Events

February 14, 2025 | 11:00 am–12:30 pm Join PCM on February 14 at 11:00 a.m. on Zoom for the fifth program in our Hidden Histories series. The Lung Family: Lineal Descendants Connect the Past and Present at Auburn, Oregon looks at the uniquely Oregon story of the Lung family, featuring family and community historian Linda Lung and archaeologist Catherine Dickson.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) manages a wildlife refuge west of Baker City, Oregon, near Auburn, once the county seat of Baker County. In 2024, ODFW contracted the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA) and Hoyo, a cultural resources organization, to document archaeological sites within the refuge.

The discovery of gold in 1861 brought numerous people to the area, and the town of Auburn was quickly established. By 1863, there were already richer strikes elsewhere within the state, and the population had dropped from a high of around 3,000 people to 150. In 1867, the miners of the Blue Canyon Mining District amended their bylaws to allow the sale of claims to Chinese mining companies. By the 1870s, Chinese miners were dominant in Auburn. This is reflected in the archaeological record; SOULA and Hoyo have identified five habitation sites dating to the late 1800s, each containing artifacts that indicate that they were occupied by Chinese miners.

Trying to gain a better understanding of possible occupants of these homes, the archaeologists combed through Census records. One family stood out: there were children in the Lung family household that had been born in Oregon and Ah Moy, the matriarch, was born in Auburn in 1871. Further research uncovered Ah Moy’s lineal descendants living in the Denver area. Their story informs our understanding of the archaeological record and challenges our common assumptions about the diverse population of mining communities and small western towns. More importantly, though, the Lungs’ journey from Auburn through many western states to a multi-generational home in Colorado illustrates the events of the late 1800s to the present in a manner rarely told.

This event is free and open to everyone. Please click on the TICKETS link above to sign up.

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Linda Lung is a native Denverite who worked in the telecommunications and energy sectors for over 40 years. She is currently focusing her energy on capturing the stories of seven generations of the Lung family’s Chinese American history and migration from Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado. In addition, she has also researched and documented other Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) stories to highlight their important roles in Denver’s history. Linda is capturing and preserving these stories for future generations because, for too long, these stories have been hidden, ignored, or marginalized. Telling these stories recognizes the shared history and places value on our contributions as a vibrant and thriving community and to fight ignorance, hate and violence against the AAPI community. Linda was instrumental in collaborating with Denver’s Human Rights and Community Partnerships on the documentary “Reclaiming Denver’s Chinatown.” As a member of the Colorado Asian Pacific United (CAPU) storytelling committee, she continues to celebrate our rich cultural heritage by capturing stories from community members throughout Denver.


Catherine Dickson grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and studied Anthropology at Pomona College. She began working as an archaeologist for the Forest Service during college summers and eventually worked in various National Forests in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho. Her field school at the University of Idaho under Priscilla Wegars furthered her understanding of Chinese mining sites; she chose to get her MA from Oregon State University so that she could continue to study both pre-contact and post-contact archaeology. She spent most of her career with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Cultural Resources Protection Program. In 2023, Catherine co-founded Hoyo, a non-profit organization, to protect, preserve, and perpetuate cultural resources through identification, education, and documentation