Indigenous Explorers of the Paci

Making Pacific Worlds: Indigenous Explorers Comekala and Ranald MacDonald

Dr. Joshua Reid's presentation will examine how Comekala, a Mowachaht from Vancouver Island, and Ranald MacDonald, a Chinook from the Columbia River, shaped history through their explorations of the Pacific during the long nineteenth century. Separately, their ocean-spanning mobilities exemplify their efforts at shaping Indigenous futures while bringing the people and places of the Pacific Ocean into world history.

Born and raised in Washington State, Dr. Joshua L Reid (registered member of the Snohomish Indian Nation) is an associate professor of American Indian Studies and the John Calhoun Smith Memorial Endowed Associate Professor of History at the University of Washington. He holds degrees from Yale University and the University of California, Davis. Reid has also received awards, grants, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Western History Association, and the University of Washington, among others. His publications include the award-winning The Sea Is My Country: The Maritime World of the Makahs (Yale 2015). He currently directs the UW’s Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest.