_deep_creek/#.Wnn6n7T81n0. 3. Weekly, Northwest Asian. "Community Members Install Memorial at Chinese Massacre Cove." Northwest Asian Weekly, 17 May 2012, nwasianweekly.com/2012/05/community-members-install-memorial-at-chinese-massacre-cove/.

External links

Sept. 1, 1887: A Massacre Of Chinese Miners
Produced by

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary television and radio public broadcasting network for most of the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF tr ...

Massacre at Hells Canyon
Documentary produced by

{{Anti-Chinese sentiment Anti-Chinese violence in the United States Landforms of Wallowa County, Oregon Valleys of Oregon Wallowa–Whitman National Forest