About the Project

"This Desire for Peace" was created with the intent of creating a balanced retelling of the Snake War as it occurred in Oregon. Using sources from the era, as well as Northern Paiute oral histories as given by descendants of participants, the project is a unique examination into an overlooked conflict in the American West.

I acknowledge that this project would have been impossible were it not for the help of Perry Chocktoot (Director of Culture and Heritage for the Klamath Tribes), Wilson Wewa (member of the tribal council of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs), and Marie Lee (curator of the Lake County Museum). Their contributions turned a typical, uninteresting historical project into a vivid look at what occurred. I look forward to working with them to expand on the subject more in the future.

I was born and raised in Lakeview, Oregon. I have always been interested in history, and have had a persistent desire to be a historian like my grandfather who taught American history at Ricks College for many years.

After I graduated from Lakeview High School, I worked for the United States Forest Service. It was during this time that I ran across an obscure place marker in the woods to the northeast of Lakeview. It was a monument commemorating Camp Warner, one of the primary army posts during the Snake and Modoc Wars. This set off over a decade of off-and-on research about the Snake War, a journey that has led me to this point as a graduate student of history at Boise State University.

I live in Melba, Idaho with my wonderful wife and two (soon to be three) children. I currently work as the archivist for the Owyhee County Museum and Library in Murphy, Idaho.