News and Reviews

VIDEO: Jody Seay interviews Greg Nokes, author of "Massacred for Gold, The Chinese in Hells Canyon," the first authoritative account of the long-forgotten 1887 massacre of as many as 34 Chinese gold miners in Oregon's Hells Canyon, the deepest canyon in North America.

Barry Lopez on racism in the West:

Acclaimed northwest author Barry Lopez has written an enormously revealing article on racism in the West that appears in the fall 2010 issue of The Georgia Review, the literary quarterly published at the University of Georgia.

Entitled “A Dark Light in the West: Racism and Reconciliation,’’ Lopez’ article traces the long history of racist attitudes and violent incidents that have scarred the history of Oregon and the West, but which are little-remembered today. Lopez gives credit to Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon, for exposing one of the worst of the many racist crimes committed in the region.

Lopez writes, “Nokes . . . exposes, for example, the determination of some local residents to preserve, down to the present, a distorted version of their pioneer history, dismissing both the heinous nature of the crime and their ancestors’ anemic effort to arrest and charge the perpetrators.’’

Click here for a review of Lopez’ article by Oregonian book editor Jeff Baker—including information on how to obtain The Georgia Review.

The Dallas Morning News had a nice comment about Massacred for Gold on Nov. 14. There's also a new interview with Greg, which can be found here.

Posted on YouTube: Nokes reads from Massacred for Gold at Oregon Humanities event at Broadway Books in Portland. » View more

The Long Reach of an article in The Oregonian » Read more

Moscow-Pullman Daily News says author sees similarities in past treatment of Chinese immigrants, and attitudes toward undocumented Latino workers today

Medford Mail Tribune: Massacre of Chinese Haunts Author » Read more

Bellingham Herald: "Author uncovers whitewash of history" » Read more

In a Medford TV interview, Nokes says a "savage act of racial hatred'' explains the massacre. » Watch video

Author lectures on black mark in Oregon history » Read more

William Wong writes in a San Francisco Chronicle review that Nokes' pursuit of the massacre story is "breathtaking."

"A standout feature of "Massacred for Gold" is the author's unrelenting search for documents that had been hidden by Wallowa County officials who didn't want to embarrass descendants of the killers.

"Nokes' journeys from Portland to rugged eastern Oregon, trying to retrace the experience of the 1880s, are breathtaking. They evoke the beauty and desolation of an area where white pioneers and Chinese gold seekers had to brave intimidating elements to try to better their respective lives, only to collide violently.''

Nokes reads at Broadway Books in Portland, posted on You Tube. » Watch video

OSU Press book recounts Chinese massacre
Oregonian columnist John Terry writes that Nokes' pursuit of the massacre story "took him to the sweltering depths of Hells Canyon, the vast documents of the State Archives in Salem and the dank recesses of the Enterprise courthouse. In a dark cornerof the basement he found the original trial record.'' » Read more

Northwest Asian Weekly of Seattle:
The success of Massacred for Gold "goes to show that books that are thick with facts and information don't have to be left for university students in ethnic studies classes. These books should be part of the mainstream, part of the popular nonfiction novel genre. (It) "is a book of American history and is especially valuable as it details an event that is virtually unknown...." » Read more

Reading Local and Rose City Reader:
"While Massacred for Gold has regional ties, Nokes puts the tragedy in national context. Any reader interested in the experience of 19th Century Chinese immigrants or the development of the American West will find this story fascinating.'' » Read more

Massacred for Gold on Oregonian's Top Ten books list » Read more

Rose City Reader likes Nokes' personal touch » Read more

Uncovering a 120-year-old massacre
The Bend Bulletin’s David Jasper talks with R. Gregory Nokes about the process of writing "Massacred for Gold." » Read more.

The Asian Reporter's Book Reviews
In 1887, more than 30 Chinese gold miners were murdered on the Oregon side of Hells Canyon in one of the most heinous crimes in state history. Yet for more than a century the massacre was covered up and forgotten — until seasoned reporter and amateur detective R. Gregory Nokes took on the case. » Read more

Anatomy of a (120-year-old) mass murder
Willamette Week, Oct. 14, 2009 » Read more

"Massacred for Gold" and "Pedaling Revolution" are selling well.
The Oregonian, October 06, 2009 » Read more

More than gold seen behind massacre
Author R. Gregory Nokes peels back the veil of time in his historical work on the murders of 34 Chinese gold miners in Wallowa County — Walla Walla Union Bulletin, October 05, 2009. » Read more

The Oregonian reviews Massacred for Gold.
October 02, 2009 » Read more

Historians track Chinese history in Idaho
The Lewiston Tribune, July 18, 2009 » Read more

"Historical Interpretation of Chinese Sites in Hells Canyon" a Success
Historical Museum at St. Gertrude, August 3, 2008 » Read more

"A Most Daring Outrage" Murders at Chinese Massacre Cove,
1887 Oregon Historical Quarterly Vol. 107, Issue 3, Fall 2006 » Read more

Jetting up the Snake River
The Oregonian, August 24, 2003 » Read more

Chinese Miners Murdered
The New York Times, July 8, 1887 » Read more